To the Editor: 
I am running for the Guilderland School Board because, after finishing a three-year term on the school board’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, I want to continue to be involved in making school life as good as it can be for all students. 

I am opposed to all forms of book-banning and intolerance. I am against allowing parents to tell other people’s children what they can learn, or read, or be. 

If elected, I will continue to support the work of expanding and realizing our DEI goals.  

I will work to keep our academic offerings strong across the curriculum and help the district maintain its excellent standing in music, art, foreign language, sports, and clubs. 

I will listen to special-education families to make that program as strong as possible and will advocate for a special-education parent advisory committee. I would like to explore what more we can do to ensure that students are free from the pressures of bullying and that all students have timely access to mental-health counseling. 

I will represent the average voter on the board. I grew up here and attended Guilderland schools from elementary school onward. My daughter is now in the 10th grade at Guilderland High School and has attended Guilderland schools all her life.

I am a former reporter, book editor, and translator of Japanese. When I worked at The Altamont Enterprise, my beat was Guilderland. I covered the school district, the town government, and profiles of people living here. This gave me deep insight into the issues affecting life here. 

I hope that you will vote for me on May 21. 

Elizabeth Floyd Mair

Guilderland