To the Editor:

Parents and students matter most when electing school board members. I am the mother of four children, ages 10 and under. The election on April 5 is critical for determining the future direction of the Monroe School District. On one side, we have a slate of incumbents who openly tout their endorsements from labor unions and repost articles from the largest teacher’s union in the country and on the other side there are three candidates pledging to put parents first.

The role of the school board is to be the people’s voice because they are our elected representatives, not representatives of administrators and staff employed by the district. The school board should be working with parents to ensure that our children receive the highest quality education in a safe and secure environment. Several years ago, my husband and I made the decision to open enroll our children out of the Monroe School District and make daily hour commutes because after many meetings with teachers and administrators it was clear our concerns for our children’s education were not being addressed by the administration at the Monroe School District.

Change is desperately needed in the Monroe School District and voters must ask who they want representing them. The choice boils down to candidates that want to hear from and work with parents or the incumbent candidates that will continue to rubber stamp the actions of unelected administrators and refuse to address legitimate concerns of parents. My choice for school board is Kevin Visel, Camae Blackburn, and Jared Hitchens. They represent parent, student, and taxpayer best interests.