Abraham Lincoln once said that, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." As Americans we've put a vested interest in this idea: The notion that those we raise will be the ones who will guide us forward. Spoken by a true uniter, the words ring through to today as the reason I decided to seek the At-Large seat on our School Board.
A product of the Duluth public school system, I benefited from the strongest investment a community can make in its future. I gained a track of knowledge very unique to improving our system. I saw what was working; I saw what wasn't. I experienced it.
When I was in third grade, the School Board closed my school, Washburn elementary. I remember exactly what parents, neighborhoods and our children are going through.
Today, I spend my nights serving the people of Duluth and all of St. Louis County at 911. A dedicated public servant, listening through chaos to identify problems and to create resolutions quickly, I am entrusted by citizens, police officers, firefighters and first responders to do my job without hesitation or error. It's a skill set I intend to bring to elected office.
Make no mistake; we still have a lot to lose. Our student population has been in steady decline for decades. We have a widening achievement gap and increasing classroom sizes. We're slowly leaving the people of Gary and Morgan Park behind as we move our schools east. We have a 28 percent public approval rating when it comes to spending money. How can a governing body with that little confidence be effective in spurring the change we need to turn the district around? It's time to stop our bleeding and get competitive.
ADVERTISEMENT
As a fiscally responsible candidate, I promise to review and exhaust all options before ever considering raising taxes or fees, or bonding. I'm willing to look creatively at our budget for solutions where others see dead ends. I have plans to immediately replace licensed software with open-source software, which would save about two teaching positions. My long-term goals include providing eBooks and tablets to students and working to save the special-education budget and arts and music
programs.
This community, 27 years ago, started investing in me and my peers. We emerged as doctors, lawyers, mechanical and aerospace engineers, soldiers and marines, police officers, teachers, musicians, entrepreneurs, a priest, a journalist and a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. And those were just the kids who sat at my lunch table.
Your investment lives on strong today, and the time is right to pass the torch to the next generation. Our community needs someone who isn't endorsed by special-interest groups. We need someone who has a deep commitment to representing the families who are starting their lives here and carrying a massive debt, someone who cares about revitalizing the community and who is laying down roots here because he
doesn't want to see it bleed out quietly into the night. I'll take the torch that helped guide me and carry it into the darkness ahead, providing the hope, change and light we all need to provide the best to our students, staff and taxpayers.
I'm running for School Board because what's most important is what comes next.
Ryan Stauber is a candidate for an At Large seat on the Duluth School Board.
