Dear Editor:
My name is Frances Rhodes-Kearns and I am respectfully requesting that the voters of Hoboken allow me the privilege to continue to serve the children of our community by Re-Electing me as a Board of Education Trustee. As a mother of two children, both of whom attended the Hoboken Schools, I know the importance of providing a quality education for all of our children.
As a current trustee, I know that we must focus all of our attention on providing that education in a manner that respects the investment that the Hoboken taxpayers have made, and continue to make in our school system.
Throughout my time of service on the board, I have tried to bring a sense of dignity to the process of representing all of the stakeholders in the future of our system. I know that progress requires discussion and that whenever we ask a taxpayer to pay for the opportunities afforded to our students, it requires debate. I also know that the public cries out for transparency and that the students deserve no less.
We are experiencing difficult times as a nation but we must remain committed to discovering ways that will significantly improve the ability of all children to learn while at the same time assuring that every dime invested yields a return far and above expectations.
As the legislative representative of the board, I have spent years attending statewide legislative committee meeting in an effort to keep the board abreast of the most important issues facing education. I have done this on weekends and on days off at my own expense. Sharing current trends with the board and seeing how other district have addressed the challenges of a new millennium have afforded me, and the students of Hoboken the opportunity to grow.
I am, and always will be, a voice on the board that puts kids above everything else. I do not engage in political grandstanding, I do not care about furthering political power grabs and most of all I believe that putting kids first is a way of life and not just a campaign slogan that gets taken off the shelf once year in April. Our school district has made tremendous progress throughout the years, but the total lack of inclusion and transparency that currently exists on the board threatens to set our district back to a time when politics and power was the rule. Test scores need to improve, graduation rates need to be higher and the morale of our wonderful teaching staff needs to be lifted. It is time for the board to stop micro managing and allow the professionals to do the job which they so dearly yearn to do. Core Curriculum Content, Quality Early Childhood Programs, A Theater Arts Program that surpasses all others, and a genuine desire to make Hoboken one of the best districts in the state of New Jersey must be the primary focus of the board.
I am asking the voters to send me back to the board, along with my running mates Carmelo Garcia and Peter Biancomano so that we can provide the checks and balances needed to keep the eye on the educational ball. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve and ask your support in allowing me to continue.
Frances Rhodes Kearns