My PRIORITIES

As an active parent and highly engaged East-Cobb resident, I firmly believe that NOTHING is more important than the safety of all our children. In my numerous conversations with parents and community stakeholders, I can universally say that this core belief is shared with every parent, whether it be the mom or dad of a first-time kindergarten or the parents of a graduating senior.  As your school board member, I will ALWAYS make your child’s safety my number one priority.

As your school board member, You can TRUST ME to hold the safety of our children at the forefront of every decision I make and every vote I will cast. I believe that it is paramount that our children can study in an environment which is safe, clean, and engaging.

As such, I will always vote to support initiatives and policies which prioritizes these non-negotiable items:

1.  Support a well-trained security presence in every building.
2.  Continue to require an ongoing security assessment in every school building (for medical and physical threats purposes).
3.  Make use of technology which enhances the safety and health of our students.
   
4.  Continue to develop protocols which keep parents and other stakeholders informed.
5.  Never allow disruptive behaviors to negatively impact our children’s learning environment. We must support our teachers’ job in providing an engaging environment, where learning is the number one priority.

The quality of life in East Cobb has long been one of the major reasons why those considering a family move always put our neighborhoods at the top of their list. Our convenient location to the metro area, top ranked neighborhood schools, amazing network of parks and the strong property values our homes enjoy are just a few of the reasons our community not only exists but thrives! I know my family was attracted to this area for those same reasons. Our experience with our two young children has been a very positive one and my wife and I could not be more pleased - granted there are a few days when everything seems to go sideways (lol) but for the most part our kids come home happy and very engaged with their classes.

The proven level of academic success which our neighborhood schools continuously enjoys is undeniable. In fact, our local schools’ reputation is easily documented in the seemingly endless state-wide and national accolades our schools collect each year.

As your Post 5 school board member, I will continue to promote the laser focus of our schools’ leadership and teachers' instruction of all our children. As your future school board member, I would implore each of you to join me in supporting our schools’ successes in the classroom, on the athletic fields and in the fine arts arena. You can TRUST me to maintain our property values, support the continued success of our schools and communicate with our parents/stakeholders in a respectful manner. Our community needs a leader who will lead with INTEGRITY and is responsive to our community.

As a local business owner and father of two Cobb County students, I will vote to support educational initiatives which helps our students understand the role of entrepreneurship in our society. I believe our next generation should be introduced into fundamental business concepts which will allow them to compete in the world's economy. It is my conviction, if we fail our students in this portion of their educational journey, the disservice to our next generation will be crippling.

I am also a great supporter of classes which will keep our students competitive in science, technology and mathematics (STEM). The need to master these skills will only increase, as our students move into the adult world.

As a fiscal conservative, I am proud that our school system has been able to remain debt free due to the community buy-in of the Ed-SPLOST. The program has allowed our post 5 schools to see new construction at every high school and significant upgrades to existing other schools. This self-taxing program has kept our school system debt free for our growing student population while maintaining lower property taxes on our homes.

My background in taxes/finances, easily allows me to understand that a “pay as your go” approach is not only responsible but also the most economical way to build new schools and improve old buildings. Not only does this approach allow our school district to more easily fund new schools and keep existing building operational, it also keeps our school property taxes among the lowest in the area. I support this effective funding method which keeps our school board from issuing long-term obligatory school bonds, which would be paid through an increase of your property taxes.

Without exception I will always support an exemption from all school taxes in the school general for those individuals 62 years or older. This exemption has been in place in Cobb County for nearly 50 years. My position on this issue is simple, I will not support passing a resolution that would alter that exemption.