Duncan Porter-Zuckerman: He's built strong relationships on Inter-Lakes School Board

To The Daily Sun,

I am running for re-election to the Inter-Lakes School Board to continue to help address the issues that come before the board in ways that will best serve our community, my family, my children, and their peers. The decisions that I support and work with fellow board members to develop reflect my values and my understanding of the role of the board and how it interacts with the school administration, the state department of education, and stakeholders in the community.

I have a strong understanding of the school board’s responsibilities and how to work as an effective member of the board to support the education of the district’s children. My wife and I have lived in Sandwich for 15 years and are enormously appreciative of this community as a wonderful place to raise our children. Our daughter and son are in first and third grade at Sandwich Central School, and we are active parents who have built strong connections in the community.

Over the six years that I have served on the Inter-Lakes School Board I have built strong relationships with the administration, teachers, and fellow parents across all the district’s schools. I am able to use those connections to respond when members of our communities have concerns and needs. I feel well positioned to consider the range of perspectives relevant to school board decisions.

The role of a board member is first and foremost to address the needs of the school district. I don’t see my role as compatible with a personal political agenda. In the coming three years the board, however it is constituted, will make decisions about many important issues. The schools’ physical plants will be maintained and modified, curriculum and instruction will be evaluated and adjusted, contracts will be negotiated, and administrative staff will be managed and hired. All of these decisions will be made in consultation with other members of the board, staff, and members of the community, and in the context of state requirements and regulations.

In the coming term, as it has been in the previous two terms, my first priority as a board member will be to maintain and foster a school system that keeps our children safe and helps them to learn and grow. I ask for your vote so that I can continue to serve the district, its families and children, as an active and effective member of the Inter-Lakes School Board.

Duncan Porter-Zuckerman

Sandwich