Two vie for at-large school board seat

Two candidates are vying for the at-large seat held by Vice President Roni Posner. Challenging Posner for her five-year seat is newcomer Jose Saez of Lewes. The election will be held Tuesday, May 12, at three locations in the district: Cape High School, Mariner Middle School and Rehoboth Elementary School. Running for the area B seat vacated by Sandi Minard Johnson, who did not seek re-election, are Gary Wray and Jason Bradley, both of Lewes.

The at-large candidates provided a short biography of themselves and answered questions for The Cape Gazette. Biographies and answers are provided in alphabetical order.

Roni Posner

Age: 66

Address: Lewes

Family: Spouse, Jeri Berc

Education: Bachelor's degree in secondary education/English, Rider College; master's degree in educational administration, planning and social policy, Northeastern University; doctorate in educational administration, planning and social policy, joint Northeastern and Harvard universities

Employment: retired

Experience: 35 years with school districts including teacher, principal and assistant superintendent of New England schools. Also worked for the U.S. Department of Education and several organizations. Elected to Cape Henlopen school board in 2010; currently vice president.

Reason for running: Focus on safety, academic excellence and opportunity to achieve in all our classrooms, performing stages and athletic fields; balance socioeconomic enrollment in elementary schools; build state-of-the-art elementary school; and plan expansion of middle and high schools.

Jose Saez

Age: 45

Address: Lewes

Family: wife, three children.

Education: Cape Henlopen High School graduate, 1988; Delaware State College, bachelor of science in biology, graduated with honors, 1992; Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 1997; Internship in Internal Medicine-PCOM, 1997-98; Internal Medicine Residency at Christiana Care Hospital, 1998-2001; Fellow in Renal and Hypertension at George Washington Medical Center, Washington, D.C., 2001-2003

Employment: 2003 to present, board certified nephrologist with Beebe Healthcare and Bayhealth Medical Center

Experience: Served as department chair of medicine at Bayhealth;
served on executive committee for Nephrology Associates; soccer coach for Henlopen Soccer Club for three years; 2005 commencement keynote speaker for Cape Henlopen High School; member of mentoring program at Cape Henlopen High School

Reason for running: My agenda is simple: 1. Safety of our children; 2. Ensure the best education for all students in the district; 3. Equality and fairness throughout the district; 4. Strong support of our teachers within the district.

Questions

Does Milton need a new elementary school? What do you think should be built?

Posner: We need new and renovated schools throughout the district; our district population is growing, and our Cape schools are aging. In particular, we must continue studying a number of options for Milton. Research shows that younger students learn better and thrive in smaller environments. I like the recent idea of building a new elementary school on the HOB site, while keeping/using the current building to expand the range of instructional areas such as the arts and sciences. Since I was first elected in 2010, I have been advocating the socio-economic balance of HOB and MES by redrawing Milton residency lines.

Saez: Milton would benefit from a new elementary school. Should it be one large elementary school with a capacity of 1,200 students behind HOB versus a smaller elementary school with a capacity of 750 students. I would be in favor of one of two options: Option A, build one large elementary school behind HOB (K-2 on one side and 3-5 on the other side) or option B, build a smaller elementary school behind HOB that would be for K-2 and renovate Milton Elementary School for 3-5. Either way, there should not be two K-5 elementary schools in Milton.

Should the results of statewide testing be used to hold teachers accountable? Why or why not?

Posner: Yes, as one of multiple measures. All of our students will need to compete, both within and outside the realm of our district, and Delaware, throughout their lives. We must be realistic as we equip/prepare our students with a world-class education. If our students can't compete in the state, how can we determine where they will be successful?

Saez: I am a strong supporter of our teachers. They perform an excellent job every day, educating our children. They should be given the tools necessary to accomplish that goal. Their creativity should not be hindered by nationalized standards. Teachers should not be evaluated on the basis of the Smarter Balanced Assessment test. Evaluation of our teachers cannot be based on factors that they cannot control … we know that educating our children is not simply teaching them information, but there are social and economic factors that can distract children from learning.

About one-third of Cape Henlopen School District students are minorities, yet the staff is about 90 percent white. Is this a problem? If so, how would you remedy it? If not, explain your reasons.

Posner: I have served on interview committees for about four years, and a constant focus has been on achieving greater diversity among staff. Cape's ratio of the percentage of teachers who are minorities (14 percent) to the percentage of students who are minorities (34 percent) is .041 – which puts us at seventh place among Delaware's 19 school districts. We are looking beyond race to include diversity in gender and lifestyles. District officials travel to job fairs to recruit diverse candidates – one major challenge is that we cannot determine race in candidates' applications. Greater staff diversity continues to be a major challenge.

Saez: I think that diversity benefits all students. I feel that Cape should work hard at diversifying its staff. I would recruit qualified minority teachers to come to our district … a team that consists of teachers, administrators and board members would perform this task. I would like to see a change in the way the candidate's applications are reviewed and would require total transparency in regards to this process. Regardless of race, sex or ethnicity, the students of our district deserve the most qualified educators available, and I would do everything in my power to support that effort.