Letters to the Editor for May 7

Here are today’s Letters to the Editors…

Submitted by Middletown resident and Neshaminy School Board candidate Doug Suessegger:

I write to outline my qualifications for Neshaminy School Director and highlight my vision for our school district.

I attended Drew University on a Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship where I was graduated magna cum laude.  I have 10+ years of experience in government, having served as Chief of Staff for the Mayor of a 90,000+ person city, a Congressional aide, and on the staff of a Governor, and multiple State Representatives. I’ve negotiated labor contracts and know how to manage a budget to make government work for the people. In my current position as a Government Account Manager, my job is to save government entities money by leveraging contracts while increasing operational and facility efficiency without outsourcing. I also sit on several national safety and public safety councils.

I did not attend preschool and actually stayed back in kindergarten. My parents did the best they could but relied heavily on the professional experience of the school district.  It wasn’t until a first grade teacher and a resource center aid told me how bright I was and how much potential I had did I start to shine.

I attribute my modest success to a quality public school education by caring, involved teachers and staff who pushed me to be my best.   As a product of public education, I am increasingly disappointed by the direction of the Neshaminy School Board, and I am running because I want Neshaminy children to have the support net that I received as a child.

The current board has voted to close neighborhood schools, move fifth-grade to Middle School, and borrow millions to fund their misguided plans. They have saddled us with a loan that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in interest and maintenance alone. These are just a few of the reasons that I am running for School Director with my team of Paul Murdock and Steve Buffardi.

If elected, I will fight for a Neshaminy education that will prepare our young people for continuing education and a modern work world. I will involve all stakeholders in developing a long-term, sustainable plan for Neshaminy.  I will promote an atmosphere conducive to civil, open, and honest discussion about the issues facing our district rather than discouraging active involvement.  This includes authoring a policy that would have prevented the current board from soliciting only two bids for our district’s insurance brokerage business and awarding it to the highest bidder, which will cost the District more than $30,000 annually in fees for the exact same services offered by the lowest bidder.  To prevent cronyism and ensure value, services exceeding $10,000 in annual value would be competitively, publicly bid under this new policy.

I will reverse the bad policies and plans that are being implemented by our current board, including neighborhood school closures that send our 10 year-olds to middle school. I will actively pursue new energy projects to create a sustainable energy program, as surrounding districts are doing. I would advocate to stop outsourcing Neshaminy jobs and bring back the ones that were lost, as the cost savings are negligible and the benefit of having dedicated, district employees service our children far exceed any tangible benefit of the adverse.  I will leverage my Public Safety experience working with police forces and emergency management task forces to update Neshaminy’s security procedures and policies to make our schools safer for everyone in them, including providing law enforcement with key access to all district facilities.  I will do all of this without overburdening taxpayers and working within the financial realities facing Neshaminy.

We will not resolve our school issues through frivolous lawsuits or ignoring the taxpayers. We must begin by electing hard-working, intelligent, capable School Directors who will strive for great schools and financial stability for generations to come.

Submit Your Letter to the Editor

Do you have something you want to say about a town issue? Want to praise your community members for something they did? You can do that by writing a Letter to the Editor.

LevittownNow.com accepts Letters to the Editor on issues that are important to local residents.

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