I am writing to express my support of Ginny Kent for the Auburn school board. Ginny has accomplished a great deal during her first term, and with her experience she can do so much more when re-elected. In talking with Ginny, she outlined some of her goals:

€ Energize all students in the middle and high school so they feel they belong and want to be in school.

Help them understand the power of a high school diploma and the importance of finishing school.

€ With the above understanding, encourage both students and faculty to see that all students reach their full potential. The cliche “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” is true, and not helping students reach their potential is doing a disservice to the students and the school system.

€ Institute a way for the school district and in particular the board, to have an ongoing presence in the community.

Allow ideas to be shared and help the public feel eager to express themselves in an informal setting.

Things needing improvement:

€ A Diversity Task Force has been established. We now need a way to evaluate its progress.

€ Continue to look for new ways to improve the performance of middle school students.

Traditionally, students perform more poorly after leaving elementary school.

€ Find ways to recover some positions lost in budget cuts, particularly librarians and remedial support for math and reading.

Things to keep:

€ All the little things that happen in the classrooms every day that help students discover new things and guide their intellectual growth.

€ Project Lead the Way, Advanced Placement and college courses as well as other challenging opportunities for the high school students.

€ Preserving a strong administrative team to maximize resources, secure available grant money, support the district's goals for achievement and keeping the tax levy below 5 percent from year to year.

I have had the opportunity and honor of working closely with Ginny Kent on the Leadership Cayuga program.

She is truly dedicated to all that she does and strongly desires to see Auburn flourish and prosper. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure our students get the absolutely best education possible.

Ginny Kent has my support for the school board and I hope she has yours.

Rolfe Floyd

Auburn