Kaplan for School Board

I bring an independent and fresh perspective.

I am not a teacher.  I have never received a paycheck from Fairfax schools.  I  have never held elected office.   I respect those who have served, but also believe there needs to be at least one person asking questions and reviewing documents from a different point of view.

Three of the candidates on the ballot are incumbents.  The other two candidates are both teachers. 

That leaves me. 

I spent time working in education at the national level – but my focus was on budgets and management.  That gives me the experience to ask the right questions while I maintain the perspective of one who has not spent a lifetime in the field.

This combination of fresh eyes and a background in management sets me apart from the other candidates.  It is one reason why I am asking for your vote.

-Jim

There are three reasons I hope you will help me continue to serve our community.

As the father of three daughters attending Fairfax schools (two at Providence Elementary, one at Mosby Woods Elementary) I am committed to making our schools the best.  As the husband and son of public school teachers, I know the challenges they face and the support that they need.

My service at the U.S. Department of Education will be an asset to our City.  The City School Board’s primary responsibility is overseeing the contract we have with Fairfax County to run most aspects of our schools.  I worked in the Office of Management where we oversaw contracts, human resources, technology and facilities — similar to the issues the School Board needs to coordinate with the county.  In these times of tight budgets, my experience as a project manager will help us to recognize our challenges and to develop approaches to address them.

As a local volunteer and activist, I know how to work with our community leaders and have heard from a variety of voices in our community.  Serving in leadership roles in my homeowners association, the Fairfax “Host” Lions Club, the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples and in other community organizations, and as a member of two Parent-Teacher Associations, I have learned about the needs of our community and worked to help us fulfill them.  I also have long-standing relationships with our City leadership as well as with many in the county, state and federal government who we need to work with to accomplish our goals.

The City of Fairfax School Board is non-partisan and I am reaching out to our entire community.  I look forward to continuing to work with all of you who are committed to building a strong local government.

I hope you are all done digging out from the snow storms.  I joined some other parents in our neighborhood in digging out the bus stops, and the kids were all glad to be going back to school.  From what I’ve seen and heard, the City handled the mess much better than most of the jursidictions around the region.

On the campaign front: by March 1 we should know better how the race is shaping up.  I have heard that there may be six candidates for the five seats (including three incumbents), which would mean we have a race on our hands.

For our part, we have begun collecting signatures for our petitions and are more than half way there.  The snow did limit the ability for my volunteers and I to collect more signatures.  With a clear weekend before us, we will need to take advantage to collect the remainder that we need.

I also sent a letter to roughly 200 family, friends and activists in the community seeking their help.  The whole family pitched in to get the mailing out, with Stacie and I folding the letter and putting it in the envelope with the matching address label, Shauna & Sierra putting on stamps and return address labels, and Elana helping to put a return card in the envelope before sealing it.  Hopefully we will be able to include more family activities as the campaign moves on.

Drafting the mailing also helped me to crystalize some of my goals and positions.  I’ll post them on this site shortly.

Thank you to all of you who have already offered your support.  I’ll try to keep you up to date on what we are doing and how you can continue to help.

-Jim

Tonight at the City of Fairfax School Board regular meeting, School Board Members Julie Knight and Elisa Lueck announced they would not seek reelection in May.

Julie has been a friend for many years and encouraged me to run.  She has been a tireless advocate for improved communications between the Board and the community.  She has also been very responsive when I have reached out to her with thoughts or concerns about our schools.  I am sorry to see her leave but understand her desire to serve in other capacities in the community.

While I do not know Elisa, she also has been involved in Providence and Mosby Woods Elementary Schools (where my girls go, too) and I appreciate the service of those with young children in our schools.

I hope to follow in the path of citizen-service that Julie and Elisa have paved.

Tomorrow we’ll get back to campaigning.  Tonight, let’s just be thankful for their service.

In the first few days since I stood at our bus stop and told my neighbors I’d decided to seek to serve on our City’s School Board, I have been overwhelmed by the support.

We have more than 100 members of the Kaplan for Fairfax City School Board FaceBook Group.

We’ve begun to receive donations on-line, in the mail and in person.  Not a lot, but it’s a start!

We have volunteers circulating our petition.

I’ve already had the opportunity to sit down and talk with two current members of the Board about their work, with three members of the City Council, and with a number of our City’s leaders.  I really appreciate their input and advice.

Let me know if you want to help.  Many hands makes light work.  As Willy Wonka might say, “So much time, so little to do.  Wait a minute.  Reverse that.”  We’ve got until May 4 to reach out to the people of the City.  Let’s get to it.

-Jim