Candidate Profile: Mark Loomis (Write-In), BOE

Dear Middletown Voters,

This year, every BOE candidate is in favor of bringing change to the board. Your challenge is to determine who among the candidates has the greatest commitment and the best vision for bringing about the changes you want to see.

I am not running because I received an invitation from either the Democratic or Republican town committees. I am running because, as a twenty-year teacher and a taxpayer with grandchildren in the system, I came to feel that I could no longer sit back and quietly watch what is happening with our board, and in our schools. I felt compelled to do all that I can to be a voice of reason and a guide in helping our board focus its energy and resources on our true mission - educating our children in a safe, nurturing environment, while spending taxpayer dollars in the most efficient and transparent way possible.

I am a husband of 33 years to Tina Loomis, longtime nurse at Middletown High, now at Xavier. I have worked as a special education teacher for the past 20+ years, and prior to that worked for over ten years in the mental health field as a social worker. (Do not, dear voter, discount the value of that experience.) I have already had experience on both sides of the negotiations table, first as a member of the Portland Board of Education in the late '80s, and more recently as a member of the negotiations committee with the teachers' union in Cromwell, where I work at Woodside Intermediate School.

Here are my priorities;

1) Increase accountability at every level in the system. Administrators, including the superintendent, will be evaluated and supervised based on a comprehensive, objectively-scored rubric that encompasses all areas of job performance, including those relating to school climate and responsiveness to communication from all stakeholders.

2) Adopt a new approach to budgeting. We will recognize the value of workers "in the trenches", (paras, teachers, related services personnel). We will not treat administrative positions as "sacred cows" - outside consideration for possible cost savings. We will produce a budget that is detailed and available enough to be transparent to the public.

3) Promote a change in the culture of our board. We will not view city government, parents, or our own staff members as our adversaries or inferiors, but rather as our partners. We will not discourage, ignore, or punish communication from any stakeholder who has a concern, but rather welcome it, and institute procedures for regularly encouraging, accepting, and responding to concerns. We will not operate or make decisions based on ego or politics, but rather on the areas that define the key work of school boards. And, most importantly, we will not tolerate bullying, of anyone - student, staff member, or parent, by anyone - student, staff member, or parent.

Gandhi said, "Action expresses priorities". If you, dear voter, share my priorities, then take action and write me in on November 8th. In addition, if you want to be part of my team and help me at the polls on election day, please call me at 860-839-4416, or email me at MLoomisBOE@gmail.com.