Help her give to community

To the editor:

My name is Lois Wulfhoop and I am a candidate for the Wellington school board. I have lived in Wellington Township for the past 19 years with my husband Tim, son Ken and daughter Olivia. Professionally I manage the day-to-day operations for Anesthesia Associates of Northern Ohio, Premier Anesthesia of Sandusky and I am owner of Northern Ohio Billing Specialists in Lorain. I am also a 2008 graduate of Leadership Lorain County; participate in the Women's Fund through The Community Foundation of Lorain County as well as serving on the board of directors of The Lorain County Free Clinic.

I have enjoyed my time giving back at the county level and now want to give back to my community. I feel the school board is a good fit for me to do this. As I explored being a candidate, many have asked "What is your agenda?" I can honestly say I do not have one. I just want to help make fiscally responsible policies that the staff can carry out to best serve students. I feel it is the responsibility of the treasurer and superintendent to manage the day-to-day finances and operations of the district. The school board is to make the policies for the district and provide oversight over these officers. I also understand there is more to being a school board member and that I must be able to responsibly serve the community as special circumstances arise in the area of personnel, finances, facilities and community perceptions. As a parent, resident and business owner I feel I am well suited to handle these situations with the confidentiality, common sense and character needed for our community.

I understand the schools face incredible challenges each year as they see more unfounded mandates placed on them by the state and federal government. These mandates are usually met with reduced funding to achieve them. We also have the challenge of consistently achieving and maintaining the education level of "excellent" when being measured by state and federal standards. I have confidence in the administration and staff to reach and maintain this level and want to help by removing the obstacles where possible.

Another significant challenge facing the school district today is to provide the highest quality education to our students with the best use of taxpayer dollars. I believe the district needs to take a look at all resources that can improve the quality of education within the means of what the taxpayers can afford. We need to not be short-sighted though and miss out on opportunities available today that will not be there tomorrow. We need to stay focused on the big picture and realize we always will be responsible for educating our kids the best we can.

I support Issue 36 on the ballot this November for building a new 3-12 school and I commend the current board for their leadership on this issue. They have made tough decisions in an attempt to secure the local share of the financing for this project. I feel as a community, we need to make the $17 million investment now in new facilities. This will better serve the needs of our students and make the best use of future taxpayer dollars by accepting the State of Ohio's offer of $15 million in matching funds. We will never get another offer for this much money from the state.

I appreciate the opportunity to show readers who I am, why I am seeking to serve on the board and how I will serve. I appreciate voters considerations and more importantly, their vote on Nov. 3. If I'm elected to the school board I will be honored by their confidence in me and will serve in the proper manner to the best of my abilities.

Lois Wulfhoop

Wellington