Dear Editor,
The following views are my own and are not those of the Haddonfield Board of Education. As the outgoing member of the BOE I am asked who to vote for in the upcoming election. I support and endorse Mike Nuckols for the Board of Education. Having been in the role for nearly a decade here are three reasons for my endorsement.
Mike has a better, broader sense of the word community. New Jersey is one of the most educationally segregated states; the reliance on property taxes and hundreds of school districts creates a bubble effect for our community. Mike knows we need to prepare our students for life beyond our borders and recognizes the necessary balance between our Haddonfield community wants and our State requirements. Mike presents a wider-angle lens for our schools.
Mike seems to better understand the role of a board member, perhaps because his mother spent years on a BOE herself. A board member does not represent any one person, group, or idea. They represent everyone by applying their own judgement and experience when overseeing the district with their fellow board members. We elect folks to represent us, not you or me, and Mike seems to understand that.
Lastly, Mike has proven he gets that the devil is in the details of the procedures and laws an elected official needs to apply to their actions as a board member. In many ways how candidates conduct their campaigns is reflective of their commitment to details. Mike has been transparent in his required election filings. Mike made sure his campaign signs followed election laws by stating who paid for it. A candidate can conduct themselves however they like but having lived through our district’s QSAC failures due to poorly following reporting rules required by New Jersey and putting our State funding at risk, I want a board member that has shown they appreciate the minutia that members need to work under. Mike has passed that litmus test.
I urge my neighbors to vote for Mike Nuckols for Haddonfield BOE.
David Siedell
Haddonfield
