Dear editor:

January is School Board Recognition Month — a time to salute the work of our school board members and to celebrate public education.

The theme, “School Boards LeadStrong,” reflects our combined commitment to leadership and accountability assuring that all children succeed.

It’s an exciting and challenging time in public education. In Brandywine, school board members must develop policies and make tough decisions on complex educational and social issues impacting the entire community.  They bear responsibility for budgets that impact students and employees.  They are citizens whose decisions affect our children and build our communities.

Our Board of Education, and the hundreds like it across the state, preserve the core of our democracy — public education. They ensure that decisions on school programming are made by people we’ve elected to represent our community’s values, culture and circumstances.

Showing appreciation for the important work of school boards should be a year-round process, but too often we neglect to recognize the dedication and hard work of these men and women who represent us. The staff and students of our district are asking all members of the community to take a moment and thank a school board member.  Brandywine Board Members are Dennis Cooper, James Curran, Robb DeJonge, Janis Exner, Dennis Hinsey, Doris Schoenleber and Mike Shelton.

We salute the public servants of Brandywine Community Schools, whose dedication and civic responsibility make local control of public schools in our community possible.  We applaud them for their vision and voice to prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders.

Sincerely,

Dr. John Jarpe, superintendent

Brandywine Community Schools