Tom Heisler for Talawanda School Board Focused on Students' Success
Join us in shaping a brighter future for our students.
My Vision
Welcome to my website! As you can tell from the banner, I am seeking one of the two seats up for election on the Talawanda School Board. I have been a Reily Township resident for the past ten years. Prior to that, we lived in Fairfield for over thirty years. I am a financial professional who worked in industry for over forty years. I was elected to the Fairfield School Board in 2013 and served until we moved out of the district. By serving on the Talawanda school board, I hope to help insure the next generation of children are prepared to meet the challenges and responsibilities of the working world.
I believe education is the cornerstone of every community’s success; and therefore, it is imperative its’ citizens embrace strong local schools. That being said, it is equally critical for the district to provide a comprehensive education while being prudent with how citizen’s funds are spent.
The past two Boards have ignored citizens pleas to reduce spending. The desire for this should have been made clear by the sound defeat of the proposed levy in 2022. As a result of that defeat, the administration came up with what I consider to be a half-hearted three year spending reduction plan. Not surprisingly, they resorted to the standard tactic in all school district handbooks, threaten sports and cut bussing in order to frustrate parents into passing the next levy. Additionally, they started working the plan backwards to implement the least impactful cuts first. To the administration’s great relief, and the community’s frustration, the largest property tax increase in county history provided them with a windfall in funds which were used to reverse most implemented cuts, give administrators salary increases and generally continue with their free-spending ways.
If you have listened to the last few Board meetings, concern is being expressed about the uncertainty in the amount of state funding for schools. Had meaningful cost reductions been made in past years, combined with the property tax windfall, there would be much less to be concerned about with regard to State funding today. It is my intent to insist on accountability and transparency at all levels within the district, so if and when the time comes to ask the community for additional funding, the need can clearly and honestly be justified without resorting to scare tactics.
In a world that seems to be changing faster every day, we must have a school system that is nimble enough to change with it. Combining traditional teaching methods with new technology is imperative for us to provide an environment where our children receive a well rounded education. It is critical we insure what and how our children are taught provides them every opportunity to succeed in life.
Everyone in the education chain has responsibilities that must be fulfilled to successfully educate our children. The School Board is responsible for planning and evaluating the direction, tone and finances of the district. The administrative staff is responsible to efficiently use the funds the taxpayers provide to the district in procuring the resources necessary to execute the Board’s plan and preserving district assets. The teaching and support staff is responsible to use effective educational techniques in preparing our students to smoothly transition to the next level of education or directly into the workforce. Parents are responsible to assist and encourage their children when they are struggling, congratulate them when they succeed, correct inappropriate behavior when necessary, and provide constructive feedback to the appropriate individuals within the district to express how their expectations of their children’s educational needs are being met.
Robust standards and curricula which are locally maintained, an effective motivated teaching staff, combined with parental involvement, is the best way to ensure our schools are effectively serving our community. A strong, coheisive, local school board is responsible to ensure community receives an excellent return on its investment.
Join Us
Help The Campaign
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and fund our campaign.
Contact Us
Contribute to the campaign
We are excited to have you help in improving the Talawanda School District by donating to my campaign
Tom Heisler For Talawanda School Board
6101 Stillwell Beckett Road, Oxford, OH, USA
Subscribe
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.