Davis, Amstutz have skills to guide Boardman schools

There are two incumbents in this year’s Boardman Board of Education race, and in normal circumstances both would receive our endorsement because it’s hard to argue with excellence. Boardman has had an excellent rating on the state report card for the past five years. Unfortunately, one of the two incumbents, Kenneth Beraduce, who is completing his first four-year term, declined The Vindicator’s invitation to meet with the editorial board and, therefore, cannot be considered .

The second incumbent is Fred Davis, appointed last year to replace Dr. Robert DeMarco, who stepped down. Davis had served on the board for 12 years until 2004. He chose not to run for another term. In agreeing to return to the board, he demonstrated his continued commitment to public education in Boardman. With his knowledge of the school system and his involvement in the community, we believe voters on Nov. 8 should reward him with a full four-year term.

That brings us to the two other candidates in the race, Niklaus Amstutz and James Hruska. Given the academic success of the Boardman School District and the fact that it consistently is one of the leading systems in our region, we would be hard-pressed to endorse any challenger without the credentials and experience of the incumbents. But Amstutz has a four-year term under his belt. He served from 2006 through 2009, losing his re-election bid to John Landers by 21 votes. The former board member still has the passion and knowledge to contribute greatly to Boardman schools .

Hruska has never run for public office before and says he began thinking about making a bid for school board after a dispute about the policy regarding the cutoff date for the age requirement for a child to enter school. While we applaud such passion, we believe a school board member needs to have greater depth of knowledge and more than a personal agenda for wanting to serve in a pubic position.

Amstutz, like Davis, has the ability to take up where he left off — without requiring a learning curve. He knows the school district inside out, is familiar with the operating budget, which is crucial given the loss in revenue as a result of cuts in state funding, and has worked with the superintendent, faculty and staff.

Amstutz would be a strong addition to the board of education.

He argues that none of the members of the school board has a child in the system, which may not seem like such an important issue, but is deserving of consideration in that a parent brings a different perspective to the table. For example, when the school board instituted fees for participation in athletics, there was limited input from parents, Amstutz says. He concedes that the fees are justified, but notes that having a parent on the board would have prompted a greater discussion with those who have to pay the fees.

Reasonable fees

But Davis noted that the board sought to keep the fees reasonable and that 90 percent has been collected. The money goes to the Athletic Department.

Davis and Amstutz agree that the budget is the No. 1 issue and that even with the loss of 26 teachers and two administrators, the district isn’t out of the woods.

Class sizes have increased slighty and adjustments have had to be made, such as in the elementary music program.

However, the board, the administration and the Boardman Education Association are making sure that the academic standards are not put at risk.

Considering what’s at stake in Boardman, as in all school districts in the Valley, The Vindicator urges the election of Fred Davis and Niklaus Amstutz.