We are writing in support of 3 school board candidates: Tim Pollis, Peter Toensing, and Christine Maleck. It is time for Richfield Public Schools to move forward with new leadership on the school board. These three candidates represent many of the younger families in the district: working adults, homeowners, and most importantly, parents of children attending Richfield Public Schools.
As an actuary and president of Richfield Baseball Inc., Mr. Pollis has professional and community experience that are advantageous. Mr. Toensing already has experience serving on the school board and served on the fiscal planning advisory committee. Ms. Maleck has served as a PTO president and on the district's financial planning advisory committee. All three are active and engaged in the district and our community.
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Richfield's School Board is in need of some new faces. It was just over 15 months ago that Mr. Lamberger and Ms. Belkengren voted to take general fund money - money that could be spent on anything in Richfield Public Schools - to add lights to the baseball field at Richfield High School. They voted for baseball lights at a time when elementary schools in the district had over 30 students per class and ran out of supplies before the end of the school year. The district was facing more than half a million dollars in cuts.
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That money could have been used in many different ways to create a better academic situation for Richfield students. Instead Mr. Lamberger chose to spend it on lights so that he "wouldn't have to leave work early" to catch the start of a baseball game. Ms. Belkegren felt spending $200,000 on the lights was a "minimal expense."
Certainly, in other instances, candidates Lamberger and Belkengren have served Richfield Public Schools well, and we should appreciate their service. But now, we need new voices to help RPS deal with a changing community, higher academic standards, and most of all, fiscal responsibility.
As proven, tireless advocates for our schools and our kids, candidates Pollis, Maleck, and Toensing are the right choice to help lead Richfield to this higher ground.