Carr Everbach's Reasons for Running for School Board

By Carr Everbach

I want to keep Nether Providence a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

My wife, Holly, and I moved to the District so that our kids could have a good life, obtain an excellent education, and grow up to be strong members of society. We have been fortunate to have wonderful teachers, principals, administrators, and community members in our lives. Not only the school District, but also institutions like NPAA, the Community Arts Center, and the Furness Library sustain the quality of life in Nether Providence. Our community also benefits from an economically and culturally diverse population allowing us to understand other people's experiences and points of view. Holly and I believe now it is time for me to give back to the community that has given so much to our family.

I believe my job on School Board is to focus on providing quality education for every child while not breaking the taxpayers' backs to pay for it. Nether Providence has few businesses, forcing the tax burden almost entirely on the homeowners' property taxes. My goal is to minimize tax increases as much as possible while keeping the educational opportunities of our children strong.

My professional background is in science and engineering, which depend on practical and data-driven decision-making. As a professor at Swarthmore College, I teach students not only science and engineering, but also how to deal with uncertainty. I understand that often problems have seemingly simple solutions that turn out to be incorrect. Just as in engineering, the best course for the School Board is often to take small steps and monitor the results, while maintaining openness and transparency to all stakeholders.

In my short time on the board, I have been responsible for moving the District website from an expensive professional operation to an in-house one staffed with volunteer help, thus saving taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. I have helped identify and hire a new superintendent who understands our community values as well as the need for frugality. I have worked on the Middle School construction project, focusing on making the building functional and holding down costs. As chair of the Community Relations committee, I have helped parents of special needs children increase opportunities to work proactively with the District administration to identify ways to enhance programs without costing a tremendous amount. I have instituted "office hours" for the School Board, monthly open meetings during which residents with concerns can come and talk freely with School Board members in a casual setting at the Furness Library. I helped arrange Board members' presentations of the significance of Act 1 at Home-and-School (Parent-Teacher Organization) meetings.

Though still in its initial stages, the accomplishment that may be my most significant is to provide non-tax revenue to refurbish the George L. King Field behind the Strath Haven Middle School. For example, we have now authorized advertising signage around King Field, which could generate as much as fifty thousand dollars annually. Our goal is to find alternative funding sources to replace the field with an artificial field surface and to build a safe track that all District residents could use.

This spring, I intend to walk through neighborhoods to introduce myself personally to you. In the meanwhile, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I would like to continue to serve the District for the remainder of Jon Auritt's original term. Please honor my efforts by voting for me on May 15, 2007.