This is an archive of a past election.
See http://www.smartvoter.org/pa/mny/ for current information.
Montgomery County, PA November 3, 2009 Election
Smart Voter

Improving Communication and Providing Transparency in Decision Making

By Melissa Gilbert

Candidate for School Director; Lower Merion School District

This information is provided by the candidate
Because we believe that open discussion and deliberation serves to build the public's confidence in the board, we believe that the public should be able to witness substantive deliberation by the board to see how policies are debated and eventually adopted.

We also understand that children and families within each school community come to the table with a variety of backgrounds and opinions. In order to have access to opinions that may not be majority ones, as school directors we will work to provide a wide range of opportunities for parents to contribute information to inform our decision-making. One way to do this is to provide maximal opportunity for parents to be members of committees and work groups.

As School Directors and public servants, we believe that it is the board's responsibility to respond respectfully to all individuals who pose questions at public meetings, even if board members disagree with the questions being asked. We believe that responding negatively to questions gives the impression that there is something to hide. Instead, we feel that questions from the public can be viewed as an opportunity to share information.

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
November 2009 Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter


pa/mny Created from information supplied by the candidate: August 5, 2009 12:27
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund.
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.