I’m running because our children and our community deserve a board member who listens first,
carefully examines the status quo, asks difficult questions, and keeps students at the center of
every decision. Living in Bennington with my wife since the fall of 2006, raising a BPS graduate,
attending School Board meetings regularly, and watching the district’s rapid growth and rising
debt have taught me a great deal about our public schools and how they operate. As a neighbor,
parent, and grandparent, I bring that knowledge and an urgent responsibility to put it to work
for our schools. My life and work have prepared me to strengthen the Board by keeping oversight
consistent and practical, bringing community members to the table, and helping Bennington schools
maintain their standard of excellence while operating in a fiscally responsible manner.
My core priorities
Put teachers first
Great teachers change lives in a way screens can’t — so pay and keep them,
fund classrooms like we fund buildings, and protect recess and human connection.
Training and tools: Give teachers what they need to do the job well.
Talk with staff: Hear from teachers as a habit, not only when something is already on fire.
Teachers are at the center of our students’ learning. They dedicate their careers to our children
in a field that keeps changing. To keep Bennington’s standard of academic excellence, I will
support the time, training, and tools that help teachers strengthen their craft—that helps
teachers and students both.
Too often, conversations with teachers and staff happen only when a Board agenda item is already
urgent. I will treat staff engagement as a partnership, and I will listen before major
instructional votes.
Prepare every student
Next step, not just next test.
Protect recess: Students need movement during the day. Active bodies promote active minds.
Metro courses: Students can take courses at Metro that Bennington does not offer.
AP courses: AP courses can open internships.
Advisors: Students need advisors who can help them get on the right path.
Too many students see one path: finish high school, then apply to college. That lens is too
narrow, and that clock is already late. Scholarships often have to be applied for well before
graduation. Students headed to college need to know which AP courses to take—and Metro offers
ones Bennington does not. Competitive schools may ask what you built or led, and how your
coursework prepared you for it.
Not every student is aiming at the same place. Every student needs an advisor they can actually
get to, who can help them map what has to happen before they finish high school.
Pay as we grow
Everyone pays. Public, private, and home-school families all carry BPS spending.
Spend wisely. Work the debt down.
Prioritize existing efficiencies: Look for spending reductions, consolidations, and project delays before adding cost.
Link investments to paydowns: Pair new capital spending with paying down principal.
Solicit competitive bids: Invite competitive bids on major design, construction, purchases, renewals, and professional services.
Reserve funds purposefully: Ask whether part of the large cash reserves should pay down debt, not only fund the next project.
Before we add to what the community already pays, our first duty is to get the most from the
budget we have. Growth matters in Bennington, but it has to sit next to debt reduction so
facilities and staffing can keep up without an undue burden at home.
As of September 2025 the district had about $159.4 million in outstanding bond debt. The
$112 million High School #2 bond includes about $12.6 million from reserves toward construction.
The district runs on about a $140 million budget, with about $42 million in property taxes at a
$1.358 levy. More than $310 million in bonds have been authorized since 2003; over that period,
new debt and spending have grown faster than principal retired. See the
Bennington Debt Clock. These figures are public record.
Pay-as-we-grow is my principle, not a formal district rule.
Follow board meetings from home
If we want people engaged, we can’t treat a half-audible livestream as transparency —
make board meetings easy to follow from home, and Bennington will show up.
Hear who is talking: Same mics that feed the room should feed the stream.
See the slides: What is on the projector should be on YouTube.
Comments from home: Send a comment before the meeting if you cannot stand at the mic.
Live-streaming was a good step. In the room, the mics already go to the ceiling speakers, and that
works. On YouTube the camera hears those speakers, so you get room sound instead of a clean voice,
and you often cannot see the slides at all.
The fix is not new ceiling mics. Feed those same mics into a mix board so the camera gets the
voice directly, and send the presentation to the stream. I will also stay reachable by email and
phone, and I will push for a way to comment before the meeting if you cannot stand at the microphone.