Dear Editor,

I look forward to heading to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8. When I do, I plan to vote for Kathy Merryman to serve on the Danville Independent School District Board of Education.

While all the board candidates have impressive credentials, I believe that breadth of experience matters most, and from this standpoint, Kathy offers the broadest perspective from which to address the challenges and opportunities facing Danville students.

For one, she brings a parent outlook as the mother of a recent DHS graduate and a current sophomore. Both of her children also attended Bate Middle School, and her youngest attended Jennie Rogers Elementary School. As such, Kathy is highly familiar with the full range of K-12 education in Danville schools.

As well, Kathy has been an extremely involved parent, serving in various volunteer leadership roles at all three schools. This often involved planning important extracurricular activities and working with teams of other parents to create memorable moments for our sons and daughters.

Kathy also led the creation of a district-wide PTO, for which she now serves as president, to bring greater continuity across the schools, particularly as it involves interpretation of the so-called Red Book of regulations that come from Frankfort.

In a policy-making role, I had the pleasure of serving with Kathy on the Bate Middle School Site-Based Decision Making Council. I can say that as we reviewed each and every issue, her perspective was always sensitive to how changes would affect all members of the diverse student population we proudly celebrate in Danville schools.

Finally, and perhaps most important, Kathy brings the perspective of a classroom teacher. Trained as an educator, Kathy has taught in a number of different schools in several states, as well as in Danville classrooms as a substitute.

Again, if experience matters, and I believe it does, then I’m confident in saying that Kathy Merryman will bring the broadest understanding to her role as a new member of the Danville Independent School District Board of Education. I hope you’ll join me in voting for her on Nov. 8.

Michael Strysick

Danville