To the editor:
Given the first contested school board election in 12 years, we took the time to critically review the candidate platforms of Mike Spence and Dale Perry.
In doing so, we were reminded of the mathematical witticism: “My head is in the oven, my behind is in the freezer, so ‘on average,’ I’m comfortable.”
Our two children, students in the district, are not calculated averages, and we suspect that your children are not either.
Therefore, we support Mike Spence, who has “rolled up his sleeves” every day on our school board since 2009.
Mike knows that our children, teachers and administrators are not calculated averages. He will not try to apply concepts to our school district, or our children, that are reductionist to the point of irrelevancy.
How does one “average” a highly-advanced Sakai math student, and a special needs Ordway student? One doesn’t.
Mike came to the job with an open mind and no personal agenda other than service. He serves the entire, diverse community with both his approachable demeanor and genuine transparency on the issues. Yes, he’d probably meet a concerned citizen for a cup of coffee, but, as an attorney, he is a stickler for understanding and focusing on the facts behind the issues and he is deft in the art of working with people who hold dramatically differing viewpoints to achieve real results.
Few aspects of community life are as politically charged as those related to people’s children, and yet it is within that framework that Mike has returned huge savings to taxpayers, almost $13 million on building and debt matters alone, while still finding a way to innovate, and implement new globally relevant programs like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Mike has been a dedicated Bainbridge Island community member for well more than a decade, always willing to volunteer and serve. His work with the school board has been a huge success.
Here’s the kind of math we are using to cast our vote: In 2012, Bainbridge High School was ranked 274th out of about 22,000 nationally. That’s the top 1.24 percent.
We thank Mike Spence for his service, and would welcome him back for another term. Spence makes Sense.
JIM AND TARA BEATIE
Eagle Harbor
