To The Editor,

 I am writing in support of my friend Lara Gonzalez for Trustee for the North Shore District Board of Education.  I have known Lara for six years, meeting when our current fifth graders entered kindergarten, our then newborns in tow (born two weeks apart)!  Throughout the time I have known Lara, she has shown a passion for public school education and was always eager to share her views on a wide variety of issues facing our district, from budget questions to the International Baccalaureate decision to the re-emergence of the school language program.  Above all, she has always put what is best for our children at the forefront.  I have learned much from her, and I enthusiastically support her for North Shore School Trustee! 

 Lara would bring great experience to the Board: almost 20 years of public school experience (including as an administrator in the Oyster Bay - East Norwich Central School District), school budget experience both from a parent's perspective as well as from a school administrator's perspective, and a track record of working with all stakeholders in a school district, including the development of innovative, cost-effective ways of delivering enriching educational opportunities. 

 Lara will balance the standard of academic excellence that is the hallmark of our school district with the need for fiscal responsibility in the wake of the LIPA plant decommissioning. She will do this by building consensus with our community's constituents and examining unconventional but fiscally responsible ways of meeting our collective needs. Lara has demonstrated her abilities in this capacity through her public school administrative experience, and also using her perspective as a tax-paying parent. 

Every decision-making body needs individuals who not only come with great ideas, but who also listen and consider all sides of an issue.  Lara is that individual.  I have observed her discuss and debate educational issues and district problems in a straightforward and composed fashion, without getting caught up in the rhetoric and emotion that can sometimes, understandably, accompany these issues.  Lara is able to play devil’s advocate on many school and district-related issues because she has seen and experienced both sides.  We need Lara to bring these very important qualities, in addition to her strong experience and innovative ideas, to the North Shore District Board of Education.

 Please vote for Lara Gonzalez for North Shore Schools Trustee!! Thank you for supporting our schools!

 
Respectfully,

Kathleen Reynolds