Tolland Election: Jacob Marie For Tolland Board Of Education

TOLLAND, CT — Republican Jacob Marie, 22, is running for Tolland Board of Education.

Occupation: Store Manager In Training

Family: I have a younger sister who also graduated Tolland High School. I have a hyper beagle-terrier mix, two cats (one nice, one not so nice), and a bunch of fish.

Experience: I am an incumbent member of the Tolland Board of Education. Before that and I served on the Tolland Water Pollution Control Authority.

Family in government: Nope.

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

There are many pressing challenges facing our town and school district. Learning loss from the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ongoing struggle to ensure adequate in-person learning, and are top priorities. We must carefully utilize non-recurring grants and surplus funds to get our students up to speed after a devastating couple of school years.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

As a recent alum of the Tolland Public School system and I have a unique perspective that allows me to be an insightful voice on the Board of Education.

Accomplishments:

I worked to identify savings in the school budget proposals, transferring capital expenses out of the operating budget and finding savings in health insurance, which saved taxpayers money while adding in needed programs that were slated to be cut. As Co-chair of the new Curriculum Committee, I've done an in-depth review of the district's response to Covid-19 as it relates to learning loss, providing transparency and giving the Board more information as it makes its decisions. I've been a strong advocate for in-person learning, as it is by far the best mode for educational success. Finally, I've promoted the pathways programs, which reimagine how we use elective classes at the high school to give our students unique educational experiences, and and make them more competitive as they apply to college and pursue their careers.

Other issues:

I am a strong believer in the importance of financial literacy. I've partnered with other members of the Board in a bipartisan manner to investigate how we can expand our personal finance offerings at the high school so more students can be reached. I hope to continue these efforts if re-elected.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I am part of great team of Tolland Republicans. We are here to work for the people of this town. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 2nd.