April Naftali: Vote for Schneller for School Board

I encourage you to vote for John Schneller for Bedford School Board on March 8th. John has the experience, understanding and community engagement our district needs.

Having served 3 years on the current board, John is the most experienced candidate. John has been at the forefront of navigating through the pandemic. In the face of much controversy and differing opinions, he has been aware of all the issues from all schools, age groups, and mindsets.

John, his wife and two sons have lived in Bedford since 2010. John served on Town Council for 3 years during which time he participated in delivering three flat budgets. He is fiscally conservative, and firmly believes in saying no when necessary. The primary responsibility of these boards is to deliver responsible budgets, to which he is committed. He voted against the administration and board on the union contract that may well bust the budget. That contract will lock in a 10% tax increase over the next 3 years and may cause cuts in educational services without tax increases for the indefinite future. We need his voice to keep our budget fiscally sound and responsible.

John also was the dissenting vote on the continuation of mask mandates after the end of January. He negotiated an end to the mandates, thus giving parents more choice as to what they want their children to do. He is a fighter for parental choice and rights.

John has been an active member of Bedford Men’s Club for over ten years. He has been an involved scout parent for a decade and his two sons are Eagle Scout candidates. He has coached Bedford Cannons youth lacrosse for four years and supported the sport in town for over a decade. He was a strong public voice against dangerous and unnecessary headgear for girls HS lacrosse and led the effort to overturn the mandate, which was implemented by the School Board against parents’, players’ and coaches wishes. It was the girls themselves that led the petition and the team captain spoke publicly at two SB meetings.

John has served on the Historical Society as Town Council liaison for a year, WBHN-LPFM radio for year, The Energy commission as SB liaison for two years and the Bedford Curriculum Committee for 3 years.

Another important reason to support John is that he expressed strong objection to the HS plan to unilaterally wipe out poor grades during the pandemic. Class failure rates in Dec. 2020 at BHS were up as much as 120%. Against John’s strong objections, the board supported a backroom decision to change the failing grades to a passing grade. You can see this in the School Board minutes from Dec. 2020. We owe our youth better than this.

John is a conservative voice on the board, and willing to give selflessly of his free time to talk, on the phone or in person, to any concerned member of our community. Give him a call sometime. You will find yourself heard and have an engaging conversation. While he brings a conservative voice to the board, he will listen to all residents and their concerns, and help navigate a common sense path to change. He can find ways to balance competing interests, and to seek compromise when called for.

If you are a conservative who wants a responsible budget and someone who will stand up for the best education in core subjects along with parental rights, John Schneller is your man. He is a leader who has the experience and knowledge to move our district in a forward direction.

April Naftali, Bedford NH 03110