Chris Muns Running for School Board

By Chris Muns

Hampton resident

Today I am announcing that I am running for the at-large seat on the Winnacunnet School Board because there is nothing more important to the future of our towns, our state and our country than the education of our children.

I believe in public education and feel passionately that we must provide ALL of our children - regardless of their personal circumstances – with an equal opportunity to excel, including those children who - through no fault of their own – face additional challenges over and above what other high school students face. If elected, I will do whatever I can to ensure that the needs of all our students continue to be met. 

A quality education for all of our children is the key to ensuring that they will be ready for the challenges and opportunities - and the jobs - of the future.  It is also the key to having well informed citizens who are interested and engaged in our democratic process and committed to making our community even “better” for their and future generations.

I believe that the role of the Winnacunnet School Board should be to:

• Set the overall strategic vision for the school district
• Rally the member communities behind that vision,
• Hire administrators who are committed to that vision,
• Provide those administrators with the resources (a responsible budget, staffing and facilities) and support  they need to fully implement the district’s strategic vision,
• Ensure that ALL students within the district have an equal opportunity to excel
• Establish performance targets that are S.M.A.R.T. ; i.e. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely
• Hold everyone accountable to those performance targets

My wife is the former Melanie Tebbetts of Hampton Falls and a proud graduate of .  We have lived full time in Hampton for the past 14 years and both of our children – Jennifer and Ben – are also proud graduates of Winnacunnet High School.  

I grew up in Southeastern Michigan, earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and got my MBA at Dartmouth College.

My high school education pushed me in ways that I would not otherwise have been pushed and forced me to look at things much more objectively.  For example, an Advanced Placement (AP) class in European History inspired me to see the world from a new perspective and it is why I encouraged our daughter to take the AP courses that she took while at Winnacunnet. 

It’s imperative that we continue to provide our students with similar opportunities to challenge themselves.  My children followed different paths through the Hampton and Winnacunnet school systems - one was self-directed, while the other was identified as having special needs - but they are now both in college.

Having been a high school athlete and having taken part in other extracurricular activities, I understand and value the role that those activities play in the development of well rounded high school students. 

Not only does it strengthen the bonds between students and create memories that will last a lifetime, they help to strengthen the sense of community between the school and the rest of us.

One of the most important things that the members of the school board must do is seek and listen to the input of the administrators they have hired to implement the school district’s vision and manage the day-to-day operations of the high school.  

These ARE the educational experts. Presumably that is why they were hired by the school board in the first place.  

It’s also important that the members of the board seek out and listen to input from parents, teachers, staff, other members of the community and (not to be forgotten) students. Each of these are important stakeholders in the educational system and must have an opportunity to let their views be heard – and respected 

Over the course of my career, I have worked for a number of different companies in a variety of different industries and positions. The one common key to success that I have learned is that the best working relationships are those that are based on transparency and mutual respect. People do not always need to agree with each other, but they do not have to be disagreeable to each other when they do disagree.

The education of our children is too important to their future and to our collective well-being to allow personalities and personal disagreements to get in the way of working together for their – and our – future.  

I will not back down from doing everything possible that I can to advocate for our children’s well-being, but I look forward to working with the other members of the board in a collaborative and productive manner. 

I would appreciate your vote for the at-large seat on the Winnacunnet School Board on Tuesday March 13^th.   

Please forward this message to your family, neighbors and friends in North Hampton, Hampton, Seabrook and Hampton Falls – my name will be on ballot in all of those towns and I will need to collect as many votes as possible in each of those communities.

If you or they have any questions or would be interested in having me speak to any group that you or they are affiliated with please do not hesitate to contact me at 603-929-3629 or munsforwhs@chrismuns.net.  Please also visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MUNSfoWHS to see a video of my announcement and for regular updates.

Thank you!

Chris Muns

Candidate for At-Large Seat on Winnacunnet School Board

5 Nersesian Way

Hampton, NH 03842

Home: 603-929-3629

Cell: 603-493-5775