Schools
Lakewood School Board Election 2011: Linda Beebe
As part of our election coverage, Lakewood Patch will provide profiles of each of the city's school board candidates.
Name: Linda Beebe
Age: 69
Occupation: Attorney – solo practitioner in estate planning and probate law
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Education: Kent State University and Cleveland Marshall College of Law
Political Affiliation: Democrat (board members serve the district on a nonpartisan basis)
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Office Sought: Lakewood Board of Education (she's an incumbent)
Previous Political Office Sought or Held: Lakewood Board of Education
Candidate Statement:
Public education is the single most important investment we make in a democracy. My commitment in the seven terms I have served on the Lakewood Board of Education has been to support the ability of the District to provide an excellent education to every child.
I bring breadth of experience to the Board. I taught English and history in middle and high school for 12 years – in Pennsylvania, in Scotland and in Lakewood. My children Aaron and Megan went to Lakewood schools; my husband Dr. Bruce Beebe taught for 30 years in Lakewood High School; I was in the PTA and led a Girl Scout troop. I have been an attorney for 29 years and have been active in community organizations like the League of Women Voters for nearly 40 years. I was Chamber of commerce Business Person of the Year in 1998. I was honored by the regional Ohio School Boards Association as a Distinguished School Board Member.
Lakewood and the state of Ohio invest over $70.5 million annually to educate Lakewood’s more than 5,000 children. Given that, it is extremely important to have capable, hard-working, responsible school board members; school board members who have the time and energy to study and learn about the issues facing the district - and possible solutions; school board members who can balance the expense of educating all the children against the realities of public finance. I have been such a school board member.
I work hard at being a good school board member. I have been board president five times and was chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee during Lakewood’s latest building projects. In short, I am honored to have been allowed to serve as a board member and If re-elected I will continue to work hard at doing the best I can for the children of this community.