School Board Candidate: Jamie A. Stevenson

Jamie A. Stevenson has five children in the Chartiers Valley School District and he’s concerned that the students and taxpayers are not getting the most from their education system.

“From that perspective, I just felt like I have an obligation to serve and try to improve the academics of the school,” Stevenson said.

As a candidate running for school board, Stevenson hopes to use his business and engineering background to improve education in a fiscally responsible manner. He is cross-filed to run on both the Democratic and Republican ballots in the May 17 primary election.

Stevenson, 39, of Collier, grew up in the district, earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Dayton and now works as a project manager for his family’s construction business.

Stevenson thinks that Chartiers Valley is in better financial shape than many other school districts. Still, he is concerned that it’s falling far behind surrounding school districts such as South Fayette and Upper St. Clair

“I don’t think we’re getting our return on investment,” he said.

However, he applauded the work done by district Superintendent Brian White Jr., who was hired by the board last year.

“He’s young, energetic and has a strategic plan,” Stevenson said. “He’s really on the ball. It’s exciting to see someone with that much enthusiasm.”

An idea to outfit each high school student with a laptop computer is a step in the right direction, Stevenson, and might actually save taxpayers money. Stevenson also said he wants to make sure the curriculum is setup so students are gaining knowledge rather than learning only how to take standardized tests.

Ultimately, Stevenson said his interest is for his children and other students in the district to receive the best education possible.

“Hopefully I’m on par with a lot of families in the district to make sure we can give them the most quality education,” Stevenson said.

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