Meet School Board Candidate Cedric Dettmar

Cedric Dettmar

Age: 52

Family: Wife: Kathleen; Daughter: Rebecca, 4th grade; Daughter Amanda, 1st grade; Mom: Ludy.

Political party affiliation: Cross-filed

Tell us about your educational background:

BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); MBA, UCLA

Tell us about your professional/business background:

I have almost 30 years management experience with high tech companies. I served as a Vice President at Oracle Corporation for many of those years and was responsible for a $25 million business unit. Currently I work for myself helping small businesses take advantage of new technology on the internet.
In addition to my professional background, I also have experience in community service in Saucon Valley. When my daughters entered the school system I began to get involved with community activities to support the schools. I started regularly attending school board meetings in 2010 and volunteering for organizations and activities to improve our schools. I became a trustee of the Saucon Valley Foundation for Educational Innovation and a parent participant in the District's 1-to-1 Computing Initiative. I was also given responsible for building the Environmental Education Center, a joint effort between the Foundation and the District to create a nature center and outdoor classroom. I recently was named by the Saucon Valley Education Association as the 2013 Friend of Education.
 
Why are you running for school board?

I have two daughters in elementary school so I have a personal stake in the quality of a Saucon Valley education. Property taxes here are higher than where I have lived before and are one of my largest annual expenses. These two factors motivated me to regularly attend school board meetings since 2010. After watching the school board operate for several years, I decided to put my education and experience to work for Saucon Valley's children and taxpayers.

What qualifies you to serve on the board?

I believe the most important qualifications for a board member are:

• Clear motivation to improve our schools: With my daughters in elementary school, I am clearly motivated to improve our schools for the long term.
• Being a tax payer:  I am a property owner and tax payer.
• Experience managing an organization of similar size: In my professional experience I managed a $25 million organization, similar in size to our District.
• Active in community service: My experience with District initiatives, the Saucon Valley Foundation and the Environmental Education Center demonstrates motivation and ability to devote time and energy to our community.

What do you see as the board's primary role and responsibilities?

The board's primary role is to efficiently manage the District, considering the interests of our children, taxpayers and the entire community.The board has many important responsibilities. Some of these are: - Select highly competent administrators and direct them in a way that inspires them to strive for excellence in our schools - Create a budget that protects tax payers and provides the administration with the resources it needs to succeed - Negotiate a fair and responsible contract with the teachers - Set policies in a way that promotes a school culture in keeping with community values

What's your position on outsourcing school bus drivers' jobs? In my career I have been both a buyer and seller of outsourced services. On the plus side, well run outsourcing companies can save money from more business focus and larger volumes, such as getting lower prices by buying many buses each year. On the minus side, administering the contract will require management resources in the District business office and we will lose control over some aspects of the bus system. Possible changes could be rotating drivers who don't know our kids and routes and less flexibility to use the buses during off hours. After receiving bids from the bus companies, the board will need to weigh all these variables and make a decision that is in the best interest of our school district.

SV teachers went on strike in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and they are currently working without a contract. Do you support the pay freeze teachers have been asked to accept, along with other district employees? What do you think must happen to avert another strike?

The teacher contract is by far the largest item in our district budget and the teachers are the most important contributor to educating our children. Especially with our recent history, it is tremendously important to reach an agreement that is viewed by both sides as fair. Since school directors are not typically experienced labor contract negotiators, the board should hire one with a reputation for fair outcomes without strikes. A pay freeze is less important than the total cost of the contract and impact on future contracts.

Tell us about any other major challenges facing the school district and how you would address them. (Please be as specific as possible):

Long term residents of Saucon Valley will remember the large mill increases in the middle of the last decade. Real estate taxes went up 30% in three years. Tax rates have been flat since 2009, but our state legislators have placed a new burden on all PA school districts. About twelve years ago, our Harrisburg legislators gave themselves and many other public employees, including our teachers, large pension increases. Since then, pension investments did poorly and our legislators did not to save for the new benefits for ten years. That ten year period ended last year and now we have to make up for lost time while our economy is struggling to recover. In a recent five-year financial projection, the District administration forecast a growing annual deficit that reaches $3 million, or 7%, in 2017. The challenge facing our school board is to deal with these difficult financial demands while striving to protect taxpayers and our children's education. I will vote to spend tax payer dollars only for items central to the mission of educating our children. 

Test score performance in our elementary and middle schools is well above average, but our performance in the high school has been losing ground for the last four years. Our scores have been consistent, but other schools in PA are moving ahead. Last year's results were better than only half of PA schools but in 2008 we were better than almost 80% of schools. Many factors affect test score performance, but being only average does not meet the Saucon Valley standard. We need to search for more understanding and solutions to change what happens between the last middle school test in 8th grade and the high school test in 11th grade. 

Our students face a work world more competitive than it has ever been. Outsourcing and automation mean our students must be capable of more than we were at graduation and be ready with skills that we learned on the job. Many of the latest techniques to teach new skills and improve learning can be implemented by changing how we do things and do not require substantial spending. Two examples are team-based learning and project-based learning. Team learning groups students so they can help and learn from each other, with the requirement that every team member learns the material for team success. Projects have students tackle a real-world problem by learning and applying multiple subject areas such as math, science and communication skills. They gain an understanding of how all the pieces fit together and an appreciation for the usefulness of the skills they are learning. These kinds of teaching approaches can help motivate our students and give them the broader skills they will need to compete in the 21st century. Our district has already made progress in this area and we need to build on that momentum. We have a good school system, and we have the ingredients for a great one. I will work with other board members, administrators and teachers to move our schools toward great.

How much are you spending to run? How is your campaign being funded?

 I am paying for my campaign with my own money and I have spent about $350, mostly for yard signs.

What, if any, endorsements have you received? None.

Do you use social media? If so, please provide links to your Facebook and Twitter.

Please visit my website for more information about me and the key issues facing the District: CedricDettmar.org.