Meet School Board Candidate William Hayes

William Hayes

Age: 57

Family: married, wife Phyllis, 3 grown children all graduates of SLSD

Political Party Affiliation: Republican (cross filed)

Tell us about your educational background: B.S. Secondary Education from Kutztown University.  I have an M.Ed. in Behavior Disorders from Lehigh University along with Principal and Supervisor of Special Education Certifications also from Lehigh University.

 Tell us about your professional/business background: I have proudly served in public education for 30 years; 7 years in the classroom, 21 years as Principal and the last 2 years as a Special Education Director.  In addition, I am an Adjunct Professor with Cabrini College teaching in their Graduate and Professional Studies Department.

Why are you running for school board?

I have served on the SLSD Board for over 10 years and find the work to be both challenging and satisfying.  I believe that, whenever possible, individuals have a responsibility to give back to the community in the form of community service so when an unexpected vacancy occurred, I interviewed and was appointed to fill the balance of that term. Over the last two terms to which I have been re-elected

I have come to realize the importance of the role of the Board in providing leadership and direction to the school administration in their efforts to maintain SLSD as one of the premier school districts in the state.  I believe the board, currently, is made up of individuals who may have differences of opinions relative to philosophy but are like minded when it comes to how best to serve the students and residents and I would like to continue to be a member of the team.

What qualifies you to serve on the board?

In addition to my work on the SLSD board, I served as a member of the LCTI Joint Operating Committee and on the Southern Lehigh Community Pool Board for many years.  As both an experienced school administrator and veteran board member, I fully understand the complexities of providing our young people with the best education possible while being sensitive and responsible to the needs of the taxpayers. We have lived in the community for 20 years, raised our kids here so I understand the issues surrounding how best to a quality program in a fiscally responsible fashion.

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

In my opinion, the Board has 3 major yet equal responsibilities.  We have a responsibility to the taxpayers to be good stewards of the budget and I believe we have been.  Under our direction, administration has done a very good job in examining ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality.  The second responsibility is to ensure that each child in the school system is provided an opportunity to access quality curriculum and instruction. As partners with administration, we have worked hard toward that goal.  The third responsibility is directly related to the roles of individual members of Boards in general.  Members who are myopic, single issue/platform or unwilling to compromise tend not to exhibit the objectivity necessary to serve all constituents.

Tell us about 3 major challenges facing the school district and how you would address them. (Please be as specific as possible):

The first challenge is to continue to be fiscally responsible.  This board, along with administration not only has to consider conditions that currently affect funding, but do as accurate a job as possible looking to the future (3-5 years)relative to revenue, expenses, economic outlook, etc.
The second challenge is to work closely with our representatives in Harrisburg on addressing many of the issues and mandates that negatively affect both funding and instruction. It often times feels like we are "swimming up stream" but it is our responsibility to continue to lobby for more reasonable rules. We want to work closely with our rep in Harrisburg and recently, we have met to discuss a variety of concerns and welcome additional meetings.  The third challenge is to stay ahead of the curve relative to the rapidly changing nature of education.  I have supported and will continue to support administrations recommendations relative to technology, foreign language programs, professional development for teachers, a revamped teacher evaluation system, a fair contract and hiring the best candidates out there to teach our children.

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

I spent no money on a campaign and am not endorsed by any organization or group.

What, if any, endorsements have you received?

Hopefully, I'll be endorsed by those who think I should be re elected.

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

No response.