The sitting president of the Tyrone Area School Board of Directors Lee Stover is seeking his third elected term as a school board member.
“I believe that this is a form of community service,” said Stover. “I believe and have seen a positive difference in the school district since I have been on the board. I am willing to continue if voters want me to do so.”
Stover believes that the No Child Left Behind program is the toughest issue facing the district today.
“It is going to be very tough to accommodate everything that is involved in the No Child Left Behind policies that are dictated by the federal government,” said Stover. “We are trying to do this and keep a functional educational system which is very tough. You are taking away assets that are working to better the education of the students to dedicate to No Child Left Behind. We are trying not to lose the quality of education while doing the best to satisfy the No Child Left Behind requirements. We and other school districts are working to make some sort of sense with this project. We are doing this while trying to be responsible to the taxpayers.”
The district has worked over the past 18 months to address the drug problem in the community.
“We have made positive advances,” said Stover. “Do we have the ultimate drug policy? No. This policy is aimed at alerting parents that students have a problem without legal implications. We still have problems. The main focus was to keep kids who are doing drugs out of athletics so they don’t injure themselves or others. This is a policy that will need to be constantly reviewed and revised.”
Recently the Tyrone School Board showed that the student population has been decreasing in recent years and is considering a middle school expansion project that could cost nearly $8 million.
“We brought in the middle school the best way we could,” said Stover. “It wasn’t perfect. Now we have the wherewithal to make a complete middle school. I feel that we owe it to the kids. This is a time in their lives where they need a tailored education system. If we have it in our capacity to do more, we should. I don’t believe the trends that say our population is shrinking. I am seeing too many new homes in the outlying areas to not see growth in the future and with the completion of I-99, that should continue.”
Stover is seeking his third term as an elected school board member.
“I would like to continue serving the community,” said Stover. “I try my best to look at issues objectively. I look at what will benefit all the students, not a special interest group. I believe that we are giving the students the best education possible and being financially responsible. We use our district funds to serve as many students as possible. I want to help keep improving the quality of education in our district and if the voters would like me to continue doing that, I would be happy to serve.”
Stover is on the Republican ballot in the November election.
