Meet the Candidates: Elaine Rovner

Occupation: Homemaker, mother of three Council Rock students, and volunteer

Length of time living in Northampton Township: I have lived in Northampton Township for the past 13 years with my husband and three sons.   

What organizations and activities are you involved with locally?

I am an elected member of The Hills of Northampton Homeowners Association.  I am also a leader in the PTO and as a family we are actively involved in CRUSA, Holland Little League and Northampton Township youth hockey.

Why do you want to serve on the Council Rock School Board?

It is important that the members of our school board are fully vested in seeing that our children get a quality education that will prepare them to grow as individuals and to succeed in their future endeavors.  I have three sons in the district; one at Council Rock South High School, one at Holland Middle School, and one at Holland Elementary School. Our school board needs to be able to work outside of politics to do this in a common sense fiscally responsible manner.

The most recent budget that was passed had a zero percent tax increase. However, that didn't come without significant cuts to staffing and programs. Do you agree with all the cuts made to the 2011-2012 budget? If not, why and which ones do you oppose? 

I do not agree with the cuts that were made to the programs which have societal and developmental impacts on our students. Some of these cut programs were the Reading Recovery Program, ninth grade sports, and various cuts of necessary staff members.

What is your view on the elimination of the ninth grade sports program and what do you think should be done to keep freshmen engaged athletically? 

As a parent of a ninth grader, I see first hand the effects the elimination of ninth grade sports has had on our children in the district.   There are fewer opportunities for all students to be involved with the athletic programs or to safely develop their abilities before being thrown into situations with upperclassmen.  Better options could have been explored to keep the programs in tact, such as a pay-to-play model or using local fundraisers and corporate sponsorship to finance the return of the cut programs in a public/private partnership.

Council Rock has consistently received top marks for the quality of education it provides to its students. But there is always room for improvement. What is one thing you think would improve education in the district and how would you go about implementing it? 

As a parent of three Council Rock children, I know first hand that the biggest improvement that Council Rock can make is to reduce class sizes and decrease the student teacher ratio.   When the School Board cut staff in this year’s budget  it was a big set back and the Board must get back on track with appropriate ratios.