Tim Higgins for Appoquinimink School District

As the only candidate with firsthand experience as a parent in our district., I have come to understand and witness the intricate blend of challenges and strengths that make up our school community. If elected, I will work with others to find common solutions that direct resources to help create a classroom environment more conducive to learning for all our students.

I believe we need to find a common solution to create a better atmosphere for learning for all our students. It seems disruption and distraction are becoming more prevalent in our classrooms. Combined with our teachers’ ever-broadening non-teaching responsibilities and the policy that has them more and more autonomous, I feel our students need to adhere to our already implemented code of conduct to create better structure and school unity. I also believe we need to direct more of the school’s resources to the classrooms and provide our teachers with the support and the tools they need to focus on the job they love, to teach our kids.

We are a growing community. On top of this, inflation has increased more over the past several years than it has in over four decades. These factors not only increase our community’s tax burden but also make it harder for all of our families to make ends meet. This includes our educators. More buildings and buses, higher utilities, and salaries all contribute to higher expenses. These are expenditures we cannot get away from. That is why it is imperative that we spend our community’s money wisely. As a school board, we need to agree on our priorities while fulfilling our financial obligations and plan for reasonable unexpected expenses. This reduces the need for referendums that strain our community

Strengthening Parental and Community Involvement: Another important goal is to get parents and the community more involved in the education process. This means having open and honest communication between schools and families, encouraging parents to be active in school events and decisions, and working together to support students’ learning. By recognizing parents as important partners, we can make sure that educational policies reflect community values and create a supportive and collaborative environment for students to grow and learn.

As a public school, it is our honor and duty to support our students who require additional needs. Attend any school board meeting, and you will hear the frustration from parents of children with special needs, which is also felt by their teachers, paraprofessionals, and school officials who are doing their best to meet these students’ accommodations. I would like to work together with our parents, IEP teams, and educators to have an honest dialogue about our obligations and commitments and where we fall short. Having a better understanding of the students’ needs along with our resources will let us find a solution that helps these students' learning experience in the Appo school district.