By Wm. Shawn Weigel

Two Chadds Ford residents vie for the seat vacated by former school board Ed Wandersee, with one already serving on the school board in an interim capacity.

Frank Murphy and Gregg Lindner are hoping to take the reins in the Region C area of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. However, Lindner currently sits on the board having been elected as interim director in August.

Frank Murphy

Frank Murphy is a resident of Chadds Ford and has two children attending U-CF schools. He has an extensive background in law and engineering and has also worked as an instructor at Delaware County Community College. Murphy previously served as an official in Aston Township Delaware County for almost 10 years, and was chair of the Township's new construction committee for five years.

Why should people vote for you?

I have the personal values and professional skills that are needed to be a successful member of the Board.  I value education and Unionville Chadds Ford’s outstanding schools that my two children attend.  Just as important, I have already experienced many of the types of situations the Board will face.  As a practicing attorney with an engineering background I have been involved in a number of construction, financial, and municipal matters.   I have also taught in the classroom, evaluated curriculum and balanced budgets.  My experience as a part time instructor at Delaware County

Community College, coupled with service on both a DCCC and Temple University College of Engineering Advisory Board, has provided a level of experience that no other candidate possesses.  Having served as an elected municipal official for almost ten years, I embrace a Board member’s obligation to balance competing interests and build consensus.  I am effective, responsive and accountable.

What are some of the planks in your platform?

My first priority is to help the Board maintain and improve on the high quality education offered in the district. Second, I will work to assure fiscal responsibility by the District and accountability to the stakeholders namely, students, teachers, parents and community members.  I believe we need to measure every dollar spent against the benefit it provides the students. Third, I believe it is extremely important to diligently review the construction project to make sure it is completed on time, on budget with no defects. Fourth, I will be not only responsive but also proactive in communicating with parents, taxpayers, administrators, teachers and students.

Almost everyone I have spoken with about our schools believes the education they deliver is top notch.   But when it comes to taxes and spending they feel disconnected from the decision-making and the policies of the School Board. The challenge, then, is to build on the great work done in the schools by the Superintendent and the teachers, and to improve the relationship between the elected Board and the community at large.  As your elected representative I will work every day to communicate effectively, clearly, and accurately with parents, taxpayers, and all members of the school community. 

What are your immediate goals?

Immediately begin to explore every opportunity to bring multi-year stability to the District via successful negotiations on a fair and realistic teachers’ contract. Thoroughly analyze the School District’s finances in light of the Unionville High School renovation and other expenses as rapidly as possible so the Board and the District can evaluate the impact of each decision moving forward.  Ensure there is a systematic process to track the High School construction and review all necessary reports, inspections, schedules etc. to bring the project in on time and on budget. Augmenting the progress that has already begun, review and improve all methods of communication to be proactive in reaching out to the community instead of being reactive.

How has the climate in the district changed since the Primary?

Instead of healing, the District is still divided over the Unionville High School building project.  This has been compounded by poor communication over a budget omission, as well as the outrageous conduct of five Board members who silenced an elected board member, Dr. Price, from speaking at a public meeting.  The climate needs to be improved and I believe that I can bring a fresh perspective that helps generate positive energy at the Board table.

Thoughts on the UHS Expansion?

There is little disagreement that renovations of some magnitude were needed at the High School.  Now that the project is underway, it is imperative that the project be completed on time, on budget, and with no defects in workmanship.  The next School Board needs to be diligent in making sure the final result of the construction is something everyone can be proud of.  I believe my experience as an engineer and as an attorney who has handled many construction disputes will be very useful in reaching this goal.  This election cannot be about revisiting the battles of the past; it has to be about building the future for our children and all students of the District.

Greg Lindner

Gregg Lindner and his family have lived in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District for 10 years. He has three children, all of whom attend district schools. He has a Masters degree in quantitative analysis from the University of Maryland.   He has been in the media research business for 25 years and is an executive vice president of a major media research company.

Why should people vote for you?

As a 10-plus-year resident of this community I have enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in a variety of different ways, from community sports programs to various community outreach.  One of those, due to a passion and involvement I have in education was to be part of various school district committees, a frequent attendee and participant at board meetings and work sessions for years, and was appointed to the school board opening within this region in August 200.   My business background managing budgets and staffs the size of the school district for a good portion of my professional career gives my the perspective to handle large projects and various funding and personnel related discussions, along with negotiations, that are a substantial portion of what the school board director position must be able to competently handle.  I believe that people who have worked with me on issues know that I care and have respect for a wide range of opinions

What are some of the planks in your platform?

One, work with the board and administration to find common ground upon which we can build together for the benefit of the community and the students that we serve.  We need to do that as a basis for moving ahead on the specific issues that face our community.   We need it in order to find the right dialogue for the long term planning that should be a constant and open communication with the community as well as other issues that are at the forefront of what the district faces.

Two, provide support and encouragement to a program that was recently started to pursue outside grants and other alternative strategies for funding.   These types of opportunities are essential if we are to soften the burden on the community, yet allow the district to continue moving ahead on a variety of initiatives.  

Three, there are a number of district staff resources with impressive levels of technological expertise.   We need to effectively plan how we can turn that resource into more cost effective ways for the district to increase access and determine the appropriate manner to negotiate rates for companion on-line textbooks as a way to freshen the printed student texts in a more timely fashion.

Immediate Goals

There are a number of important short-term needs, which should get started shortly after the new board is in place. One, the new contracts with the teachers are at the top of the list.  It needs to be done with mutual respect. No negotiations through the press, all parties negotiating in good faith and the end goal of a fair long term contract.  There is no doubt it will require dedicated work by both sides and I would want to participate and be a part of that negotiating team.

Two, communication within the board and throughout the community. We are one community that needs to work together to solve issues. How do we make it better and develop real milestones to measure success?   We need to solve this because the issues should not be about an individual board member or specific community members, but rather about moving the educational issues and related matters in the community forward.

Has the climate in the district changed since the Primary?

First, school board races should not have primaries.   Primaries are for political parties and [the state] should join 47 states that do not have a political primary for school board races.   Senate Bill 1086 calls for that and should be approved by the legislature.  It means one school board election in November (no May primary); where all registered voters (Republicans, Democrats and Independents) select a school board candidate in a single November election. In Region A we are basically re-running an election in which Vic Dupuis and Karen Halstead already had more votes than their opponents, only this time people are sorted by political labels for school board.  That feels totally inappropriate. I was not part of the primary, but in the short time that I have been running to keep the school board position, the negative statements written about me by supporters of my opponent have been inaccurate and almost pathetic.  This type of behavior does say something seriously negative about a small portion of the community on a subject such as our schools, which are so vital to Unionville-Chadds Ford.

Thoughts on the high school expansion?

We will have a project that at the end of the day will be successfully completed.   My belief is that when some time and distance can be placed between where we are today and the completion of the project that most in the district will look back and see that the building growth was very much needed and completed at a reasonable price.