Diana Blystone, left, and Liz Vazquez, right.
(The following is a letter from Republican candidates Diana Blystone and Liz Vazquez, who are running for seats on the North Penn School Board in the Nov. 7 election. The views expressed within are their own.)
North Penn Community,
Our names are Liz Vazquez and Diana Blystone, and we are running for North Penn School District Board of School Directors. We are running as North Penn Voices 4 All. We both have unique cultures and diverse stories to tell. With the beauty of conversation, our stories are what have brought us here. We both have nonspeaking children with autism and neurotypical children.
Our "why” for adding our names to the ballot is we believe we can bring out the greatest parts of North Penn School District while addressing the challenges through a diverse perspective.
Our country’s greatest asset is our children. We need to prepare children for an unforgiving world, the ability to withstand adversity, and grit to keep moving forward. It’s important that children master the curriculum, but life skills such as deadlines, expectations, and respect, are crucial for success after North Penn.
A child’s educational success is supported by parental advocacy, staff, and educators. It’s the people who keep our children safe, give them a sense of belonging and a fair opportunity who are responsible for a 21st century education.
Special education in North Penn School district is fully funded. Unfortunately, the taxpayer has been burdened with paying $29.6 million in four years to lawsuit settlements and high out-of-school placement costs. This is due to failure to meet student needs. This is a 70% increase from the four years prior. The community is left to pay the bill. Dedicated and irreplaceable teachers and staff are leaving due to burnout and lack of support. We are confident we can drive change with our personal experiences and fresh ideas. This will establish trust, transparency, and collaboration that will help bridge gaps. 21st century data guided therapeutic approaches to the current one size fits all philosophy, this is essential to reach all children.
Taxpayers, it is clear that our school district has future expenses that need to be addressed. Renovation of the high school and air conditioning in the middle schools are long overdue. It is essential that we prioritize the needs of the district while respecting the taxpayer's contribution. Our taxes went up 4.1% last tax year, we ended with a surplus of over $9 million. Our diverse community deserves consideration when deciding on the tax percent increase the following year. Earmarking some of the surplus to funnel to the following year will help reduce the high percent increases. Next year's increase can be as high as 5.1%. Renters, please remember a tax increase affects you as well. When the apartment building receives a property tax increase the landlord passes the increase on to their tenants. Our community members, especially our seniors, deserve to thrive here and have the opportunity to benefit from all our diverse community has to offer.
We are eager to build meaningful relationships with the whole community. We believe diversity of thought is essential in all aspects of society. This is not Democrat versus Republican to us. We have conservative principles, but this isn’t about getting a win for the Republican Party. This stance has brought its own set of ramifications. We value people over party and building relationships is essential in breaking down barriers. Our values earned us the most nonpartisan votes in the May primary! We value all children and believe the greatest equalizer for all regardless of race, religion, sex, financial status, and disability is education with meaningful opportunities.
Vote For North Penn Voices 4 All on Nov. 7. More information is available here.
Many thanks to the North Penn community,
Liz Vazquez and Diana Blystone
