Children candidate’s No. 1 priority

Molly Shore

Ira Lippman, seeking a seat on the school board, said putting

children first should be the highest priority of the 15 candidates.

“I would like to see the success of our high school graduates

going on to four-year universities increase. We have to create

enthusiasm for them to go,” he said.

Lippman, the father of three children, said if he is elected, one

of his goals will be to reestablish a good relationship between the

board and the community, and to renew the trust citizens once placed

in the governing body.

Concerned about how money is being spent by the district, Lippman

said he would closely monitor how funds are disbursed, and anything

that is not essential to teaching children would hit the chopping

block.

Lippman, vice-president of Peggy Woods Pet Emporium, said his

business savvy will serve him well as a board member. He wants the

district to make smarter procure- ments by negotiating lower prices

for goods.

Because cuts to state funds will further shrink a dwindling

budget, Lippman wants to increase school-business partnerships, which

he said have waned in recent years.

“There’s no force behind the program, no outreach to the

community,” he said. “Principals must reach out, and they need to

make that a priority.”

As a member of school-site councils, Lippman said he thinks the

experience has given him a way to see how the educational process

works.