Why are you running for this office?

I am running to maintain the quality of education in our community. Tolland has an excellent reputation when it comes to our schools. This is a priority to most residents and must be considered when making decisions for this town. Electing hardworking and smart town officials has never been more important than this year.

What is the most pressing local issue facing your community and how would you solve it (within the capacity of the office for which you are running)?

Securing adequate funding for the school system in the town of Tolland is of utmost concern. Communicating with both state officials and town residents will be crucial as we go forward.

With the state's ongoing budget crisis looming over the election, what are your plans for your community's budget? Is there anything you can do make your town less dependent on revenue from the state?

Our school system has had to think outside the box for several years now. The current budget crisis in this state will have lasting effects on this community. We will continue to advocate for a quality and equitable education and use whatever means available to keep this vibrant town moving in the right direction. I plan on tapping into other communities faced with the same funding issues so that we can continue to do more with less. Increased funding is a thing of the past and in order to move forward we need to pool resources and be that community that others in the area strive to emulate. Smart solutions are out there; we just need to find them and implement them.

The legislature has been debating various ideas to allow towns to raise revenue locally through something other than property taxes. If you could ease your residents' property tax burden by adding another method of taxation, is there anything you might consider for your town?

At this point, nothing should be off the table. All options must be looked at to reduce the tax burden on the town residents, without further decimating the school system. We need to bring smart commercial business into town that will not overwhelm the roads and burden our local state police. These businesses must be sought, vetted and secured to bring down residential taxes. Tapping into the needs of UCONN should continue to be a focus. There are many opportunities, we just need to find them and see them to fruition.

Are you in favor of regionalizing more services in conjunction with other nearby communities? If so, which ones?

I am not opposed to regionalization, but would strive very hard to be the community that keeps their students in town. If shared services are the only way to maintain the quality of our education system, we need to figure out which services would provide the least diruption, yet provide the biggest bang for our buck.

Should your school district get the same amount of education funding from the state if your district's enrollment is dropping?

Our enrollment is in flux. We’ve seen some decline, but we’ve also seen many students returning from magnate and CREC schools this past year. Some reduction in funding is expected, due to enrollment decline, however, several budget plans have shown a huge decrease in state funding which has got me very concerned. Tolland can not withstand a reduction to the tune of several million dollars in just one year. We need to plan for this to avoid getting thrown into chaos. If reductions are inevitable, we need them to trickle in versus getting slammed all in one year. We have a great education system in town. It’s one of the main reasons people move to Tolland. We have much work to do to keep this town a community people want to stay in and continue to love.

What's one thing most people don't know about you?

I have served this community for many years behind the scenes. I was on the executive board of the Friends of Tolland Schools and therefore have had my fingers on the pulse of the Tolland School system for years. Because of my volunteer involvement in town, my learning curve will be much less than others who do not have that perspective.