As a retired business executive with an engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, I know the importance of a strong academic education. I’ve hired hundreds of individuals during my career, and those with strong academic backgrounds always seem to succeed over their peers. Unfortunately, more and more of the positions I filled were being filled by foreign graduates as our education system was and is falling behind. We seem to have lost our way, and academic achievement is no longer the No. 1 concern. Grades have become irrelevant, and politics has taken priority over reading, writing and arithmetic.

It doesn’t have to be that way. I don’t care if you are a Democrat, Republican or independent, a good education for our children is an apolitical endeavor. I have met with Kim Langley, Pat Moser, Manuela Michaels and Danielle Surette, and they don’t see their mission as a political calling. All they care about is making sure our children get a great education and that the barriers are removed to retain our talented teaching staff and to make sure they can afford to live in Summit County.

The time has come to vote for change. Our children deserve it!