League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 8, 2005 Election
	Robert P. "Bob" Maine Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Princeton City School District

Questions & Answers

1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)

First and foremost, I am an involved parent with 4 children in the district so I have a vested interest in the success of the district and am a strong advocate of public schools. My children range from Kindergarten to 7th grade, and from honors classes to special needs. Additionally, I have a strong financial background and a great deal of experience managing organizations and large budgets.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

Better communication between schools and home to increase parental involvement. Communication must be more efficient. As it stands now, it is hard for a parent to separate out the important things from the "clutter".

Increased scrutiny of major expenditures/budget items to insure they are adding value to the education of our children. More benchmarking and use of best practices from similar districts. Continue/expand our work with State Legislature to minimize impact of State Tax Law Changes.

Continue great work on State Test scores with minor adjustments to improve key subject areas or student groups. Insure Princeton remains committed to serving the needs of ALL students, including those with disabilities.

3. What will you do as a Board of Education member to increase parental involvement in your school system? (100 word limit)

Focus on communication.....not the quantity, but the quality. Insure teachers are more accessible to parents via technological improvements (i.e. email at the teacher's desk). Streamline school communications to separate out the important from the "nice to know". Implement systems at schools to make information systems more efficient. The more time parents can spend communicating with teachers vs filling out forms, the more involvement we will get.