Tammy Neilson is running for Auburn School Committee Ward 4 on Nov. 3, 2015. Learn about more candidates and issues in our Election 2015 guide.

Name:

Tammy L. Neilson

Occupation or primary source of income:

Office coordinator at John F. Murphy Homes

Why are you running for office?

I’m running for this position because I feel I can make a positive contribution to the School Committee.

If elected, my foremost concern would be supporting our teachers and students, becoming an advocate for their needs. As the parent of a student in the public school system, I have a direct connection with our schools and have a strong desire to see that our educators are provided with the tools they need in order to guide our children to reach their full potential.

What do you like about the school budget passed this year, and what don’t you like? Was it too high, too low, just right?

I think it’s great that we were able to get the budget passed this time, however I believe it leaves something to be desired. This budget wasn’t even sufficient to maintain the services and programs already in place let alone allow any room for improvement or expansion.

I think it sends a pretty disappointing message about how much priority is placed on our schools. This has to change if we hope to encourage our city to prosper.

Great schools are the foundation of a prosperous community.

If elected, would you support a budget that boosts program spending, maintains it or cuts it?

Cutting the budget further is counter-intuitive as the cost of educating our children certainly isn’t decreasing. You wouldn’t expect to run a business successfully with a less than adequate budget. Why does this continue to be an acceptable scenario for educating our children?

I don’t look forward to that tax bill arriving any more than any other citizen in this city but I can tell you I would much rather see that number get larger than to see our schools cut vital positions and programs.

Our children are the future of our communities, of our city and this state. We do them and ourselves a grave disservice by not making their education a priority.

Who should pay for Officer Friendly program, which puts Auburn police in the schools, the city or the School Department?

I don’t think we can realistically expect to ask the school department to incur the cost of the Officer Friendly program when they aren’t given sufficient funding to maintain positions and programs they already have in place. I believe the city should either fund it or provide a significant portion of the funding for the program.