Winnacunnet School Board candidate Frank Bajowski
Name: Frank Bajowski
Education: B.S., marine transportation
Occupation: Retired
Political or civic experience highlights: I'm a political novice. I just want to give back to the community and school that did well for me in hope our children can do as well or better than me.
What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?: 1. Preparing students to be independently successful at jobs they are best suited for.
2. Challenge students to strive to be the best.
3. Improve English and math scores.
How should the school district handle requests to remove books from the library or curriculum?: Parents should be involved. With rare exceptions, students are legally considered to be minors. Parents have the primary responsibility for their minor children. Controversial topics should be addressed at home. Let educators teach fundamental topics to minors. For example, schools are careful about serving foods that contain peanuts or peanut oil for fear that a child may be physically harmed by eating it. We should be similarly cautious with the malleable minds of our children. They will have ample opportunity to study intriguing topics once they become adults.
Do you support the expansion of education freedom accounts in New Hampshire?: To a degree I do. My background is in federal procurement. Competition breeds efficiency and a desire to improve. Colleges and universities compete against each other for students. Why can't schools? There was a time when there was only one telephone company that would rent landlines to homes and offices. Thanks to competition, we now have cell phones, smart TVs, the internet, and many other advancements. I can't think of many instances when a single source provided the best of anything. I was personally involved in a couple of competitions between government employees and contractors who offered to perform better services for far less money. In the end, government employees won the competitions; however, we found they had the freedom to streamline processes and used new technologies to actually accomplish work for less cost to the taxpayer while simultaneously providing much higher quality than before. Strange things (most often good) happen when the customer is the focus. In this case, the customer is the parent.
What else should voters know about your views on local schools and public education?: I want Winnacunnet High School graduates to be the best in New Hampshire, New England, and even the U.S. We're nowhere near the best right now. Just look at the results of standard scores. Something has to change. Maybe we should look back at what worked in the past rather than risking new and untried methods. Teachers want to teach. Let them teach instead of having to satisfy the constraints of federal agencies.
Practically all of my primary education took place in Hampton, N.H. I attended Marston Elementary, Hampton Academy, and Winnacunnet High School. I had great educators, so great in fact that I was able to attend and graduate from one of the five federal service academies. WHS prepared me so well that I was able to test out of a few college-level classes. I'd not be the person I am today were it not for my parents, teachers and coaches, all of whom were in Hampton. Most of my high school classmates are equally accomplished in their chosen professions.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Winnacunnet School Board candidate Frank Bajowski
