Bill Graham for School Board District 3

Bill Graham

One of Lake Worth's High School graduates is running again for Palm Beach County School Board District 3. Soft spoken and a true gentleman, Bill Graham, has been a member of the School Board since 1986. He doesn't have to do this job but he is committed. In fact, he could retire in year 2012 taking a lump sum of $260,795 but he says he will defer retirement--making our school system better is his priority.

The PB Post, after all Graham's years of service, endorsed someone else in the Primary for no specific reason other than the Post, through some feeling of clairvoyance I suppose, thought his opponent would be more "aggressive." The Post's lack of endorsement is another good reason to vote for Bill Graham. Also the fact that Lake Worth Mayor Rene Varela has endorsed his opponent (Isn't he spending a lot of time endorsing candidates?) is a good enough reason for me to vote for Graham. Brill and Graham are both Democrats. What does the Mayor do... go eeny, meeny, miny moe?

Karen Brill, who is against Charter schools, has stated that she didn't really want to run against Bill Graham, that she had hoped that he would step down. Gee, Karen, that is very democratic of you. I am starting to believe that this is standard operational procedure for some Democrats ...asking opponents to step down. Isn't that what some of them did to Kendrick Meek?

I agree with Mr. Graham on his stand regarding step raises. On September 20, the Palm Beach County Teacher's agreed to a $500.00 bonus with 88% of teachers agreeing to the Contract. The School Board had approved a $2.5 billion budget that avoided layoffs and major program cuts. This was good fiscal responsibility and proved that Mr. Graham was not buckling under to the Unions to "break the bank."

While his opponent, Brill, favors step raises whether a teacher can teach or not ( automatic pay increases for teachers based on years of experience), Graham opposes them and favors working with teachers to come up with a new salary schedule that will offer ways teachers can earn raises. He has an opened mind to new ideas in spite of the current school system and some of its problems it is working through.

• Personal: 60, of Lake Clarke Shores; married, two children.

• Education: Associate of arts degree, Palm Beach State College; bachelor of arts degree in political science, University of Florida.

• Professional: Associate professor of business administration, Palm Beach State College.

• Political: School board member since 1986.

• Issues: Opposes step raises, which are automatic pay increases for teachers whether they are good teachers or not; favors a new salary schedule by working with teachers to help develop a "menu" of ways teachers can earn raises.