Cummings is the choice in District 30

For many years, District 30 had little turnover on the Board of Education and within the administration. That began to change a few years ago, and at 5 1/2 years, Kenneth Cummings is the most senior board member in the district. The next closest board member has less than four years.

Cummings is being challenged by Margo McKenzie for the lone seat up for election on the District 30 Board of Education this year, which carries a five-year term. For his experience alone, we support Cummings’s re-election. He has two years as District 30’s board president under his belt, sandwiched in between two years as the Central High School District’s board president, including this year, in which he is leading a very difficult superintendent search.

His four children attended Shaw Avenue School, and two of them are still in high school, so we believe he should continue serving on both levels. Three of District 30’s board members must serve on the high school board, and in this case we feel we just can’t think about what will be best at the elementary school level.

Cummings brings an even temperament to the board, as well as a desire to do what is right for the children of both school districts.

McKenzie, who has a son at Shaw Avenue School, certainly brings the knowledge of what children need at the elementary school, and we have no doubt that she would be a strong advocate for parents. Her involvement in the PTA, including the past two years as president, is just the type of experience a potential board member should have.

But residents of District 30 have been well served by Cummings. His experience and position as the board’s most senior member is crucial at a time when the district has dealt with a lot of turnover at the top and needs some stability.