I am Laurence Wang, and I have lived in West Lafayette for 10 years since my family moved here in 2012. My wife and I have two lovely children, both are currently in West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School., read more about me……

I believe school board should represent and serve our community, and conduct its business in a transparent and accountable manner. read more about my values and my views on some issues.

Top three things I believe our school can do better:

Accountability: The School board represents the voice and interests of our community. However, my observation is that almost all proposals or recommendations were quickly passed by the board without much discussion or Q&A. I have not seen any proposals rejected or even revised by the board during last one or two years. As representatives of the community, the board should do the due diligence and make careful decisions for the best interest of the students, parents and teachers.

Transparency: Clear and reliable financial reports are starting point of transparency. Some issues (e.g. lack of financial internal control system; off-book cash transactions etc.) identified by external auditor Michael Reuter’s report as well as the SBOA auditing report need to be addressed. For example, all school activities are funded by various types of funds, such as education funds, debt service funds, rainy day funds etc. Each fund has its own purpose, source and usage regulated by state codes as well as school policies. Without a well designed and implemented internal control system, school funds could be easily misused.

Support teachers: Our teachers and staff members deserve fair and respectful treatment. For example, the current salary our school pays for paraprofessionals is only $12/Hour. Paraprofessionals work long hours to provide additional service for over 200 special-need students, and their work is challenging and important. I do not think high turnover rate of paraprofessionals is good for those special need students. Our professional educators and staff in the school devote their time and passion on our children, and the school should treat them fairly and respectfully.

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