by Aaron Butts
Unlike other students who were unhappy with how their high schools were run, junior political science major, Brian Perry, actually wanted to do something about it. This year Perry is running for a seat on the Hilliard City Schools Board of Education
“I came out of the district three years ago so I personally have witnessed the effects of board policies, and honestly I saw a lot of things that were overlooked,” Perry said.
Hilliard is a district of over 15,000 students with a $230.7 million budget, a budget which Perry says is often misused.
“The big issue hitting all municipalities is funding,” Perry said. “I’m going to advocate for more state funding and give more say to the municipality. That being said, we need to ensure that those tax dollars are also being used as effectively as they can be. Right now there is wasteful spending. For instance, we can consolidate graduation ceremonies and save about $40,000 a year. Basic things like that.”
Perry stresses that the students’ experiences are paramount and that funding should be used to benefit them.
“We need to focus on the experiences of the students and finances are key,” Perry said. “One of my competitors compared it to having the fastest racecar and not having fuel, but I’d like to make a corollary to that and say that if you have a lot of funding and no school district, you’re just pouring fuel in the ground.”
Perry is taking a very strong stance on several topics that are pressing for not only the students of Hilliard, but also the faculty of its schools and taxpayers.
“I advocate for a new bullying policy that would allow students who were being bullied to transfer without repercussions,” Perry said. “Everyone thought I was kidding about this, but then last week a student at my high school tried to hang himself in the bathroom and the squad had to be called. So you can see I’m dead serious.”
This also isn’t Perry’s first time running. Back in 2011, Perry ran just as he had turned 18 and came in fourth out of five candidates competing for two positions on the Board, coming in only 300 votes under the third place candidate. The first thing notable about Perry is his age.
“The first election I ever voted in, I was on the ballot,” Perry said, but he resents anyone who sees his age as a reason for not voting for him. If anything, it makes him more aware of the real problems that students in the district face.
“Normally youth would be viewed as a disadvantage, but for me it’s my greatest advantage,” Perry said. “I have that current perspective that is sometimes overlooked.”
In the last election, he said that his age played a large factor; being fresh out of high school, not many people took him seriously, but Perry is committed and thinks that age has no significance on electing a school board official.
“They’re good ideas regardless of my age,” Perry said.
Perry wants to have a deep connection with the people in his community. To get on the ballot he had to go around and earn 150 signatures. Other candidates may elect to have other people gain signatures for them, but Perry went around personally and didn’t stop at 150. He went to 300 different voters in Hilliard and personally talked to them about what issues they are concerned about.
This year, more than in 2011, Perry feels better prepared for the election.
“It’s not so much about what I learned, but how I express what I learned,” Perry said. “I haven’t really changed my viewpoints, I’ve just gotten better at expressing my viewpoints.”
There are five positions on the school board that serve four-year terms. This year three of those spots will be up for grabs, so Perry has to campaign as the only non-incumbent candidate. This, he argues, gives him a unique position of being the only person to vote for if voters are not satisfied with the status quo.
“The whole system needs to be taken a look at from an outside perspective to really look at it in a new way,” Perry said.
abutts@capital.edu
