Meet Your Candidates: Tyler Tomlinson

Name: Tyler Tomlinson
Age: 41

Occupation: Shareholder at Stark & Stark, P.C.

Length of time living in your municipality: Lifelong resident - born and raised.

What organizations and activities are you involved with locally?

YMCA Coach for soccer and baseball, Kutz Homeroom Mom, CB Cares, Elected Doylestown Township Auditor

Why do you want to serve on the Central Bucks School Board?
As a graduate from Central Bucks, I have benefitted from the excellent education that I received. I want CB students, as well as my own children, to have this same opportunity. This can be done while maintaining sound fiscal policies.

Like schools around Pennsylvania, Central Bucks faces hard financial times. To cope with this year's budget gap, the board raised taxes, cut programs like middle school German, pulled from the reserve fund, outsourced some bus drivers, and laid off teachers and support staff. Do you agree with those moves?

During these hard economic times, school districts, like many families and local business owners, have had to make hard choices. Because of this basic fact, I agree with most of these decisions.

In better economic times, some of these decisions might be reviewed. I want to be part of those discussions as we move forward to help make decisions that will allow our district to maintain a high standard for our students.

What role should athletics and extracurricular activities play in Central Bucks in the years to come?

The most important responsibility of schools is to provide an excellent academic education. I know from my own experience as a student in Central Bucks that athletics and extracurricular activities make education a richer experience for students. I believe that the experiences students have outside the classroom help provide a broad-based education.

In your view, are sports, plays and music programs worth the investment of taxpayers' dollars?

Yes. An outstanding, well-rounded education stays with a student for life and enriches the community. Many sports and programs do raise money by selling tickets, having Booster Clubs for parents and alumni to support, and student activities such as car washes. These efforts should continue to provide support for these activities.

Central Bucks students consistently score well on state tests and routinely go to top colleges. Still, there is always room for improvement. What one thing do you think would improve education in the district and how would you implement it?

Central Bucks should always be reviewing new educational research and be open to innovation. To make sure that we continue to excel, we should investigate ways to promote higher level thinking skills and achieve high academic standards. Over the next few years, new curriculum standards are being implemented across the state, and I would support the work of teachers and administrators in making these changes in a thoughtful manner.

What other issues would you like to see come to the forefront if you are elected to the board?

We need to find an accomplished, talented, and resourceful replacement for Dr. Laws.