Letter: Herman has experience, ethics for OPI post

Dear Editor:

Elect Elaine Sollie Herman as superintendent of public instruction.

Elaine has the experience and ethics to focus on what's most important, a quality education. Past OPI directors have grown their departments exponentially, resulting in huge increases in administration and stagnate teacher compensation.

Elaine is committed to reducing her own office expenditures and routing that savings directly to our best and brightest teachers, which will produce the best and brightest students. Elaine will require accountability while focused on quality.

Montana is a rich state with vast natural resources. As a member of the Land Board, Elaine will forcefully promote development of those resources to benefit Montanans and especially our schools.

Elaine has the experience to get the job done. She was a teacher for many years, ran her own successful business, is a licensed financial adviser and most important she has the ethical integrity that we wish all of our political leaders would pursue.

Our past leadership in this office has given us a bloated administration. We are in the middle of our second lawsuit, per student spending has tripled and our teachers are still some of the lowest paid in the nation. Montana deserves better.

Peggy Miller

Laurel