Ben Mathis for St. Tammany Parish School Board

Last Thursday night I attended the public hearing for the proposed budget and ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds. One thing that really resonated with me was not related to the budget at all. Towards the end of the meeting a gentleman addressed the board and asked some questions but then he challenged them to do something that they don’t do - talk about their failures. The reason this resonates with me is because it is something I routinely do in my day job. I work on a lot of projects and at the end we always sit down as a project team and review what we did well and where we failed. We discuss why we failed, what we could have done differently, and most importantly – we document it so we do not make the same mistake again. I wholeheartedly agree that this would be a great exercise for the school board and if I am elected, I will help push them to institute this type of positive change.

My name is Ben Mathis and I humbly ask for your vote for St. Tammany Parish District 10 School Board Representative. I have been married to my wife Kandy for 25 years and we have two children, Kenley, 16 and Nate, 14. I have enjoyed being an active volunteer in the St. Tammany Parish school system since our eldest was a kindergartner at Woodlake Elementary. I am inherently aware of the challenges our children, educators and support staff face in this day and age. I am not an educator but I am a problem solver by trade and I promise if I am elected your District 10 school board representative I will work tirelessly with parents, teachers, administrators and staff to drive the positive change we need. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime. Together we can make a difference.