This letter is submitted in the strongest possible support of Seth Klaskin, candidate for Madison Board of Education (BOE). Seth has been a tireless advocate for Madison’s youth during his lengthy tenure as a board member. He served for 12 years from 2007 to 2019 and was reappointed in 2021, at which point he was promptly elected to serve as chair. His devotion to our town needs to be acknowledged, applauded, and should be rewarded with another term.

Seth has been a stalwart promoter of the issues that matter most. He championed a districtwide focus on student and staff mental health during a national student and teacher mental health crisis. He oversaw the adoption of Social Emotional Learning in our School and District Development Plans. With his guidance, a new athletic director was hired, and Madison not only saw success in many sports but became known for sportsmanship.

Additionally, he oversaw a return focus on our standing within the state with substantially improved standardized testing scores and the return of MPS to the top tier of test results within our District Reference Group (DRG) without sacrificing Madison’s strong curriculum or “teaching to the test.” Seth’s influential advocacy resulted in the passage of the Schools Renewal Plan at a referendum in February 2021 and paved the way for our sustained success.

Finally, in an era of divisive politics, Seth has created a climate of professionalism and civility. Under his leadership, the BOE has been a model of open dialogue. The resulting consensus decisions have yielded moderate BOE budgets, continuing the Board’s commitment to unprecedented low budget increases with a six-year average below 2%! It would be a significant loss to our community if Seth were not reelected.

Katie Stein

Madison