Ober said she is running for office because "I want to continue with improving student achievement in the county."
People should vote for her because the board has had a good four years and she thinks the members, working together, could continue to achieve a great deal, she said.
"We started the books and we need to continue writing the chapters," she said. "I am a good listener. I am a consensus builder. I can work with a diverse group of people," she said.
Her favorite part of her job as a board member is visiting the schools and seeing the interaction between teachers and students, especially when students learn something new, she said.
"I am very proud and honored to be part of the school system. I am so proud that there are so many people who are dedicated to our students. It is easy to be part of the system because of the dedication and pride of employees," she said.
Ober originally ran for the board in 2000 because she wanted to make improvements to the school system, particularly giving more educational choices to students.
As in 2000, Ober is running on a slate with board member Bernadette M. Wagner. They have common goals and opinions, Ober said.
"We did not want to run against each other but we feel it is very economical to combine our resources and run as a slate," Ober said.
Ober and her family moved to Hagerstown from Laurel, Md. in 1995. She described herself as a "stay-at-home mom."
Before moving, she worked for the Children's Hospital Foundation in Washington D.C., where she did cost benefit analysis, fundraising and oversaw the foundation's finances.
Ober and her husband, Brooke, have three children, ages 9, 11 and 13, in the county's schools.
Roxanne Ober is involved in her children's Parent Teacher Associations, St. Ann's Catholic Church and Boy Scouts.
Coming Friday: Wayne Ridenour
If re-elected to the Washington County Board of Education, Roxanne Ober said she would:
· Work to get salaries raised for teachers who have worked for the school system for more than 15 years.
· Work to find funding for capital improvements in the school system, including looking at whether the transfer and excise tax rate can be increased to help pay those costs.
· Try to find ways to avoid putting teachers in portable classrooms or without a permanent classroom of their own.
· Help to ensure the school system is ready to meet state and federal mandates from the High School Assessment act and the No Child Left Behind Act.
