Middlebury resident and parent Lois A. Yager today announced her candidacy to fill the open Region 15 Board of Education position representing Middlebury that resulted from Francis Brennan’s resignation. A special town meeting will be held Monday, Feb. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Shepardson Community Center Auditorium at 1172 Whittemore Road in Middlebury to elect a local resident to serve the remainder of Brennan’s term, which runs through November 2015.
Yager, whose daughter, Taylor, is a seventh-grader at Memorial Middle School, believes a quality educational system is the cornerstone of a strong community. She said the current composition of the Region 15 Board of Education does not offer equitable representation in Middlebury for parents of school-aged children.
“Ideally, the representatives from the Board of Education should reflect the diverse demographics of our town, from parents of young children to senior citizens and everyone in between, across all economic levels,” Yager said. “I feel very strongly that it is crucial for Middlebury to have a parent of a currently enrolled Region 15 student on the Board of Education.”
Yager has been an active member of the Region 15 community, currently serves as Memorial Middle School PTO president following a term as recording secretary, and was Long Meadow Elementary School PTO hospitality chair from 2008 to 2012.
“I urge my neighbors in Middlebury who share my concerns about the future of our schools, those who feel their voices and the voices of their children are not being fairly represented, to attend the special meeting on February 2 in support of my candidacy and to cast their vote,” she said.
Yager believes it is the responsibility of any Board of Education member to ensure that the children in the region receive the best education possible while maintaining fiscal prudence for all residents. As a single working mother and homeowner, she understands the need to live within her own financial means while at the same time ensuring the needs of her family are met. If elected, she intends to bring the same sense of fiscal responsibility and balance to the Region 15 Board of Education.
Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., and a product of the New York City Public School System, Yager moved to Connecticut in 1996 and settled in Middlebury in 2002. A graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, she works as business change director at Anthem (Blue Cross/Blue Shield).
