Greetings, my name is Darryl W. Perry and I’m a candidate for Keene School Board.
I’m an activist, author, poet & statesman; a regular contributor to The Bulverde Standard, The Canyon Lake Week, The Comal Beacon and The Sovereign. I host the weekly news podcasts Freedom Minute and Police Accountability Report, and Peace, Love, Liberty Radio on the Liberty Radio Network. I’m also the Owner/Managing Editor of Free Press Publications.
Member of: LAVA (Founder & Life Member), Deny Consent (Co-Founder), Zero Aggression Project (Associate Founder), Second Amendment Foundation (Life member), Libertarian Party (Life member), Downsize DC, Firearms Owners Against Crime, Free State Project
I support reducing the size, scope and power of government on levels, on all issues.
PUBLIC/GOVERNMENT SERVICE:
At-Large Rep to the National Committee of the Boston Tea Party 2008-2010
Chairman of the National Committee of the Boston Tea Party 2010-2012
Co-Chair NH Liberty Party
Board Member, Cheshire TV
I believe that education is best provided by the free market, achieving greater quality, accountability and efficiency with more diversity of choice. Recognizing that the education of children is a parental responsibility, I want to restore authority to parents to determine the education of their children, without interference from government. Individuals without kids in the school system should not be forced to pay for a system they aren’t utilizing.
Keene Sentinel Candidate Questionnaire
Full Name: Darryl W. Perry
Age: 35
Education: AAS in Mass Communications
Occupation: Owner/Managing Editor of Free Press Publications, Author, Radio Personality
Local group memberships and positions held: Cheshire TV board, 2012-present
Experience with public education issues: I attended both public & private school, though my education has never stopped.
Questions:
1. Why are you running for the Keene Board of Education?
I want to give voters the chance to vote for a candidate who will work to end the coercive monopoly that is government-run education.
2. What are the two biggest issues facing Keene schools and what should the board do about them?
Taxes and monopoly. The School Board consistently increases the school portion of the local property tax while increasing the budget. They do this because they have a coercive monopoly on educational institutions. True, there are alternatives – which are cheaper and offer a better education – but everyone in Keene is forced to pay for the Keene School District, whether they use the service or not.
Ultimately, I would like to see the power of taxation removed from the School Board and have the school be funded by user fees and voluntary contributions.
3. How can board members balance the educational needs of the district with the need to keep taxes down? (please be specific)
According to the 2013 Keene School District Annual Report, the costs associated with actual education of children is $33,628,806 per year, which is approximately $2 million less than the amount of money received by the NH State government. If the School Board would find alternative means of funding the “Support Programs”, then the Keene School Board could operate without a local school property tax.
4. School districts will likely be developing teacher evaluations, which could include termination for teachers rated ineffective. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?
In a private enterprise and even private schools, bad employees are terminated. I don’t understand why a system is in place in which public employees who are not performing up to par are not terminated.
5. Keene school officials have been studying ways to keep costs down at elementary schools, including a recent plan to close Jonathan Daniels School that ultimately was postponed. What do you think is the best way to make the elementary school system more cost-efficient?
The best way to make the elementary school system more cost-efficient is to privatize the school system. No one can deny that private schools perform better than government-run schools, but they do so at a fraction of the cost and without the force associated with government-run systems. That goes for the entire school system, not just the elementary schools.