I received a phone call from my good friend, Carol Bjornsen, to announce her candidacy for the Monroe Township Board of Education. I have to say I was thrilled and elated.

When I shared the news with my husband, Carl, he said, "It's about time someone with integrity and good values, who knows about the high school and its problems runs for office. Hopefully she will be elected just because she knows how to work as a team member for the good of the kids."

We have personally known Carol and her family for more than 11 years. In all that time she's never disappointed us by changing her deep-rooted values of integrity and honesty. We think there are several reasons and qualifications that would make her an excellent school board member.

Carol has previous experience working with the board. Her integrity has never been called into question. Her honesty sometimes is uncomfortable to those who don't want to hear it, but no one can say she's wishy-washy. She doesn't see different rules for different people.

One strong asset she has is her approachability. She's easy to talk to, and she really listens. She takes constructive criticism and makes it an asset.

We applaud her public decorum as well in these times of infighting and resentment that are most apparent at board meetings lately. Carol has always shown her respect for others and their opinions, both in public and in private. She is very aware of how to act in public.

Often she would have to make decisions that affect others, and we know that her ethics guided her. She always made it a point that the perception of conflict of interest was just the same as the reality of conflict of interest. This is something a lot of people just don't understand.

We think her reputation speaks for itself. Carol and her husband have lived here for 22 years and put two children through the school system. When change was needed, she rolled up her sleeves and joined in the fray. She served as a member of the board before, and now is the time to ask her to serve again. She knows the schools, the other board members, and most importantly, the issues we are all concerned about.

As community members, taxpayers and parents with children in the school system, my husband and I think Carol is the perfect representative for our school board. We strongly urge you to please take this opportunity to go out to vote and give our children better leadership.

Su Reiser

Monroe