Jordan (Jay) Cohen is running for school director in Perkiomen Valley School District in Montgomery County. He is a registered Republican and currently retired. He previously served as the Vice President of Engineering Services for a worldwide company which designed and manufactured fire detection sensors and control panels. 

Why are you running for school board? 

During the school closures due to covid, I experienced struggles obtaining needed instruction for my child and witnessed educational failure from virtual instruction and lack of consistency by staff. Once the traditional class environment resumed, I attended a number of board meetings and workshops. It became obvious to me that there is a significant fracture in the current board which diverts emphasis away from the task of directing the administration. Poor focus, lack of leadership and an absolute ‘chip on the shoulder’ attitude is currently projected by a minority of board members. 

In addition, I have observed blatant disrespect for our country by a minority of board members in refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance. Being elected as a community leader should be seen as an opportunity; instead we have board members sadly acting as immature obstacles. Strong business minded professionals need to join the board for development and execution of strategic goals. I believe that regardless of ideology, each director has a responsibility to leave the narratives at home and work together as community leaders for common ground which benefits the majority of students and community. I believe that my skill set and career experience would provide an objective business approach necessary to manage the direction of the district.

What are the most important issues facing your district?

The most important issues are:

• Achieving all of our post-covid academic scores
• Improvement in learning support to average and below average students
• Continuity by the entire staff in our IT environment usage 
• Ensuring that technology used by students is in-line with ‘best-efforts’ to support all students
• Mitigate an alarming trend with vaping and THC usage
• Enhance course offerings to align with real-world skill requirements 
• Bring district spending in-line with the budget

What is your professional background/experience? What skills would you bring to the board?

My professional career has encompassed 43 years in Electronic Security and Fire Detection primarily in product design, engineering, application development, and management. My career experience brings skills in finance, engineering, strategic planning, research, IT, security, and regulatory compliance. 

Have you run for political office previously? Have you been politically active?

I have never run for political office. I am not politically active other than as a consistent voter. 

Are you running with other candidates?

I am part of a five candidate slate running for the five school director seats. Our team is Vote 5 for PV.

What is the most important role of the school board in your opinion?

To direct the administration in providing a quality education, social interaction and growth experience to prepare our children for their next step in life. 

We contacted the Democratic and Republican committees in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, and Montgomery counties and asked them to share the questions with their school director candidates. Broad + Liberty will post the responses throughout the summer to assist voters in learning about the candidates running in their district. The series is open to any school director on the ballot in November. Please contact barosica@broadandliberty.com for more information.Broad + Liberty is a nonprofit media endeavor dedicated to sharing voices and stories that are shut out of other media outlets. @BroadAndLiberty