On Election Day, Mars Area School District voters will cast their votes to fill five seats on the school board.

On primary election day in May, I noticed the “Mars Community Change” candidates and supporters wearing blue logo T-shirts. The supporters were insistent about the need for dramatic “change,” so I asked for an explanation. They couldn’t answer basic questions about how the vision for the district would change, how finances would be managed, or policies that would ensure success for all children.

I soon learned that the T-shirt donning designates were school staffers who live outside district boundaries. I was unconvinced by their rhetoric and their motives for their presence at the polling place.

I recently learned that the union contracts with the district are expiring, and now I believe that the stumpers’ motivation were related to promises about upcoming negotiations. It seems to me, as I learn more about the Mars Community Change slate and their outside affiliations, that their kind of “change” is unnecessarily radical and will advance a tax-and-spend philosophy.

An element of dubious influence has crept into our amazing school district, which up to this point has functioned wonderfully and is rated very well. It is the reason many have moved here.

I recently toured the Mars High School as part of my 50-year class reunion festivities. I was so impressed with what I saw and learned about my alma mater, which is consistent with today’s high student achievement results.

Please vote for the conservative board candidates — John Kennedy, Sally Wick, Kevin Hagen, and Anthony DePretis — who appreciate the Mars Schools and will serve in support of educational excellence and traditional values while respecting the taxpayers.

Judy Molinaro Kurtzrock, Valencia