Jeff Leiser said he believes the proposed $70 million high school renovation project is needed. He has two kids attending Unionville High and, yet, he says he can be objective if elected to the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board.

The Birmingham Township resident – one of three candidates vying for the two seats for Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board from Region B – has one thing to say to those who doubt his ability to be objective: “ Let’s talk about it.”

He said he would ask those who question his objectivity if they had actually taken time to understand current conditions, to understand the current scope of the project.

“ I’d say, ‘Let’s talk about it.’ I’d like to have a respectful debate about it. I think that if we disagree, but do it politely, I think we’ll wind up at a better place in the end,” Leiser said.

Also running for the two seats are Holly Manzone of Pocopson Township, and Laura Shannon Maurer, of Newlin Township. The three candidates come from the three townships that make up Region B.

Leiser and his family moved into the school district from Wilmington in 2002 and he says having his kids getting their education in such a good district is important.

“ We feel absolutely, truly blessed that we are living here, that our kids are getting a great education,” Leiser said. “I’m watching what’s going on with respect to the improvement project. I’ve been going to a lot of school board meetings and workshops, and I’m thinking that I can make a difference here. And I think it’s time for me to give back because we’ve received these blessings being here.”

He added that he couldn’t think of a better way to give back to the community.

“I don’t view politics having anything to do with this. This is 100 percent wanting to give back to the community, and I have zero percent political aspirations.”

Leiser did cross-file to run in both the Democratic and Republican primary elections on May 19. He is a registered Republican, but said he rarely, if ever, votes a straight party ticket.

“And my feeling about the school board is, if you’re a Republican or a Democrat or a Libertarian, it’s irrelevant,” he said. “Does one party over another want great education for their kids and others don’t? Does one party over another want high property values supported by an excellent school system and another doesn’t? No. It’s pretty much universal.”

He said he became more in tune to what was going on within the school district during the last two years following the heated debates over the renovation project and the failed referendums.

He said he voted against the first referendum, but was looking for a reason to vote for the renovation. It was then he got to tour the school and saw problems in the science lab, that he changed his mind.

“It’s a safety issue,” he said.

The possible expense of $69 million or $70 million is worth it, he said, adding about $400 per year to his property taxes. According to Leiser, the construction costs alone would be $39 million. The rest would be associated costs, architect and site preparation fees, etc. He thinks the scope of the project is proper.

“The project is an investment in our future,” he said. “It’s a reasonable investment.”

One of the reasons he voted against the referendum the first time, he said, was that he felt he wasn’t getting the information he wanted or needed, as a voter and taxpayer, to vote for it.

And he said improving communication is one of the things he brings to the table that will help the district. Improving communication with customers is his job. Leiser is an account executive, managing large customer relationships for W. L. Gore and Associates.

“What I do for a living, primarily, is to try to understand customer needs and then try to identify what offerings my company has to help meet those needs. I see the high school improvement project as that very thing,” he said.

That the two referendums both failed was a sign that the board did not understand the needs of the community, the district’s customers, said Leiser.

“ I think I can help this board with community relations,” he said.

His other main qualification is that he does have two kids in the district.

“ I have skin in the game,” Leiser said.