Truth, Accusations, and Innuendo

I realize that politics are ugly.  But I have said from Day One that I am not a politician, I am a parent. I thought that the nastiness of politics was reserved for higher-level races.  Apparently, none of us are immune.  One of the principles I try to live by is integrity-I want to make my actions consistent with what I know to be true and right.  I fully realize that what I am about to write may cost me the election, but I feel compelled to set the record straight and stand up for what I believe to be right.
Issue #1:  There was a post on social media that stated that I was a member of an extreme right-wing organization.  I belong to PTA, Girl Scouts of Utah, and the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) group.  I am a registered Republican and also volunteer as a merit badge counselor with Boy Scouts of Utah.  I do not believe that any of those organizations can be called extreme while some could be labeled right-wing.  I have to assume that the issue is that I have "liked" Utahns Against Common Core on Facebook and participated in discussions.  I have spoken to the fact that I do not like Common Core, but I also have "liked" various PTA pages as well and PTA is an ardent supporter of Common Core.  I try to participate in the discussions on both sides of the issue.  I reached my own conclusions about Common Core after much research, discussion, and thought.
Issue #2:  On October 24th, the sitting vice-president of the Alpine School Board, JoDee Sundberg, sent out on e-mail from her private e-mail address to several principals in her area where she is running for re-election.  In that e-mail which is sent to their Alpine School District e-mail accounts, she asks for assistance from teachers in campaigning for her door-to-door as well as financial donations to support her campaign.  You can read the e-mail here.  http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/asd-board-member-in-panic-mode-uses-shocking-tactics/
In the e-mail, JoDee claims that the Eagle Forum and Utah County Republican Party leadership are assisting her opponent in his race for a school board seat.  She asks for a donation from AEA (the teacher's union for Alpine) and says her opponent is an ideologist who will dismantle the district "with their extremism and change the course of all the good we do."  I do not know JoDee's opponent.  I do not know his views.  But to resort to name-calling and making baseless accusations without factual information is negative campaigning at its worst.  If JoDee sent the e-mail from her home (which I am guessing she did since it was sent at 7:11 a.m.), she has used public funds (your tax dollars) in promoting herself politically since she takes a monthly stipend for internet that is provided to ASD board members.  This is against ASD policy (http://policy.alpinedistrict.org/policy/4100_Internet-Wide_Area_Network_Acceptable_Use_Rule) and it is illegal to use public funds for political campaigning.  While it may not technically be illegal, I believe it is unethical to contact principals to encourage their employees to vote, campaign, and make donations for a political candidate.  I understand that as a board member for 16 years, JoDee has established relationships with many of the principals that she e-mailed.  She should have contacted them on their private e-mail addresses and asked for THEIR support, not for the support of their employees.
To be clear, I have not been contacted by the Eagle Forum and the only contact I have had with the Utah County Republican Party was to respond to a survey that they sent to all school board candidates.
Issue #3:  In response to JoDee's e-mail, the principal at Geneva Elementary in Orem, sent an e-mail to his employees, including teachers and support staff.  That e-mail is also found at the link I used previously.  That e-mail was sent from the principal's ASD account to the ASD e-mail accounts of his employees at 8:07 a.m.  In that e-mail, the principal asks for his staff's support for 3 specific candidates in the ASD school board races.  He also implies that if these candidates are not elected, ASD will lose teaming, PLCs, collaboration, and teacher incentives.  He also states that you will support these candidates if you support district leadership.  I have never met the candidate running against JoDee and have only spoken twice briefly to the candidate running against John in American Fork.  But the third individual, Wendy Hart, I do know.  I have contacted the board on multiple occasions about issues I have been concerned about and Wendy was the only board member who consistently responded and acknowledged my e-mails.  We have since become friends and I find her articulate, passionate, and well-informed.  Wendy and I do not always agree, but I respect her.  I have never heard Wendy be anything but supportive of our teachers.  She has never stated that she wants to get rid of PLCs, teaming, collaboration, or teacher incentives.  These are baseless accusations not grounded in fact that are meant as a smear campaign to drive voters based on fear.  Those who do not like Common Core are referred to as the "forces of opposition" who are "against our district leadership."  These individuals who oppose Common Core are referred to as "radical forces."  I found the most offensive quote to be that "they are demagogues who spew forth venom."  I am not mentioned specifically in the e-mail, but since it is targeting those who do not like Common Core, I guess I am a radical force.  I want to speak to the name-calling and baseless accusations.  Let me tell you who Wendy is.  She is a parent who is passionate about education and honorable in her role as a school board member.  You do not have to agree with her ideas, but that we have district employees who are using district resources on their paid district time to vilify these candidates has caused me much distress.  I am disappointed and embarrassed and heart-broken that the individuals who I trust with my children's education have sunk to such amoral tactics.  To make matters worse, John and JoDee as well as high-level district employees were CCed on the e-mail from the principal and not a single person spoke up about it.  Neither John nor JoDee denounced the content of the e-mail.  No district statement has been made.  Each of the candidates signed a Pledge of Fair Campaign Practices that stated we would not use or permit the use of scurrilous attacks on any candidate.
This story has hit the media.  (http://www.sltrib.com/news/1758855-155/conley-political-email-alpine-district-done?page=2)  The principal has apologized for using a school computer and has reimbursed the district for his time and the electricity.  He has not apologized for the content of the e-mail.  Those unfounded accusations are out there.  He can apologize, but cannot undo what he has done to assassinate the character of these individuals.
Whether you oppose or support Common Core, we all have the same thing in mind-the best education for our children.  There are parents and teachers on both sides and we should remember that before we start name-calling and vilifying people.
I want to state publicly that I respect Brian Halliday and Wendy Hart.  They do what they feel to be right for our children.  And I want to publicly thank Paula Hill for the campaign that she has run.  While we sometimes disagree, I respect Paula and appreciate her service.  I appreciate that she and I have run self-funded campaigns (my mom did make a contribution :) and that we have not lowered ourselves to personal attacks.  My hope is that we learn from this, make our representatives accountable, and do better.

Utah County Republican Party Survey

The Utah County Republican Party sent me a survey and I wanted to post the questions and my responses.
All candidates say they are for local control. What do you mean by “local control”? Please give an example of what local control looks like and how it interacts with the state and federal government?

I think the best example of local control is when those closest to the classrooms and the students work together to find solutions. I think the best example of local control is when parents and teachers work together to find solutions for students.  When my daughter was in kindergarten, she was tested by her teacher and found that she was doing math at a first grade level and I was told that she already knew all the concepts that would be taught in kindergarten.  The teacher and I worked together to find additional opportunities for her to complete math tasks at her level instead of doing the concepts she already knew and understood.  At the local school board level, local control is when a school board member actively participates in the schools she represents and works to open a dialogue with voters.  School board members cannot represent their voters if they are not constantly keeping them in the loop on issues being presented to the board.  When we take funds from the federal level, it comes with strings attached.  Local control means being aware of what those strings are and how those requirements affect our teachers and our students.  I believe that local school boards need to communicate effectively with state school board members as well as legislators to make sure the needs of students are truly heard.  Local school board members need to understand what is happening in the classroom and make sure the needs of students are understood by those at the state level.

       Describe what education means to you.

I believe in the William Butler Yeats statement that “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”  True education is opening our children to the wonder of the world and creating curious, lifelong learners.  Education must be innovative, creative, and engaging. 
Utah allows charter, private, and home schools considerable freedom to choose their curriculum. Do you believe the principals in traditional public schools should have the same flexibility, so they could experiment with things like teaching traditional math in Chinese? Why or why not?

I strongly believe that principals and teachers should have the flexibility to explore and experiment with curriculum.  All of my 4 children learn differently and they have all experienced a range of curriculum choices.  We have participated in ALL (Accelerated Learning Lab), Spanish Immersion, Chinese Immersion, dual enrollment, online charter schools, and STEM early college programs.  With the availability of technology, teachers have the ability to design unique programs to meet the needs of their students.  When we limit the choices of teachers and principals, we handicap our children’s potential to learn.
 The Utah State Board of Education resolution 2014-01 claims Utah has local control over Utah Core Standards, even though Utah does not hold the copyright. It also claims that the teacher determines the curriculum, even though the procedure for teaching the integrated math program is mandated.  Do we or do we not have local control over curriculum?

I do not believe we have control over our standards.  We cannot remove anything from the Utah Core Standards (which are identical to the Common Core Standards with the exception of the addition of cursive handwriting).  Utah may add 15% to those standards, but we are not allowed to remove anything.  That does not feel like local control.  Yes, teachers may teach how they choose and what they choose, but considering that we are tying teacher evaluations to test scores, I am guessing they are going to teach the required standards.
What is your position on issuing bonds for the school district? In what cases, if any, would it be appropriate?

With high student growth in Alpine School District (particularly in the north and west of the lake), I believe that bonding is a necessary evil.  We need to build schools to keep up with the student growth and that takes a sizeable chunk of money.  I do feel we need to be careful stewards with the money we have been entrusted with and be vigilant about eliminating wasteful spending.  My 7^th grader attends class in a trailer even though a junior high was built just last year to help alleviate the overcrowding.  He also has a math class with 45 students.  We cannot expect teachers and students to be successful in overcrowded classrooms and schools.  I feel that the pay-as-you-go system needs to remain in place with bonding happening at lower and lower levels as we meet the needs of our students.

On what basis would you determine or cap the superintendent’s salary?

I would evaluate the superintendent based on job performance.  I think it is important that we pay people a fair wage and reward those who are passionate and successful.  Having said that, I feel the ASD superintendent is overpaid and I would not vote for any budget that included a superintendent salary increase.
Should all ASD employees pay their own association fees like the teachers do?  Why or why not?

Yes, absolutely.  If an ASD employee feels that it is beneficial for them to belong to an association, it is within their right to pay dues, but I do not believe that association fees should be subsidized by taxpayers.  Board members who want to belong to the USBA or NSBA should pay their own dues. 
Should the school board have an independent panel of business owners, CPA’s, and other community members review the budget and make recommendations before it goes to the board for a vote?  Why or why not?

I feel that the more involvement we have from community members, the better.  That does not mean that these individuals would be able to vote on the budget, but getting input from as many people as possible gives us the opportunity to hear new ideas.  We should never fear to be accountable.
Do you believe suspending or reducing the property tax levy for Community Redevelopment projects is the proper role of a school district?  Why or why not?

I am not a fan of CDAs.  I do not believe that the school district should be involved in promoting economic development.  Diverting tax revenue allotted to our children to help developers is not what we elect school board members to do.
Whose interest should the school board represent first: the students, the teachers, the parents, or the district?  Why?

I believe that our number one goal should always be to do what we feel is best for our students.  And that is where it gets tricky.  Parents, teachers, and the district may all have a different idea about what is best for our students.  Since parents represent the interests of their students, I believe that the school board should represent parents (acting on behalf of students), then teachers.  As far as the district, the board should act as a checks and balances for the district.  That means that while often all of those things are in harmony, when a school board member feels that the district is acting in a way that is detrimental to students or not in their best interest, that school board member has an obligation to say “no” to the district.
 Alpine School District is a $500M, 7000 employee enterprise--a big business by every measure.  Should membership on the “Board of Directors” require some minimum business or executive experience?  Why or why not?

Voters can determine whether or not their candidates are qualified to serve on the school board.  I would be much more likely to vote for a parent who participated in the classroom than someone who had spent their time in business meetings.  The further away someone is from the classroom, the less say they should have in education.  Just because someone is successful in a business venture does not mean that they are well-versed in pedagogy or the daily struggles of our students and teachers.
Do you believe parents should have be able to opt their children out of the SAGE tests or should taking SAGE tests be a condition of enrollment?

I believe and support SB 122 in that parents should have the right to opt their child from SAGE testing. 
What are some of the principles that will guide you in making decisions as a school board member?

Accountability:  I believe that as a school board member, I need to be accountable to my constituents.  That means I will attend at least one PTA and/or SCC meeting at each school I represent each year.  I will also be available to speak to constituents at open house type meetings to answer their questions directly.

Communication:  Besides attending school meetings with parents, I will keep communication open by running a Facebook page as well as a blog and notifying parents of board meetings and issues that might affect them or their students.  I will also actively work with parents whether their students participate in public schools, charter schools, homeschooling, dual enrollment, or other educational endeavors.

Fiscal Transparency and Responsibility:  I will pour through budget documents and work to eliminate wasteful spending while making sure that more of our tax dollars end up in the classroom where they benefit our children and teachers the most.

            Integrity:  I will always strive to make my actions consistent with what I have promised my                constituents.  I will be honest and forthright and represent them to the best of my abilities. 

What Questions Should We Ask School Board Candidates?

Sometimes when it comes to politics, we get caught up on one specific issue.  The issue for this election seems to be Common Core.  I am opposed to it, but guess what?  I have no control over it and neither does the Alpine School board.  That is something that the State School Board has control over.  I fear some people are so focused on this one issue, that they fail to ask questions about things that school board members DO have control over.

So, what questions should we be asking school board candidates?

Here is my list and my answers:

How many school board meetings have you attended?
I do my best to attend the school board meetings as well as the study sessions.  I have not missed a school board meeting since I filed to run in March.  I have attended 12 school board meetings in 2014 and also attended many in 2013.  I also read all of the documents associated with each meeting and send questions to the appropriate people at the district.  The last board meeting had 200 pages of documents attached to it.

How have you been involved in the schools?
I have 4 school-aged children and have volunteered at their schools since they started attending (11 years).  My children have attended Snow Springs, Harvest, Saratoga Shores, Riverview, and Vista Heights in the Alpine School District.  I have done just about every volunteer job from Take Home Reading Library to book fair volunteer.  I have been a room mom, chaperoned field trips, graded papers, helped judge Battle of the Books, cut out things for teachers, laminated papers, helped with reading, helped set up classrooms with teachers, and been a weekly math volunteer.  I create monthly budget reports and make sure the money that is raised goes back to the classroom where it belongs.  I have cut out and counted Box Tops, served sno cones, counted and shipped printer cartridges, and helped organize reading programs.  I currently serve on 3 PTAs and 2 School Community Councils.  I have also been a substitute teacher for the last 2 years.

What are your concerns with the budget?  Are there things you see cutting?  Are there things you see putting more money into?
I e-mail the district business administrator often about the monthly claims.  For the last board meeting, I asked about money spent on drug testing, field turf expenses, and a specific nutrition services vendor.  As far as the budget, there are items I would like to see cut.  I think the $60 monthly stipend given to board members for internet is unnecessary as is the $42,000 in dues for the board members to the USBA and NSBA.  I do not have full access to each individual budget, but I believe that the NSBA conference in March of 2015 costs about $900 per person plus hotels, meals, and airfare.  I am guessing that adds up to about $2,500 per person and that for 7 board members is $17,500.  That seems excessive to me.  Can we not just have 1 or 2 people attend?  Is what we get out of the conference worth $17,500?  If elected, I would go through each individual budget and look for things that may not benefit our teachers and students and make sure we are investing money directly in the classrooms.  I would like to see us put more money into AP classes, concurrent enrollment, and gifted and talented services.  I think addressing class sizes is essential for our students and our teachers.

How much time do you spend on education?
That is a tough one to put an actual number to.  I volunteer several hours at schools every week and also read...a lot.  In the last year, I have read The Homework Myth, Boys Adrift, and Genius Denied as well as reading articles online at the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN.  I also do my best to keep an open dialogue with parents and teachers about issues facing our students and the educational world.  When I have questions, I look for answers.  That might mean calling the director of transportation about a bus issue or calling the director of research and evaluation about AP pass rates.

What have you personally done to better our schools?
These are a few examples of ways I have tried to better our schools:  I advocated to put the Mandarin Immersion program at Riverview Elementary and I believe its success contributed to Black Ridge Elementary opening their own Mandarin program.  I also worked with parents to organize a petition and protest to get a canal crossing built so that students could walk safely to Riverview Elementary.  I also spoke out about changes to a policy involving children who self-administer life-saving medication.  The changes I requested were approved and I truly believe that children with life-threatening conditions are safer because of it.

What other questions should we be asking school board candidates?

Study Session: October 14, 2014

Brian Halliday was absent, JoDee Sundberg left early on and did not return, and Scott Carlson arrived about 15 minutes before the study session ended.  In attendance were Wendy Hart, Debbie Taylor, John Burton, and Paula Hill as well as 3-4 members of the public.

Officer Brooks from the Lone Peak Police Department made a presentation about their Standard Response and Reunification Protocol for students, parents, and teachers.  His presentation was impressive as he talked about creating a specific protocol for all schools in the Lone Peak Cluster (schools can all have different procedures and Lone Peak PD has worked to create a plan that is uniform to all the schools in the area).

Sam Jarman talked about the Professional Development of Administrators and talked about the Leadership Model (thoughts from Superintendent Henshaw)

1.        Be Yourself

2.       Listen, Learn, Build Trust

3.       Renewal Process-change is a process of improving

4.       Decision-making

5.       Engage the public and parents

Rob Smith talked about how there are currently 25 administrators who could retire today and 36 could retire if they bought years from the retirement system.  In 5 years, those numbers go up to 41 and 57, meaning that there is a need to bring in new leadership and continue to train current leadership, including assistant principals.

Then a group activity was set up that was similar to a PLC.  People were split up into pre-determined groups and handed a list of word strips and asked to identify items that they wanted to understand more about.  Some of those included Pyramid of Interventions, Nutrition Services Manager Training, and Leadership Forum.   

So, here are my thoughts.  I enjoyed the LPPD presentation, but the frustrating thing about the study session is that members of the public can sit there, but they are not allowed to speak.  I had a bunch of questions for the officer-how does the plan work when there are substitute teachers?  Does the school have keys to a safe location site off scene?  How do you deal with the dynamic of joint classrooms?

As far as the group activity, the members of the public were not included in the activity, but we were able to overhear some of the individual discussions.  One of the things that frustrated me was board members who did not understand basics such as CTLs.  I get that there is a learning curve.  But all of the board members have been serving for years.  As I see it, you get 3 months-3 months to get your feet wet, ask questions, and understand all the inner workings of the district.  After that, you better know your stuff!

Do you have thoughts about what was discussed at the study session?