State School Board

This election season has seemed particularly divisive and nasty.  Not just on the national level, but even on the local level.  And so I have put off making decisions about some candidates.  I have to vote early this year since I am serving as a poll worker on Election Day, so I have to face my procrastination head on.  One race in particular that I have been unsure about is my representative for State School Board.  I know both women who are running and both are very passionate about education.  But neither one is completely representative of my views.  So, I had to do some digging and figure out which candidate was the better fit.

I spoke with Erin Preston this morning.  She spoke to me for close to 45 minutes.  Erin has gotten a lot of heat for being endorsed by the UEA which funded several candidates through NEA funds.  But that shouldn’t be a big deal, right?  Don’t we want our school board candidates supported by our teachers?  Here is where things get dicey.  NEA is a union and they definitely have a political agenda.  NEA has several positions that I vehemently disagree with.  I will outline the 2 that I specifically addressed with Erin this morning.

First, the NEA claims to support charter schools that “drive innovative educational practices,” but then spends the rest of their webpage talking about charters involved in fraud and waste.  (You can see the webpage here- http://www.nea.org/home/16332.htm).  Every article linked on their supposedly supportive charter school webpage links to articles about abuses about charter schools.  That would be like me saying I support teachers and then linking to every article about teachers who have had sexual relationships with their students.  Are there some charters who abuse the system?  Absolutely.  But they are not the norm, they are the exception.

In addition to their webpage, NEA took a position on charter schools.  You can find their positions at this site- https://www.nea.org/assets/docs/Policy_Statements_2016-2017.pdf.  NEA states that “a charter should be granted only if the proposed charter school intends to offer students an educational experience that is qualitatively different from what is available to them in mainstream public schools, and not simply to provide a “choice” for parents who may be dissatisfied with the education that their children are receiving in mainstream public schools.”  If a parent is unhappy with the education their child is receiving, that is why we need charters.  To limit charters and limit “choice” is a horrible mistake in my opinion.

But the next one is where NEA completely lost me.  “There also should be an absolute prohibition against the granting of charters for the purpose of home-schooling, including online charter schools that seek to provide home-schooling over the Internet.  Charter schools whose students are in fact home schoolers, and who may rarely if ever convene in an actual school building, disregard the important socialization aspect of public education, do not serve the public purpose of promoting a sense of community, and lend themselves too easily to the misuse of public funds and the abuse of public trust.”

I am not really sure where to start dissecting this.  The socialization argument is so outdated that it is laughable.  Apparently no one at NEA has read any research on homeschooling in the last 30 years.  The accusation that homeschoolers do not promote a sense of community is ridiculous at best and malicious at worst.  I have seen homeschoolers in my community planting trees at parks, volunteering at our local library, doing food drives for the food bank, and participating in community orchestras.  Let’s just leave it that the NEA has no idea what they are talking about when it comes to homeschoolers.  And by the way, we have some phenomenal online charters in Utah.  I am constantly recommending Mountain Heights when people ask about online schooling.  NEA has an agenda when it comes to charters.  We have magnificent charters in Utah like UCAS, AMES, Providence Hall, and Mountain Heights, just to name a few.

So, obviously I am not a fan of the NEA stance on charters.  I am a strong believer in school choice and that may look different for every family.

Second, and this one is a doozy, folks-NEA has a completely negative view of homeschooling.  Here we go…” The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.”

Feel free to read that last statement again.  Parents cannot provide their children with a comprehensive education experience.  So, yeah, the NEA is not a fan of homeschooling.  But it gets better.  The NEA wants every child who is homeschooled to be given a yearly assessment and instructors (parents) should be “licensed” and all curriculum should be state approved.  Because we have to protect kids from their parents.

But this last one was the icing on the cake.  “The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.”  That’s right.  Thank you for your tax dollars to support local schools, but we’ll be damned if homeschoolers are allowed to use the band program or participate in sports.  So, now the NEA is supportive of denying children access to resources.  OK.

That is where a lot of the concern about the money coming from NEA is about.  I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt.  I asked Erin about these issues and whether or not she agreed with these NEA positions and if she would support them as a State School Board Member.

Erin and I had a great, open conversation and while we disagree on several issues, I feel she respects and will defend my rights as a parent to opt out of SAGE, protect the options of charters while weeding out any who are misusing funds, and protect a parent’s right to homeschool how they see fit while allowing students to access public schools for extracurriculars.

Erin has played an integral role in creating some amazing charters, so I feel her experience with alternative options for education is not just political talk.  When she sees an opportunity to create something that will improve education, she goes after it.  Erin has extensive experience in starting, building, and running charter schools.  Erin founded Providence Hall, the only IB program in the state.  In addition to her work with charters (some that have worked with specialty populations like rural students, students with autism, and English Language Learners), she has friends who are homeschoolers and is willing to listen and learn from other perspectives.  Her view on homeschooling has been enriched as she has seen friends homeschool successfully.  Another interesting thing that I learned about Erin is that in the past, she has often stood in opposition to UEA positions.  But UEA endorsed her, in spite of those differences.  Her track record of standing on principle is something I truly value.

I have seen our State School Board at work and at times, it feels extremely contentious.  One of the things that stands out about Erin is that she is willing to listen to differing opinions and I feel that she will build bridges.  Please make an informed vote.  Don’t take my word for it.  Research the candidates and ask questions.  It is usually our local leaders who make the decisions that impact us the most.  Make sure that in all the noise of the election season that you know who you want to represent you and our children when it comes to making decisions about our local schools.

GRIT

Part of what I have learned in being involved in education is that there are always new buzzwords popping up and GRIT has become one of them.  Some people are referring to grit as an individual's ability to stick with something, perseverance.  But another group has actually turned the word "grit" into an acronym-GRIT stands for Guts, Resilience, Integrity, and Tenacity.  And then, a rubric was actually created to assess a student's GRIT.

Why does it matter that teachers in Alpine School District are using a GRIT rubric for grading?

Because instead of grading a child in math as to whether or not they are mastering the material, they are being graded on personality traits.  Instead of grading a child in English as to whether or not they can define onomatopoeia, they are being graded on their integrity or their guts, completely subjective ideas that are almost impossible to measure. 

One of the rubric pieces that chaps my hide is under Resilience:  "I put my absolute maximum effort into every single thing I do."  I want you to think about that for a minute.  That's a pretty tall order-maximum effort.  Honestly, there are days when I am phoning it in.  Days when I am tired or dealing with heavy stress or worried about medical test results, and I am just doing what I have to do to get through a day.  And I am an adult with resources.  Now imagine having a child who is homeless fill out that survey and have their grade be contingent on their responses.  Maybe they are not giving their maximum effort because they are hungry or worrying about where they are going to sleep.  Now what about the child whose parents are getting divorced?  Maybe she is finding her thoughts drifting in class because she is wondering what Christmas will look like and will she have to deal with 2 families and step-parents.  Or what about the child who is living with a parent dealing with substance abuse issues.  Maybe instead of maximum effort, he is worried about getting home before his younger siblings in case mom has overdosed.

When did we worry about measuring everything?  The idea that one child is worth more, valued more, scored higher because of personality traits teeters into seriously dangerous territory.

Some of the rubrics are tainted against introverts.  Should a child get a lower grade because they are more introspective and less likely to demonstrate leadership skills?  Should a child be punished for not demonstrating a "strong sense of self?"

One of my concerns with the GRIT movement is that it takes kids who are in difficult situations, kids who are at risk, and puts them at greater risk.  By penalizing them for their circumstances through their grades, we are setting up these children to receive lower grades, fail, and drop out of school.  Because we don't see "maximum effort."  School should be a safe place to fall for traumatized kids, not another place where they are seen as less than.

At first glance, we could even say that encouraging the aspects of GRIT like resiliency and integrity are great-of course we want our children to develop those attributes.  But those traits are extremely subjective.  It is one thing for a child to score poorly because they are struggling with mastering exponents or diagramming sentences.  But it is a completely different thing for a child to get a lower grade because who they are at their core is lacking.  I am not getting a poor grade because I cannot master subject-verb agreement, but because I lack integrity.  What a powerfully damaging message to send to our children.  Who should decide if your child has integrity?  A rubric?  

In this age of high stakes testing, accountability at all costs, and school grades, we are forgetting that our goal is educating children.  We are giving them resources to be successful in life, to pursue their passions, to become lifelong learners.  Accountability systems like the GRIT rubric are ways in which we are separating out children and telling them who they are is not good enough.  And we are breaking them.

There are lots of bills that have come up during this legislative session that I have been involved in, whether sending e-mails, testifying, texting legislators, or helping to spread more information on.  There is another one, coming up in Education Committee tomorrow that I am asking you to read and then write to the Education Committee.  You can find the full text of SB91 here. (http://le.utah.gov/~2016/bills/static/SB0091.html)

Here is what I don’t like about the bill.  It gives too much power to the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) and the State Board of Education and takes away local control.  As stated in line 51 and 52 of the bill, “the state board of education has general control and supervision of the state’s public education system.”  The way I see it, the state school board is supposed to work as a type of checks and balances with the USOE.  This bill allows the state board to give their statutory (read:  legal) responsibilities over to staff, meaning your elected officials can give up their duties you elected them to perform to someone else.  Sorry, nope.

Another issue is that it gives the state board the ability to fine schools.  Why?  Where does the money come from?  When we fine schools, we are taking more taxpayer dollars.  How does that help schools by forcing taxpayers to foot the bills for these penalties?

But here is the piece that really chaps my hide.  This bill gives the USOE the power to hire a private attorney (lines 106-107).  Why is that a big deal?  The USOE already has access to an attorney through the Attorney General’s office.  When Senator Osmond passed his opt out bill (SB122) in 2014, Judy Park and the AG’s office “interpreted” the legislation so that parents were unable to opt out of testing, even though that went against the very intent of that bill, resulting in the February 2, 2015 memo from USOE.  (You can see the memo here- http://schools.utah.gov/CURR/gifttalent/District-Coordinators/2015FebruaryOutPolicy.aspx). 

When parents submitted a GRAMA request, specifically asking for e-mail communication between Judy Park and the AG’s office that included the words “opt out,” the GRAMA was denied due to attorney/client privilege.  I thought that argument was garbage because if everyone is supposed to be working together to educate children, and Judy Park’s pay comes from taxpayer funds, why is she extended attorney/client privilege?  Especially about decisions that impact my child’s education?  Wouldn’t the real client be the students?  If the USOE is able to hire a private attorney, they could deny any GRAMA request about a subject the attorney has access to due to attorney/client privilege.  Basically, the USOE would create a shield where transparency would cease to exist.  Want to know the state opt out rate?  Denied.  Want to better understand the rubric used for teacher evaluations?  Denied.  Are stealth assessments being utilized?  Sorry-that is attorney/client privilege.  USOE would have carte blanche to make decisions with no public transparency.  And giving that much power with no oversight to any individual or agency is seriously dangerous.

If you believe that USOE and the State School Board have a duty to be transparent in their work and not delegate their duties to other individuals, please write the Education Committee and ask them to vote no on SB91.

blast@le.utah.gov
vlsnow@le.utah.gov
lavarchristensen@le.utah.gov
kimcoleman@le.utah.gov
brucecutler@le.utah.gov
seliason@le.utah.gov
justinfawson@le.utah.gov
fgibson@le.utah.gov
ehutchings@le.utah.gov
dlifferth@le.utah.gov
dmccay@le.utah.gov
csmoss@le.utah.gov
mnoel@kanab.net
mariepoulson@le.utah.gov

HB 134- Why I Support It

There has been a lot of information floating around about HB 134-some of it untrue, some of it true, and some of it based on fear.  I want to give you my thoughts on the matter and then would love to hear your thoughts.  First off, I tell my children all the time not to believe something just because they read it-whether it be online, a newspaper, a book, etc.  So, I am posting the link to the actual bill so that you can read it for yourself.  Please take a moment to go over it instead of just taking my word for it.
http://le.utah.gov/~2015/bills/static/HB0134.html

So, here is the long and short of it.  This would be a tax credit for homeschooling families.  The Utah Constitution states that 100% of Utah income tax must go to public education-think your local schools and higher ed like public universities.  Families would choose whether or not to take the credit.  The argument for it is that homeschooling families pay to educate other children through state income tax and then also pay to educate their homeschooled children.  They are required to pay for their neighbor's child's education before their own child.  This bill was written by a homeschooling father and sponsored by my representative, David Lifferth.
This bill would allow homeschooling families to claim a tax credit of $500 of their Utah income tax responsibility.  It is a credit, meaning that if you pay no income tax, you don't get $500, you get $0.  Families who paid $200 would get $200 back, so up to a $500 rebate.  And homeschooling families would still be contributing to public education through their property and federal taxes.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me tell you about my family dynamic.  I have one child in a charter school, 2 in my local public schools, and one that I homeschool.  I think this bill is important and I support it. 
So, let's talk about some of the reasons people do not like the bill-
#1.  It will create a government database of homeschoolers.  Um, this already exists.  I am required by law to file an affidavit with my local school district that states that I am homeschooling my child-and so is every other homeschooling parent in Utah.
#2.  It will rob children in public schools of needed resources.  I actually save the state a ton of money by homeschooling.  It costs over $6,000 a year to educate a Utah public school child, so I am saving the state that much each year for every child that I homeschool.  I do not agree with how the district or USOE or legislators spend my tax dollars in the name of public education.  My district recently spent $75,000 for a 100-year celebration which included the minting of commemorative coins.  I see that as a complete waste of money.  The idea of providing every child a tablet has also been a common idea with hundreds of millions of dollars being thrown around as the cost.  At the same time, I keep hearing from the same people that these tablets would be out of date in 4 years.  Not exactly a long-term solution.
According to the Utah State Office of Education, there were 8,260 children in Utah who were homeschooled in 2012.  If every child took that $500 credit, it would equal $4,130,000.  Holy cow!  But let's put that in perspective-the public school system (not including higher ed) was appropriated  $3.8 billion for the fiscal year 2014.  That $4.1 million would be 0.1% of that budget.  Not exactly a huge change.  But the belief is that the actual number of families who would use the credit and be eligible would be closer to $2 million.
#3.  This bill is anti-public education.  I love public education.  My husband and I are both the product of public school education.  I have volunteered as a room mom and chaperone.  I have traded out books in the Take Home Reading Library and worked at the book fair.  I have worked as a substitute teacher.  But there are some kids that don't do well in public education.  They fare better in different learning environments.  This bill does not trash public education, it simply recognizes that there are families who are supporting public education with their tax dollars while also purchasing curriculum and paying for field trips and learning kits.  This bill simply makes the playing field a little more even.
#4.  This tax credit will "encourage" families to homeschool for money.  Homeschooling is hard.  There are days when I want to throw in the towel.  But it is what my child needs, so I am willing to make that sacrifice.  I highly doubt that there is going to be a mad rush from the public schools for an annual rebate of $500.  I don't think the federal child credit led to an increase in the birth rate.
#5.   $500 is too much/too little.  I am pretty frugal, but homeschooling costs money.  Even when you go through "free" websites for worksheets and activities, there are paper and printing costs.  At our current rate, I will have gone through a case of printer paper for one child.  And I cannot even begin to guestimate our printer ink refills-but it is a lot!  Throw into that books, entrance fees for activities, and PE, and I am well above the $500 range.  Throw in a computer programming course at a local business or a couple classes at a co-op on chemistry or math, and I am closer to $1,000.  The homeschooling dad who wrote this bill talked to many homeschool families and $500 is a good middle ground.

This bill would not apply to children who are dual-enrolled (part-time homeschooled and part-time at a local public school or charter school).  This bill would also not apply to those who are using companies like My Tech High and Harmony since those are technically a type of charter.
I think there is room in the educational world for all kinds of educational experiences for our children and I think making educating our children less of a tax burden for families who support public education while also paying for homeschooling is the right thing to do.
What are your thoughts?

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?