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Campaign Phone
3077349400
I have spent all of my adult life in public schools education. I earned my certificate for secondary school teaching in 1963, taught high school and middle school for 12 years. I earned my doctorate in English from Michigan State University in 1988 and taught prospective teachers until 2014 at various Big Ten universities. My expertise was in the teaching of reading and composition.
I am enormously proud of the Teton County School District for its effort to bring every child success. With Evidence Based Grading that tracks student progress meticulously, and the AVID program that teaches study skills, every child has a decent chance of taking control of their own learning and doing well. In addition, TCSD #1 offers a strong scholarship program for post-secondary employment of various sorts.
Our graduation rate in Teton County is already a phenomenal 94-96% success rate. The high school is working on strengthening technical education coursework, so there are wider choices for career opportunities in addition to college prep. The new pathways in CTE are reinforced by the expansion of our new community college facilities. CWC already has a good program in dual and concurrent credits for doing college work while studying in high school.
My biggest frustration as a school board trustee is persuading the State Legislature that we need more money for a high school addition. Our high school has roughly 975 students in a building designed for 500 students. We have been waiting about 7 years for the needed funding to match our locally-raised $16.5 million to add classroom space. I strongly believe the legislature could be much, much more generous about funding for nutrition, school resource officers, activities and athletic programs, and insurance for staff.
There's nothing that works better than everyone making a gigantic effort to talk things out in a civil atmosphere. These are complex issues that require time and a sincere effort to find common ground and sensible solutions.
Campaign Phone
3076908143
I served 10 years in the Wyoming Legislature helping to build the current education financing system for Wyoming and then I have served 12 years on the school board ensuring the continuation of strong funding for our teachers, staff, and student's education. I desire to continue the stability that I have brought to our schools over the last 22 years.
I will continue to advocate and push for individual educational interventions for those students that need extra assistance during their educational careers. I have worked hard to improve our curriculum, especially our math curriculum at the Middle School level, and I will continue those efforts.
Our graduation rate is the best in the State of Wyoming and we have many students that go onto college. I have been working for the past few years to increase our pathways for Career/Tech Education(CTE), including our current project of building onto the high school to add the CTE classrooms.
Our continued highest priority is ensuring that our school district receives the Regional Cost Adjustment to account for our higher housing costs. The RCA is needed to address increased costs of maintenance, utilities, and salaries.
Our board is very transparent and we discuss all issues in an open public meeting with input from staff, parents, students, and members of the public. We will continue to tackle controversial issues through that open process.
Campaign Phone
5204712470
I'm running for school board as a parent of two kids in TCSD. It started with a petition on screen time, where I saw how many parents want a real voice in decisions about their kids' education.
I bring a business background with a finance degree from Wharton Business school, and 18 years in corporate sales. I've also served as interim Executive Director and Board President of Jackson Hole Youth Soccer, managing staff, budgets, and family trust firsthand.
I'm not running because something's broken. We have an excellent district that should never stop asking how to do better. I want strong academic foundations, intentional use of technology, and real partnership between families, teachers, and the board.
I would look at where the actual gaps are, for kids who need extra support, whether academic, language, or disability related, and for kids who are ready to be challenged further and aren't getting stretched. Equitable doesn't mean the same for every kid, it means every kid gets what they actually need.
I would push to make sure programs aren't just on paper, that they're reaching the kids who need them, and that we're checking if they're working. This ties to teacher retention too. If we lose experienced teachers and specialists, kids on every level feel it.
I can't give you a specific policy today. I'd want the board asking teachers and families directly where kids aren't getting what they need, and acting on what we hear.
Our graduation rate is already strong, over 96%, well above the state average. So this isn't a crisis, it's a chance to make sure every graduate is actually ready, not just holding a diploma.
Teton County is the only district requiring four years of both science and math for every student. About a quarter of each class isn't headed to a four year college, and they deserve real options too. I'd support multiple graduation pathways, including one built around trade and technical education, with real partnerships with local businesses.
I want us to be honest about whether our requirements serve every kid, and building partnerships that give a student headed into the workforce the same shot at a strong path as one headed to a 4 year degree.
For me, three things stand out. First, strong academic foundations, making sure kids are mastering reading, writing, math and critical thinking, especially early on when those foundations get set. Second, being intentional about technology and screen time, actually asking whether they're improving learning instead of just adopting them and moving on. And third, real partnership between families, teachers and the district, so decisions aren't just announced after they're made.
Underneath all of that is something I think ties it together: keeping good teachers here. None of this works if we can't retain experienced teachers, and that comes back to housing and pay that actually reflects what it costs to live in this valley.
I think the board's job in those moments is to get the process right, even when the substance is genuinely hard. That means following the law as it's actually written, not what any of us wish it said, being transparent with the community about what's being decided and why, and making sure the people most affected, students, parents, and teachers, actually get heard before a decision is finalized, not just after.
I don't think the board's role is to settle a national political argument. It's to make the best decision it can for Teton County kids within the law we're given, explain that reasoning clearly, and be honest when a decision is genuinely difficult rather than pretending there's an easy answer.
