The primary responsibility is to establish policies that direct instructional and support programs within the school district, employing a Superintendent to oversee their implementation, and ensuring the district's schools are well-operated. Together, we determine the long-range direction of the District. We communicates with the community. We approve collective bargaining agreements. We call elections on bond proposals.

I’m running on four main aspirations:

1) Pay teachers their worth. 2) Incorporate climate change, social justice, arts, and modern skills in curriculum. 3) Invest in strong after school programming. 4) Give schools the resources and connections to become disaster resilience hubs.

Especially with what’s going on with disinvestments at the federal level, we must take a stand for our children. When we prioritize our kids, we help our democracy, economy, and culture. I am here to talk and listen to anyone. Vote for me and vote for our kids’ well being and success, so that we can all thrive.

Teachers are underpaid. Kids are not getting the full range of curriculum that they need and deserve. Afterschool programming could be enriched and improved on. Schools are natural community hubs: they offer space, resources, events, role models, and community members. It only makes sense that they become equipped to become community disaster resilience hubs.

The primary functions and responsibilities of a public school board member include: *Establishing policies that guide instructional and support programs *Setting long-term direction for the District *Approving the annual budget *Calling a bond or levy for election *Hiring and evaluating the Superintendent *Keeping the community informed and involved

Additionally, board members must be present at all meetings, having read all the materials, ready to ask questions and raise concerns. Board members, having been in communication with community members and educators, will bring concerns and ideas to the agenda.

If elected, my priorities will include: • A well-funded education, including special education (and supporting bills & efforts to encourage funding) • Fiscal responsibility: ensure tax dollars are focused in classrooms; prioritize bond funds to repair, improve aging schools • Providing reading, math supports for students to catch up and excel • More art, music in all classrooms because we know students thrive when they can be creative • Diverse career training, college prep classes in all high schools to provide many tracks for students so they can all excel and succeed • Protecting marginalized students, esp given current federal attacks on our LGBTQIA+, BIPOC & immigrant students & families • Mental health and counseling in every school

The biggest, most urgent issues right now include: adequate funding, esp to make up for the federal dismantling of the Dept of Ed & McKinney-Vento law that assists students facing houselessness; reading & math assistance so that all students catch up & excel (if test scores are to be believed, OR is among the lowest in literacy); chronic absenteeism (OR's rate of chronic absenteeism is among the highest in the country which means our at-risk youth have been lost & forgotten & have lost school, community, access to counseling & support).

I will meet with Oregon legislature, governor to demand adequate funding &support, in the classrooms and beyond. As a career public defender, I know our at-risk students need help & support.

School boards are not corporate or administrative bodies. They perform budgeting, oversight of the administration (including hiring/firing the superintendent), and represent the interests of the public at large, by which they are democratically elected.

At the same time we must not be involved in day-to-day administration, we need to keep a tight connection to what is happening in classrooms and on the ground, so we can provide oversight with our eyes and ears, not just reports.

Reports are important too, though! We have to be willing to dive into the nitty gritty, and be able to read audits and financials, and ask questions about what is not there, and is not there.

- Create a culture of creative, bold, and low-cost solutions to achieve academic excellence. You can find many of these on my website, but they range from the simple and obvious, to more nuanced policy innovations. - Make trips to and from school healthy, equitable, and emissions-free. This requires truly safe routes to school. This has knock on effects on everything from classroom performance, to climate, to district administration. - Ensure strong fiscal stewardship. Our budget decisions, whether for new curriculum or high schools, require informed, transparent discussions about why we are spending what we’re spending, so we can spend more on what is working and less on what isn’t.

The biggest change is that we need to get out of designing all solutions around requiring more funding. I can't say for sure at what levels our schools should be funded, but I can say, what we have is what we're getting.

This means solutions need to be cost-effective and practical. It will also require creativity, and an expertise around policy and financial mechanics very few public officials have.

No candidate should promise anything like 'fully funded schools.' What I can promise, is that we will find ways to make every dollar go much further, by tapping into the energy, ingenuity, and creativity of Portlanders to deliver the urgent solutions our kids and schools require.

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