VOTE411 Voter Guide

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I am a Retired Naval Aviator with 23 years of honorable service including multiple post 9/11 combat tours in support of the War Against Terror.

My post-military career includes leadership positions in three Fortune 500 companies. I have a BS (Cum Laude) in Business Administration from Oregon State and my post-graduate education includes MS in Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, and MC in Program Management from George Washington University.

I’m a practicing Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with 14 years operational experience. This experience will serve the taxpayer well as I work through critical budget decisions.

I am a voracious reader with a deep interest in education history and practice. My wife and closest advisor is an elementary teacher with 35 years of exemplary service and several of my family members are current or retired teachers.

My body of work, leadership experience, education, family and personal relationships have prepared me well for this important office.

1. The focus on "a Culture of Belonging and Equity" rather than High Quality Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum. This "every student is the same and therefore must have the same "equitable" results is devastating particularly to high achievers at one end of the spectrum and challenged students that need additional attention at the opposite end.

2. Exploding operational and administrative budgets with no corresponding measures of effectiveness or value add to taxpayers, parents, or students. CVSD, like most government institutions, has an entitlement mentality when it comes to automatic, year over year, funding increases. I plan to examine every line of the budget and believe I can find 10% ($30 million) savings to the taxpayer.

3. The superintendent has established a "program" that removed classroom teacher autonomy thereby restricting their flexibility to handle unique student challenges and eliminating their creativity in delivering curriculum and content to their students.

"RESTORE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE" is the cornerstone of my candidacy and campaign and my plan is to revise CVSD's Vision, Strategy and Policies away from the focus on cultural equity and back to High Academic Standards, Equality of Opportunity for both Staff and Students, and the Expectation that All Students are Capable of Excellence and it is the Mission of the Classroom Teacher to Recognize and Nurture Excellence in Each and Every Student.

Physical Safety requires a plan, resources, and personnel. I don't see Physical Safety as an issue in CVSD.

The first and most important task related to the "balancing needs" is to establish the premise of Parents are the Customer, Teachers deliver the Product, and Students are the Beneficiaries of strong Parent / Teacher Relationships, Direct Parental Involvement in their Children's Education, and High Quality Delivery of Instruction by the Great Classroom Teachers we have at CVSD.

While every student is unique, operationally there must be standards when it comes to curriculum and it's delivery by professional teachers and the recognition that sometimes students need additional instruction or attention, this is where leadership (administrators) should be focusing their efforts.

Leadership is there to ensure Teachers have the tools, resources, and support to ensure maximum student success.

This concept will be a huge shift from the present heavy-handed top down CVSD "program" but the restoration of the teacher - parent -student relationship priority is critical going forward.

I have been on the CVSD board for over 3 years and on a non-profit board. I have learned a lot in my time on the CVSD board and plan to continue to learn and apply my knowledge, connections, leadership skills, and focus on our children to any board work.

I am a nurse and an educator. I am in the classroom in higher education and in a leadership role. I see the big picture of how K12 education and post-secondary education must work together, how similar issues affect both, and remedies to implement.

I am a mom of five children who have all attended/are attending CVSD schools. I know what it is like to have children in our schools. I know what it is like to have policies and budget decisions affect my children’s learning, have teachers support me or undermine me as a parent, and the importance of quality K12 education to prepare children for their future. I deeply care and advocate for a quality public school system that works for all of our children to reach their full potential.

The differences between state and federal laws that are diabolically different and put the district in the middle of them. Also, the differences between laws and what our community wants in a school district.

Financial aspects. We are doing very well right now financially due to a lot of work to ensure our budget is fiscally responsible while also providing what is needed for our kids. What is concerning is that the state and federal levels are both either threatening to remove funding or warning that a decrease of funding is on the horizon.

Barriers to academic achievement. We have made significant gains this year in academic achievement. This is a multifaceted approach, and we have done numerous things to help with this by addressing attendance, curriculum, teacher collaboration and learning communities, new school calendar and conference schedule, and a cell phone ban.

All are important but I will address financial aspects.

It is very important to me that we ensure each dollar is well spent and that we are accountable and transparent to the taxpayers for where the money is going. It is also important that the district has an adequate reserve to ensure any expenditure can be paid. I have worked to ensure that we are getting numerous bids on items and choosing the best one for finances and quality. I continually work to find ways to better utilize our tax dollars. I push for budgets that are conservative and yet provide what is needed. We networked with other districts and our legislators to get needed funding in this most recent state budget.

I believe the district must ensure that any levy ask is only what is needed. I voted for the levy to be placed on the ballot for the voters to decide but that the voters would be given the information regarding what the levy funds and what it would cost voters.

Safety is the top priority to ensure our kids and staff are not harmed. I have worked with both the Liberty Lake Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department on our resource officer/deputy contracts and schedules. Our resource officers do a lot in the work of prevention and relationship building with our students.

I also worked with our head of security on ways to make our schools safer. One example is I suggested alarms for doors so any propped door would alarm so all in the area know it's open. I also helped the LLPD with a plan to have an office in our schools that duty officers could utilize for completing their paperwork. This helps the duty officer not to be in his/her car but also gives police presence in our schools in a positive and relationship building manner.

Safety also involves no bullying or harassment. We have passed policies against both. I have spoken with teachers, principals, and parents about this issue. I will continue work to prevent both.

What I have done and will keep doing, is ensure that what I do as a director is for the best for our students. Our district is there to educate our students. It is also important to have a great working environment and fair pay for our employees.

I believe educating our students must occur in partnership with their parents/families and we cannot undermine parents.

Teachers are incredibly valuable. As employees, teachers must follow district policies, curriculum, and requirements from the board and administration. We must ensure that each child, no matter the teacher or school, is getting the required curriculum and learning opportunities.

Balancing is ensuring our students are a priority in partnership with parents and giving our teachers what they need to succeed but also expecting them to follow curriculum and policies. If there is a disagreement between any of these entities, then we need to investigate (hear all sides) and make decisions based on facts, policies, and laws.