1. If elected, what are the top three priorities you will pursue during your term?

 

1. To build new schools so that every child has a seat in a brick-and-mortar classroom, instead of a portable.

2. To use recovery act money to reduce class sizes, so teachers can address the gaps left by the pandemic without increasing their burden.

3. To identify students early who have learning disabilities, since early intervention produces the best results at the lowest cost.

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2. What actions will you take to address the impact the pandemic has had on students, especially related to learning loss, social development, and mental health?

 

We need to use recovery act money to reduce class sizes. Current class sizes are too large to allow teachers to provide the individualized instruction needed to address the gaps left by the pandemic, gaps that are uneven in magnitude and effect because each student’s experience was different. This would also reduce the burden on teachers, who need to address their own pandemic-related suffering.

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3. What changes would you make in how school funding is allocated so as to obtain the best results for students at the most responsible cost to taxpayers? Which interventions would you emphasize to provide the greatest benefit to students?

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We need smart and cost effective policies. For example, we currently force students to fail before they qualify for special education services. This leads to more expensive solutions, worse results, and expensive lawsuits that distract from the job of teaching. Early intervention is the least expensive and best option. We need to look at all of our policies through such a lens.

 

4. What are the factors that should be considered for attendance area changes (redistricting), and what should trigger that review?

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Failing to build brick-and-mortar schools leads to more frequent redistricting. Once triggered, redistricting should be used to reduce transportation demands, improve school start times, and address concentrations of poverty. However, socioeconomic redistricting is not effective because people move while others choose private schools. Poverty concentration must be addressed by zoning.