Candidate for
Trustee; Empire Elementary School District

Nobody knows better than parents what their kids need and nobody works harder than teachers to prepare our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Changes need to be made but we can't improve our schools if parents and teachers don't have a seat at the table where the decisions are made. As a school board member, I will encourage building a team to make partnership a priority. I will work on bringing people together, not pull them apart - teachers, students, parents, administrators and the school board. We need a school board that is willing to take a stand on issues such as safety, keeping electives at our middle school, looking at budgets that support programs that have been proven effective and eliminate programs that have proven to be wasteful. There is an abundance of paper work involved in various programs that slow our dedicated teachers from reaching their goals of preparing their students for the future. We need to look at streamlining the paper work. As a board member I will support preparing students for college or career and I understand that the basics of yesteryear are just not the same basics for today. It is important that in addition to teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, we incorporate computer skills, technology training, and electives such as music, art and woodshop. These will help our children succeed - whether in college or career. I will promote policies that encourage kids to take responsibility for themselves and will support prevention programs to help students remain drug free, gang free, and violence free.

We need a school board which respects the teachers and the parents, and works with them, in partnership to make decisions about our schools. I know that we need cooperation, not conflict, to meet the challenges ahead.