In your opinion, what are the three most important roles of the school board and if elected, how would you contribute to those important roles??
The board should represent the values of its constituents to the school district. Board members should be knowledgeable and prepared so they can help create an atmosphere conducive to teaching children. Board members should also be fiscally responsible in order to represent the taxpayers in a transparent and honest manner.
What are the three biggest challenges facing the board and how would you address these challenges if you are elected to the Board??
1) Teacher issues, including shortages and retention, are current challenges. Teachers should be provided with a safe working environment, and we need to make room in the budget to provide competitive compensation in order to retain the best teachers.
2) Violence and discipline are huge challenges. Violent children should be removed from the classroom. Students and teachers should not have to fear being assaulted at school, and parents should not worry about whether their children will be safe in school.
3) Data manipulation is a huge problem. The lack of detailed and accurate data creates issues with many things including the budget, discipline, and instructional methods. Analyzing trends like high graduation rates coupled with low rates of reading proficiency will help us to see where to extract more detailed data, which can then be used to make informed decisions. Additionally, providing transparent, accurate data, coupled with actionable solutions, will help rebuild trust between parents, teachers, and the district.
How much access do you believe parents should have to their children's curriculum? classroom? teacher? online?
Parents should have full access to their child's curriculum, and they should have open channels of communication with the school.
Do you support allowing all students to use bathrooms, showers and locker rooms, as well as participate in sports, based on the gender with which they identify, not the sex they are assigned to at birth?
Children should only use bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms based on the sex they are assigned at birth. They should only participate in sports based on the sex they are assigned at birth.
Would you, individually, take public, overt steps to have pornography removed from LSC classrooms. libraries and campuses?
Yes, I would take overt steps to have pornography removed from CISD classrooms, libraries, and campuses. Earlier this year, I publicly spoke out about pornography I found in the district’s Sora app, and the pornographic material was removed.
Do you believe a teacher should be required to use a student’s preferred pronoun?
No, teachers have enough on their plates without having to memorize students’ ever-changing pronouns. Additionally, requiring teachers to do so violates their first amendment right to freedom of conscience and could lead to legal repercussions for the district.
Would you actively pursuit an annual third party financial audit of the ISD?
Yes.
On May 14th, 2024, the CISD Board adopted new bylaws for the School Health Advisory Council(SHAC), consisting of 21 members(2 by each board member & 7 by the superindent) while removing public comment at their meetings. What are your thoughts about this?
I was very disappointed in the CISD Board’s treatment of the SHAC, and I spoke about my disappointment and concerns at a school board meeting several months ago. The SHAC consists of parent volunteers, and silencing them was a message that the district is not interested in parent voices. This decision by four CISD board members violated the intent of the SHAC, which was created for the sole purpose of giving parents and the local community a voice regarding topics of health, mental health, and human sexuality.
What is your position on implementing a gender fluidity policy to remove all gender subject matter books & materials from CISD?
A policy needs to be created. Many of those books contain harmful, inaccurate information, and they include resources that can lead children into harm.
Should CISD have LGBTQ+ books in their libraries and classroom libraries? If so, why? If not, why not?
We should focus on books that teach strong morals and values and avoid books that focus on sexuality. There is no reason to include discussions about sexuality in the classroom or the library.
What's your opinion of programs such as Common Core curriculum? Critical Race Theory? Social Emotional Learning? International Bacculaureate?
All of these apply an overarching ideology or teaching method indiscriminately to large populations. Districts should keep things local and focus on what best suits their student populations. Critical Race Theory, and its tenets, are discriminatory and illegal in Texas schools, and they have no place in the classroom.
Will you work to remove harmful materials as defined in Texas penal code 43.24 from all school property? Additionally, do you support removing the “educational exemption” from this law?
School libraries should only contain age-appropriate collections that are free from harmful materials.
Do you believe that parents should be allowed to monitor classrooms in person or cameras?
I believe in transparency and parental involvement. However, I am concerned this sort of monitoring would violate FERPA, and CISD board policies must align with state law.
Would you pledge to vote against any attempt to authorize any CISD employee salary that would be more than 50% above that of the Texas Governors salary?
Yes.
What role does the Superintendent play at Board meeting?
The Superintendent is a voice for the school district and manages the district with the oversight of the school board. The school board represents the voice of the community. At board meetings, the Superintendent should be prepared with information to present to the board as outlined in the agenda, and answer questions of the board. However, meetings should follow Robert's Rules of Order and should be run soley by the board of trustees, with the Superintendent there to provide information and answer questions when necesssary.
Do you support HB1605? If so, why? If not, why not?
I was asked to be part of a review panel for curriculum devledoped by the TEA as part of HB 1605. I particularly like the focus on phonics and incorporating one literary work in each grade level in a more classical approach. I also like that HB 1605 was amended to require a parent portal, giving parents access to review thier child's instructional materials.
How do you think HB1605 screen time policy of 4 hrs/day affects children?
I didn’t see a screen time policy in the bill, but I did see that districts are provided with additional funds to print instructional materials with HB 1605. I think children’s screentime should be minimized. As a board member, I would vote to utlizie the funding allotment to have materials printed to prevent unneccesary screentime.
Would you support a motion to inventory the books contained in classroom libraries & post on website?
Many teachers have extensive classroom libraries with books provided by the district. So, in addition to a required inventory, I would vote to ensure that support is made available to assist teachers in fulfilling this requirement.
What is your understanding of the Pico case?
Pico is a 5-4 plurality Supremee Court case that affirms a student's first amendment right to free speech. All nine justices wrote opinions with a wide range of views; however, all supoprted the position that school board members may not restrict the availability of books simply because they diagree with thier ideas and content. Pico also concluded that books containing pervasive vulgarity, or books that are educationally unsuitable, should not be allowed in schools. Pico further opined that school boards must develop and follow established procedures to remove and/or restrict materials from school libraries and classrooms.
Would you vote to implement Biden's Title IX changes?
No, absolutely not.
Has this board done its job in providing a platform of educating students with critical thinking skills instead of critical race theory? Please explain.
I do not think that most of the current board membrs have given serious attention to parents who have come forward to report instances of concern. School Board Trustees are elected to serve and represent their constituents, which requires a willigness to listen and act when necessary. I would like to see more response from the board when class discussions or assignments containing tenets of CRT are reported to them, so that if necessary, correction can occur swiftly. There must also be more focus on data driven approaches to developing critical thinking skills.
Do you believe the Bible should be returned to the public school library? How would you implement that?
It’s in there, and it should stay there.
