The Dane County LWV sent questionnaires to all candidates in the Spring elections. For school board candidates they asked three questions and allowed 100 word answers. Here are the questions and my responses, bear in mind that 100 words are barely enough to clear your throat and the answers are necessarily incomplete:
What educational, occupational, civic and community experience have you that you believe qualifies you for this office?
A few years ago we chose as a family to move to this community in part because of the clear local support for its quality schools. I am committed to maintaining and improving the quality educational system that brought us here and the unified school district that continues to make our communities attractive places to live. I will bring to the job an unbiased and professional analytical problem solving approach, developed through several years of senior corporate management experience. My professional experience has helped me develop techniques to gather and evaluate information in order to find the best and most cost-effective solutions.
How would you encourage schools in your district to increase energy conservation and the use of energy efficiencies and renewables as a fuel source? How would you support the integration of these district efforts into the curriculum and into special projects to provide a continuing learning experience fo students, staff and the community?
The district now budgets $1.1 million for gas and electricity, or 3.7% of total spending (which is 30% above state average), and this is only expected to increase. For savings there are two approaches: Find and implement practices by staff and students that may lower energy use today, and audit equipment and facilities to find self-funding efficiency improvements to reduce future expense. The geothermal heating/cooling at the new middle school shows how smart choices may result in future savings. Energy efficiency is an area where the schools can certainly teach by example, but integrating students into these efforts would certainly provide opportunities in science and consumer education.
What role should staff such as guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, librarians and school nurses play in supporting teachers and students?
When properly utilized support staff can make important contributions to student achievement. If our schools are expected to maximize achievement of all, they must meet the increasingly diverse needs of individual students. This includes providing remedial help for some, tailoring programs to the different learning styles of others, and just as importantly finding ways to challenge the most talented students. Support staff can provide critical support to this process by applying their specialized expertise to ease teacher’s burden of identifying individual student needs, and play a crucial role in finding resources and customizing programs to meet those needs.
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