Candidate for
Board Member; Sierra Sands Unified School District; Trustee Area 2

The top priority of a public school should be the physical and emotional well being of students. This means students should be protected from any and all harm including bullying from other students. The long term emotional scars from a child being subject to what some would consider slight mistreatment can be devastating.

The second priority should be maximizing educational outcomes. This is measured by the yearly norm referenced tests our students take. This is why children are in school, to learn. In the past, our district has allowed Mathland Math, CPM Math, children access to the Internet without filters to eliminate access to adult sites, teaching of reading without the use of phonics, teaching of spelling without a spelling curriculum. These mistakes can not be allowed to be repeated because they seriously impede student learning.

If the board is considering expelling a student, and the student and parent want to address the board in closed session regarding the impending expulsion, the parent and student should be allowed to address the board. If the board is considering terminating an employee and that employee wants to address the board in closed session regarding the potential termination, the board should always allow the employee to address the board. The board should always listen to all sides of an issue before voting on that issue.

I am in favor of parents being notified if their child is absent from school for any reason. In fact I spent considerable time in the past couple of years in an effort to get a legal opinion that addressed concerns raised by the SSUSD attorney on the issue. Although I found an attorney who believes as I do, that such a policy is legal, getting a written opinion indicating such, proved to be prohibitively costly.