One thing you can expect from me is transparency and an honest desire to find out as much as possible to make an informed decision - the best decision - for our kids, parents, and staff of this community. I have demonstrated throughout my career the ability to listen to and hear all sides, to find out what others are thinking, to seek out opinons that contradict my own. This is how we can work together to make Nampa School District the best. I guarantee I will not agree with everything that is brought to me as trustee but I guarantee you will be heard and respected.
SOME THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANT ISSUES
COLLABORATION
I think everyone can agree that the Superintendent and the Board of Trustees must work together. They don't have to agree on everything but there must be collaboration to get things done. Here's how I approach this: I will come in as a new Trustee having no connections to the Superintendent and other Board Trustees. I have no political ties to any one and certainly no personal or professional ones. In the spirit of full disclosure, I did take a master's level class at BSU 20+ years ago and Allison Westfall was in the same class but she probably doesn't even remember. Coming into the trustee position with no connections is incredibly beneficial to parents and staff alike because I'm going to hit the ground running with no baggage.
TEACHERS
Love teachers. I was one for about 10 years - technically - as my certification was active but I did not teach in the classroom. I have always respected and admired teachers and they deserve the respect and support of the Board and the community. I think when ideas, curriculum, opinions, etc. that do not reflect the parents and the community start being taught to their kids is when things start to go south. I would love to see teachers "go forth and teach" without reserve but you have our kids for a good chunk of the day and when parents start seeing the creeping in of radical social issues and beliefs that they don't agree with and do not want the school to teach those to their children, they get very protective and defensive of their kids. Mutual respect must be maintained - let teachers teach and let parents parent.
HEALTHCARE (to include MASKS & VACCINATIONS)
COVID is real and it doesn't look like it is going away for quite a while so we need to figure out how to deal with it using science and data and freedom of choice. Look, I said "science" not "THE science". When someone uses the term "the science" that means to me that they are trying to tell me there is one absolute science with no room for questions, various theories, different directions, opinions and research from medical professionals and other experts besides those who we have been listening to for the last 2 years.
Parents must retain the ability to make healthcare decisions for their children. This does not fall within the parameters of schools or government. I am 100% ok with someone wearing a mask to school or getting the vaccine. That is your choice but do not take away that choice of someone else who may choose differently. If teachers and staff are concerned about the spread of COVID in the classroom, then wear a mask and get vaccinated. Wear 7 masks and come to work in a hazmat suit. I don't care but I do not believe in and I oppose mask mandates and vaccinations.
TRANSPARENCY
The Board of Trustees for Nampa School District has a solemn duty to be the best stewards of public monies as possible. This is one of the most important things the Board does. Failure to do so and failure to be transparent with the public money breeds distrust, allegations and accusations, divisiveness, and maybe something worse. There are open meeting laws in Idaho for a reason - so the public can know what is going on in their government. I have always believed that the most important government is the one closest to the people - the one that effects them the most. The constituents of the Nampa School Board must always know what is going on and always be heard.
CRITICAL RACE THEORY (CRT)
I am adamantly opposed to CRT and any element or principle of it being taught to our kids in the Nampa School district. Even though it is against the law to teach it in Idaho schools, there are components that seem to creep in a little here and little there and when asked, nope, we aren't teaching CRT curriculum in the schools and that answer would be right but what I am most concerned about is CREEP of CRT. Here's a couple reasons why I'm against it:
Equity v. Equality - Let students be their own individual and explore their unique talents and learning abilities and helping each one grow and learn by providing what they need specifically to do so. If student A has a particular advantage over student B but instead of giving student B the tools and knowledge for them to have the same advantage, student A is penalized when those opportunities are removed and he no longer can take advantage of them.
"Whiteness" - the thought that we must move away from ideas, cultures, instruction, etc. that are considered "white" because whatever success the white groups have had have come at the expense of others is absurd. Punish the ones who committed the acts. No child in the Nampa School district is guilty of "whiteness" or "blackness" or any other "-ness". My kids are not guilty for my sins, I am not guilty of my father's and grandfather's misdeeds. No one, especially kids, should feel guilty for something someone else has done and they must not be taight that either.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL)
I am not so much against the actual teaching of social and emotional skills, I think those are valuable and necessary to possess but here's why I am opposed to this curriculum being taught in the schools and it's pretty simple: I will be responsible and will teach my children to recognize and deal with emotions. I will teach them positive social behaviors but I also expect that rather than teaching an SEL curriculum, that teachers will teach children by the example they set in class.