QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Questions are in BLACK, responses in RED,
Question 4 - I would like to ask the candidates where their priorities lay in reference to protecting high risk special education students during covid outbreaks. Currently there are no mitigation strategies in the district and without contact tracing it makes it difficult for parents to monitor the risk/threat they are sending their children into everyday who have health concerns. The district and state have implemented a framework to help children with IEP’s continue their education at home during an outbreak (Individual Distance Learning Plans) but many special education students cannot learn from home due to the severity of their disabilities and absence from professional staff, and it also leaves them at a loss of services they are entitled to under section 504 of the rehabilitation act (ADA Laws).. so to put that into context parents have to choose between their child's safety and their education in many circumstances. Will you be committed to serving and protecting the health and education of the most vulnerable members in our district?
Short answer, yes. Not only is it a federal law, Free Appropriate Public Education Act (FEPA), it is the right thing to do. All kids deserve a quality education regardless of their disability. It starts with keeping an IEP updated and current so that it continues to provide a viable framework from where to work. Depending on the situation, enhanced mitigation procedures for COVID will encourage a safe environment. I don’t believe that masking a student with disabilities (or any student) is going to increase their success, in fact, it may achieve the opposite effect. However, I am not opposed to a student wearing a mask or being vaccinated if it is the choice of the parent(s). There should never be any mandate that students wear masks or be vaccinated - whether they have a disability or not.
Simple, everyday things such as increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting, using classrooms that have better ventilation, increased hand-washing, and perhaps, as much as possible, increased distancing from others within the same room unless the needs of the student cannot be met in that setting.
There just is no simple or one-size-fits-all answer to this because every student and their specific needs are different. I think the district should continue to look for viable options that are specific to their needs to include appropriate materials, services, and when possible, additional staff.
I would like to see parents come together to consider all options within a Special Education Committee to push forward plans that the Board can act on. This issue is not going to be solved by one or even five board members but we can work together to address it collectively.
Question 3 - “Describe your strategies for listening and responding among a divided community. How do you engage differing, strong opinions? How do you plan to build trust as a community leader?”
Great question! I have listed a number of strategies that use all the time, either singly or together, with others who have strong opinions. I have also included throughout the response of how I have been successful in building trust that will work as a Trustee. These are in no particular order.
Be accessible.
When people feel that their leaders, or those they have differing opinions with, are not accessible, then they have no way of making their opinions known and hence feel unimportant, their views don’t matter, or there is an unwillingness to even listen to another opinion or viewpoint. This can be accomplished a number of ways but I have found in my career that talking with someone face-to-face, although not always feasible, is so much more effective than via phone or Facebook, or email.
Seek to understand the context of another’s point of view.
There is always more than one side to an issue. Everyone comes to a position with a different frame of reference based on various experiences in life – good and bad. Finding out what that frame of reference is will help with the understanding of their opinion. We all do and say stupid things and therefore we must all show grace towards each other because we may not know for what reasons one may take a particular position or voice an opinion.
Listen.
I mentioned in one of my Facebook posts of a great conversation I had with some teachers. I knew these fantastic teachers had much different opinions about a topic than I did. My motivation for this conversation was simply to listen to their point of view. At the end, we still disagreed with each other’s point of view but to be honest, I disagreed less and for a specific reason which I explained to them. I already had much respect for them but after the conversation that respect grew much deeper.
Look for commonalities.
People who are divided usually have more things in common than they care to admit. The biggest commonality we all have is that we want the best for our kids – bottom line. If we start with what we have in common, rather than jumping right in with what we disagree about and exacerbate those issues, I find that helps to engage with others in a more positive way.
Don’t be afraid of disagreement.
What kind of a boring existence would we all be living if we always agreed with everything and everyone? I learn a lot from people with whom I disagree. I look for opportunities to learn more and that often comes from people with differing opinions.
Be transparent.
Community leaders must be transparent with the public. Working in state government for 20 years you learn very quickly that you are under scrutiny by the public and I don’t have a problem with that. Elected officials even more so. Not being transparent is a disservice to the constituents we represent and the whole community. Be up front and be honest and don't try to hide anything.
Integrity.
Doing what you say you’re going to do builds trust. Even if one changes their mind, which is ok as we should always be learning, make sure there is a reason for the change. When people don’t understand why someone changed their mind or went in a different direction, trust is lost and then it is very difficult NOT to be guarded and skeptical.
The loudest one is always heard first.
My oldest daughter has said to me on more than one occasion that she can’t hear me because I’m too loud. I admit, it took me a while to really understand what she was saying. If people are trying to be the loudest, either vocally or on social media, they tend to be the ones that people can’t hear.
Use humor.
Humor is a great way to make people feel at ease, especially in tense situations. It doesn’t always work but it is a strategy that can be effective when engaging those with strong, contrary opinions to yours.
Reach out, make the first move.
Often when confronted with an uncomfortable situation or a difficult conversation with someone, I try to reach out first. Neither person rarely wants to make the first move but just waiting to see if the situation will change on its own is not wise. Throughout my career and other areas of my life, I will extend an olive branch to another person with the intent of coming to some understanding quickly rather than let things simmer.
Know your stuff, and if you don’t know, learn it.
Much of what a school board is responsible for is found in state statute, rules, policies, and procedures. This includes open meeting law, fiduciary responsibility, contract law, and public hearings. Faking it because you might be embarrassed if someone finds out you don’t know anything erodes trust – especially with a community leader. If I don’t know something, I’ll tell you but I will find out. Not knowing something doesn’t mean you are not a leader but if you fail to find the answer, then it is difficult to be seen as one.
Respect.
This gets thrown around a lot and often used as a “catch-all” but to me respecting another person means to be kind, be polite, be civil, and validate their opinions and views. Again, disagreement is ok, but disagreeing in a disrespectful way is not.
Develop a thick skin.
At some point, someone’s strong opinion may affect you in a way you least expect it. You might realize you are a bit too sensitive and get offended and your reaction is uncharacteristic of you. Believe me, there is very little I have heard during my career that would offend me. I don’t take things personally which allows me to listen and respond in an objective manner.
Don’t jump to conclusions and make assumptions.
One reason I don’t engage in “discussions” on social media is I don’t have all the facts and not having all the facts leads to assumptions which can be devastating for you or the other person if not true. As a board trustee, I will make informed decisions based on conclusive evidence – key word conclusive.
Thank you to the person who posed this thoughtful question. So important to understand every candidate’s view with this.
Question 2 - “As a parent I am concerned about indoctrination in our schools. We have a teachers union that heavily pushes using preferred pronouns. In our community we have a heavily populated Christian and LDS that do not agree with this ideology. Do you feel like this ideology should be included in our classrooms to make a small minority feel comfortable?”
No I do not agree with this ideology being pushed in our classrooms. I am aware of students at the beginning of the school year who were asked by their teachers which pronoun they preferred. One parent told me told me that the question caught their child off guard who was surprised at the question and that it made the student feel uncomfortable. When the student was asked why they felt uncomfortable with the question, the response was that he was a boy and wondered why a teacher would even ask that of him. Why would teachers even think of posing a question like that to any kid?
Students do and will feel uncomfortable in so many things and that is OK. It is part of growing up, part of figuring things out, and part of everyday life. Per the question, this has nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with basic biology and science. Perpetuating an agenda that perhaps encourages students to be and feel even more confused is wrong.
If the schools are worried about a small minority being uncomfortable, what then would happen when a student sitting in a math class tells the teacher they do not feel comfortable taking a math quiz or test because they may not be proficient in math and therefore feel uncomfortable, perhaps embarrassed by a potential low score, and possibly feel inferior to other students who might do well on the quiz or test. With the same logic as asking a student what their preferred pronoun is to make them feel more comfortable, the math teacher would have to give the student a pass on the quiz/test.
Schools must stop pushing social agendas like this. These are kids and they must learn to think and feel for themselves rather than having their status or gender, etc. suggested by schools and society.
We must never maliciously, willfully, and blatantly make someone else feel uncomfortable but we also have to accept the fact that there is no possible way to make everyone feel comfortable. Again, life is just that way – uncomfortable at times.
Including this indoctrinating ideology in our schools to “make a small minority feel comfortable” is wrong. Maybe we should focus instead on how a student responds to something that may make them feel uncomfortable rather than trying to make everyone comfortable. Either way, in every situation, someone is bound to feel uncomfortable.
Question 1 - COVID numbers are on the rise and hospitals are reporting the need to move toward rationed or crisis care because of the overtaxing of the medical system as a result of increasing numbers of COVID patients. There has been some criticism of the current board's inactivity and the contribution to the problem in the community.
What role do you believe schools play in this medical crisis? What should schools or school boards do to support the management of the crisis? What role do school board members play in managing the crisis?
I disagree with this statement that the current board is contributing to the problem of increasing numbers of COVID patients in our hospitals and therefore moving towards rationed or crisis care. I have seen no evidence that the current board has anything to do with the rising numbers of COVID patients in the hospitals. The current board is comprised of 5 individuals so this is an unfair statement and somewhat irresponsible.
Every school building operates differently. Each school should monitor what is going on as far as COVID and, in consultation with district leadership, take necessary steps to manage the crisis. This was exhibited recently when the Superintendent closed Snake River Elementary for a couple of days due to 30% of the teachers out sick. The thing is, we don't know for sure if the teachers were out due to COVID or they simply felt under the weather and erred on the side of caution so they didn't come in. I support Superintendent Kellerer's decision under these circumstances.
Schools and the school board members should continue to encourage people to get vaccinated. I know many teachers and staff who are not vaccinated and choose not to be. That is their choice and I support their choice. There are many parents who choose not to vaccinate their children or themselves and again, I support their decision. I also support the decisions of those who do choose to vaccinate. I personally believe that the vaccine works and the more people who get vaccinated the better and quicker we will get in front of COVID, but I respect the opinions and decisions of those who believe otherwise and they must retain the ability to choose for themselves and their children regarding medical decisions.
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I also support those who choose to wear a mask to school, teachers and students, but I do not believe that it should be mandatory. There is plenty of evidence of the detrimental effects of kids wearing masks, emotional and physiological, but if someone chooses to wear one (or not) they should not be vilified.