Issues

The School Board is responsible for approving the ASD budget.  As a Board Member from 2008 to 2017, I am proud of my role in cutting administration nine straight years to increase funding in the classroom! 

I ran for School Board three years ago to reestablish the Board’s Internal Operations Audit committee. I am proud that this has been achieved this year. The first two audits will focus on the process of responding to concerns from staff, public and students, and an audit of Purchasing. Today employees are not protected from retaliation for raising concerns, and parents have difficulty raising concerns above the principal.  Failure to properly investigate concerns, including safety and compliance issues, is unacceptable.

Two years ago Purchasing asked the Board to approve a contract for close to a million dollars stating it was an emergency purchase with no other qualified vendors. After I was approached by a different qualified vendor, Purchasing went out for bid and we saved the taxpayers over half a million dollars. This was unacceptable.

The Board is now doing more than simply approve what the Administration proposes. We need to continue to expand our role to ensure all departments are run efficiently to maximize every dollar possible goes to delivery of education for our students.