School Board Candidate Survey

School Board Candidate Survey

*THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE Q&A PORTION OF THE SURVEY WILL NOT BE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC.* Those topics tend to be hot button issues related to children & education, some without clear school board control; summary scores will just be relayed to leadership of parental orgs.
Name

PrefixFirst NameLast Name
Office you are seeking:*
County and/or District*
State*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

City

Postal / Zip Cod
Email*
example@example.com
Contact Phone Number
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Campaign Website(s) (if any):

EDUCATION & FAMILY VIEWS - How strongly do you agree or disagree? These multiple-choice answers will not be publicly disclosed. *Please read closely, they are specifically worded such that it is unlikely anyone would consistently answer only "agree", or "disagree", to all questions.

	Strongly Agree	Generally Agree w/ Caveats	No Clear Opinion	Mostly Disagree w/ Exceptions	Strongly Disagree
1-Our superintendent has done a good job over the course of his/her last contract and likely deserves to continue supervising day-to-day school district operations.
2-Instilling moral values is primarily the responsibility of each child's parent or legal guardian, not the state / gov't. Public schools should defer to parental preferences / decisions on controversial matters related to values, and private schools should disclose these taught values in a parent contract.
3a-Critical Race Theory (CRT), which asserts that the society and institutions of the United States remain systemically racist, or similar "anti-racist" ideologies that promote seeing all of society through the lens of universal racial awareness, distort history by interpreting it to fit a political agenda and ultimately do more to promote racial division & animosity than harmony.
3b-Gender Fluidity, which asserts gender has no basis in biological sex and can / should be chosen by even pre-pubescent children, should be presented favorably in our schools to promote inclusion, or possibly a sense of belonging for marginalized kids.
4-Puberty blockers & sex re-assignment surgery in minors, biological males competing on girls’ sports teams, and allowing biological males into girls’ restrooms, locker rooms & showers threaten the well-being of, and fairness to, our community's children (esp. girls).
5-Parents should have the ability to opt their children out of any medical procedure, test, or vaccination by accepting responsibility for any health consequences to their children and committing to heightened precautions to avoid putting others at medical risk.
6-Student physical safety should be a priority, but steps like hardening of school facilities and having armed SROs on-site break with past standards of school security and make some children feel unwelcome or intimidated so they should not be adopted.
7-Family formation is crucial to the continued success of our community. I support incentive programs, like child (and adoption, or foster care) tax credits, with the intent to promote families having children.
8-Sexual education, and sexuality, is too important for the future of our children to be left up to parents. Public schools should make sure that every child understands the basics of sexuality well before the age of puberty, irrespective of parent views. These and other sensitive topics should be confidential and between children and educational or counseling professionals (not disclosed to parents).
9-A moment of silence / personal (or student-led) prayer should be included in many (perhaps most) public gatherings, including school activities.
10-The state should allow tax dollars for education to follow the child instead of the bureaucracy, through a program which allows parents the freedom to choose their child's school – public, private (religious or secular), or homeschool ('Money Follows the Child' School Choice).
11-Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed THROUGH college (ie taxpayers, not the individuals receiving the education, should bear most of the cost of post-secondary education).
12-Schools should prioritize age-appropriate content & concerns by parents over content to which children are exposed (eg pornography) over free speech, feelings of inclusion, or any other concerns when determining which books are allowed in school libraries.
13-Every student has the right to a peaceful learning environment, where teachers and students are treated with respect and any discipline problems are dealt with promptly and effectively by authority figures, even if it means removing repeatedly disruptive children impairing their learning outcomes?

EXPLANATIONS: If you answered "Generally Agree w/ Caveats", "No Clear Opinion", or "Mostly Disagree w/ Exceptions" to any questions above (ie you don't feel very strongly or completely one way, or the other), Please explain the nuances of your position. *The explanations in this answer will also not be made public.*
Essay Questions (publicly viewable)

*YOUR ESSAY ANSWERS RELATE CENTRALLY TO CORE JOB RESPONSIBILITIES. THEY WILL BE MADE PUBLIC IN THEIR ENTIRETY, SO THEY ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO ANSWER HONESTLY AND PERSUASIVELY.*
MOTIVATION: What motivated you to run for school board, why are you running?
ROLE OF EDUCATION: How would you describe the role & importance of K-12 education (public & private) in our society? What elements of educating children should be handled by (public) schools vs what should be the (exclusive) domain of parents or legal guardians?
CURRENT DISTRICT: What is your assessment of the current state of your school district? What are some challenges, or things the district is doing wrong, that you intend to focus on improving? What is the district doing right, and how do you plan to sustain or improve on that?
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: How would you promote rigorous academic instruction and excellence in your school district? What metrics / measures would you use to target, evaluate & track overall school system success under your watch? What efforts do you think you would focus on to assure the school continues improving academically?
TAXING & SPENDING: Describe your policy on fiscal responsibility in the school system? Are you in favor of tax increases in the first term after the elections? If so, why and where should the additional money be allocated? Are you in favor of automatic/scheduled school tax increases (or decreases), or should the board always have to get public feedback and approval for changes in taxes? Are there any areas of financial waste that you have identified as needing to be trimmed in the budget? Explain.
CHARTER SCHOOLS: The State Legislature has approved state funding for public charter schools. What is your perspective on public charter schools? Should the school board actively promote them (or other alternative schooling options) as a viable alternative to the current public school system for some families, or perhaps actively discourage them? Why?
SEL & DEI: Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) training are two recent points of emphasis coming out of teacher colleges. How familiar are you with these in practice? Do you support implementation of either SEL or DEI training for either students or staff (and mandatory or optional; opt-in or opt-out)? If so, please specify who would receive either, and how you would measure the success of either program. If not, why not?
RESOURCE ALLOCATION: Not all kids learn the same way, or at the same speed. How should resources be allocated between kids on different parts of the learning spectrum (eg Gifted vs Average vs Special Needs)? In other words, Describe your view of (a) "Equality" vs (b) "Individual Excellence" vs (c) "Equity": Should each student be given (a) similar levels of resources; (b) resources to assure opportunity for each to reach their potential, appropriate to their ability; (c) resources to assure as many students as possible receive what they need to reach minimal competency level? If there should be a balance, elaborate. Should membership in any demographic group itself earn access to more, or less, school resources? If so, which and why?
DISCIPLINE: What are your thoughts on student discipline policies and their application? Should each student's incidents be evaluated on their own merits, or should incidents be evaluated based upon a student's demographic group? At what point should discipline issues escalate from an internal school matter involving childhood mistakes, to parental involvement, to a police matter? Are you in favor of expansion of "alternative" schools where children who have demonstrated serious behavioral issues are segregated, to allow for the rest of the students to learn, or should every possible effort be made to accommodate them and keep them with peers?
COVID: What are your thoughts on the way the School Board has handled COVID policy since the beginning of the COVID pandemic? What COVID policy do you anticipate supporting while on the board, and what are the primary factors that will guide you in making that policy decision?
PERSONAL CONDUCT: Have you ever been convicted of a felony? Have you been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? Have you ever resigned a position of public trust, including any elected position? Are you currently under investigation by the BAR Association, or any other Professional Society? If so, please explain.
OTHER: What else would you like voters to know about you, including your job priorities / goals (eg your outside career, your family background, value system, educational experience, connection to school system, ...)? Feel free to include anything you didn't include in the other answers, but would like voters to know.
Should be Empty:

School Board Candidate Survey

Essay Questions (publicly viewable)