Concerned Citizens Questionnaire

8/8/2019 Concerned Citizens Questionnaire

1/4

Questions for school board candidates. Please feel free to answer briefly or in more detail on another page(s) if

needed.

1. What are your views on involvement of teacher's union in developing school policy?

School policy should be developed through collaborative decision making that provides for meaningfulparticipation by all interest holders.

Any interest holder has a right to participate, individually or collectively as is their choice.

That said, we need to be paying more serious attention to the 100, 000 years of teaching experience we

have at our immediate disposal.

2. What are your views on collective bargaining & merit pay?

Ironically, you cannot have both. You cant negotiate a collective agreement that applies differentially.

Clearly, there is a need for some open and honest discussion about how we compensate great and not so

great teaching. My service will be to provide the round table around which interest holders can defendtheir interests. There will be impartial facilitation of deliberative meetings.

The ongoing failure to recognize good teaching has encouraged mediocrity.The matter is urgent.

On the issue of collective bargaining, I support providing all interest holders a seat at the table where

decisions are made. They can sit individually or collectively as is their choice. I cannot support granting

any concession before the discussion has even begun. All interests are entitled to the same respect.

3. What are your thoughts regarding the possibility of splitting up APS school district? Do you have any ideas forwhat would be most equitable, in terms of costs: initial, operational; academic effectiveness and savings totaxpayers?

The administration of the APS should remain intact. There are economies of scale; copy paper is cheaper

by the trainload than the truck load. Some decisions need to be made district wide; the rest should be made

at the lowest practical level.

The split needs to be in governance not in administration. I propose splitting APS 163 times; make every

school self-governing. Deliver our power and resources directly to the people who will use them. Let them

decide and determine the size and shape of the administration the need above them.

Education is unique in that the most qualified people are at the bottom of the oligarchy in terms of power

and influence. There are more than 100,000 years of teaching experience in the APS, and they, like parentsand community members, have no seat at the table where decisions are made. It is the fundamental source

of APS educational failure.

4. What are you views with regards to complaints that APS has failed to comply with FOI (freedom of information)

requests by taxpayers looking for accountability & transparency?

I am furious about it. How can we can we have government of the people, by the people and for the

people, if it is secret from the people? I would insist upon the timely surrender of ethically redacted public

records. I would insist that redaction be done by an impartial third party, perhaps the NM Attorney

Generals Office, and not by the politician or public servant who might have greatest need to hide the truth.


2/4

5. Do you believe that students should have access to family planning services?

If a parent has made it clear that they dont want their child provided any particular service or curriculum, I

cannot imagine government legitimately overruling them.If a student and their parent are in accord, it is our obligation to address their needs as best we can.

If the parent and the student are not in accord, do we really want schools to be picking side in theirdispute?

6. What age do believe is appropriate for distribution of contraceptives at school health clinics?

I hesitate to use age as a standard for anything beside a census. Chronologic age does not reflect

emotional or intellectual maturity.

I do believe in distribution of contraceptives as an effective tool against unwanted pregnancy and (in the

case of condoms) the spread of STDs.

I believe also, that children should be trained in school in the aspects of character that will enable them tomake these kinds of decisions wisely and thoughtfully.

Those said, schools cannot override the judgment of parents except in the most extraordinary ofcircumstances. It is not governments role to pick a side in a familial dispute.

7. Do you believe there should be parental notification before providing contraceptives in schools?

Schools cannot override the expressed wishes of parents except in the most extraordinary of circumstances;

these are not. Perhaps schools can assume some responsibility for enabling students and parents to engage

in this kind of decision making on their own.

8. How would you define sexual diversity education?

I will confess that I went first to google and got more than a million hits.

If I have to offer my definition without the benefit of further discussion of diverging opinions; anintellectually honest and non-proselytizing effort by schools to help students understand human and their

own, sexuality at their own time and speed.

9. Do you believe their should be an opt-in or opt-out policy for parents for sexual diversity education?

Parents have the uncontested right to opt their child in or out of school entirely,

how could they not have the right to opt out of any specific parts?

10. What age do you think it is appropriate to begin sexual diversity education?

At an age when parents and teachers deciding together, agree it is time.

.

1. Is teaching abstinence in APS schools appropriate, if so at what age?

I strongly support any effort to enable students to learn to think critically about the important issues in their

lives; all of them. The age at which they will have these discussions is a decision that should be left up the

student, the parents, and the teachers. There would need to be a clear line between teaching and advocatingfor any particular position.

12. What are your views towards requiring unique architectural drawings & plans for each new building at APS?

It seems unnecessarily extravagant, particularly in light of other uses for limited funding.


3/4

13. Would you support a building template for new construction. For example, certain size facilities would be

similar (design-cost template) for construction to save costs?

Absolutely. Particularly when funds are short, fancy and unique buildings are anextravagance we cannot afford.

14. Would you support transparency of data at APS that would be visible on its website. For example, salaries,budgets, expenditures for each APS location? Personal data would remain confidential.

All of the power and resources that APS spends belong to the people. The truth about how they are being

spent belongs to the people as well. APSsurrenders only truth that the law requires, I will advocate

strongly, for surrendering all the truth that the law allows.

15. Would you support transparency of each committee meeting for APS by use of streamed webcasts available on

the APS website? Personnel related information would be confidential.

I have a long record of fighting for webcasting of deliberative governmental meetings. They must be stored

in a searchable and user friendly archive.

I would extend the limits on public forum. In particular, I would allow stakeholders to ask questions and

expect to receive candid, forthright and honest responses to legitimate questions.

16. What are your views regarding intelligent design being offered in the classroom?

To students and parents with an expressed interest, why not?

I am in complete support of any effort to enable students to learn to think critically about the important

issues of the day. The caveat of course, is, schools cannot be seen as supporting any particular viewpoint,

and especially on the subject of religion.

It would be hard to argue that discussion of the controversy is not a legitimate one.

17. What are your views on allowing non-partisan groups to register students on campus who are eligible to vote?

I am unaware of any problems this practice has caused. I dont see a problem as long as it doesnt disruptthe educational environment.

18. What are your views on allowing both sides of a political viewpoint (for example, environmental concerns,

religious groups addressing drugs, suicide, etc.) to speak at the same time at APS schools or hand outs from both

sides of an issue to be taken home to parents?

As long as parents have the opportunity to participate in the decision whether their child will or will notparticipate in any particular activity, I am in complete support of any effort to enable students to learn to

think critically about any important issues of their day.

19. What are your views on charter schools & vouchers?

If schools were responsive to the individual needs of students (which they are not but absolutely can be) theneed for charter schools and vouchers all but disappears. For as long as APS continues to ignore the

individual needs of students, there will be need for charter schools and vouchers.


4/4

20. What are the biggest problems at APS?

Administratively; the biggest problem in the APS is the lack of accountability to meaningful standards of

conduct and competence, for administrators and board members.The administration is not transparent. The standards of competence are either not high enough to protect

the public interests, or they have not been honestly accountable to them.

Educationally; the biggest problem is that 100,000 years of teaching experience are languishing in the

trenches because they have no seat at the table where decisions are made. Why spend a billion dollars a

year on teachers and then not let them teach?

We have to access the damage that NCLB and its cemetery seating model are really doing. If cemetery

seating, five rows of six kids moving in exactly the same direction at exactly the same speed for twelve

years, was ever the best model for education, is certainly is no longer.

Teaching children is like herding kittens; trying to get them to participate in a thought choir for their entireeducation is nearly impossible and serves no useful purpose. Even if we could do it, why would we want

to?

21. Do you have any other innovative ideas of how to improve APS?

If the leadership of the APS were honestly accountable to the same standards of conduct that they establish

and enforce upon students; a nationally recognized, accepted and respected code of ethical conduct, every

legitimate agenda would move forward immediately.

Revisit the commitment to site based management. Start by allocating power and resources directly to

schools. Let them determine what the need by way of administration.

22. Are any organizations, groups or agencies endorsing your candidacy?

UNM Conservative Republicans

23. Do you have any legal, financial, personal or character issues that need to be disclosed?

I do not.

24. What is your educational involvement, background, accomplishments and do you have any well known

references to support your character & positions? Elected officials, ministers, rabbis, friends, etc.

I am a retired APS teacher. I remain actively involved in the issues of standards and accountability in theAPS.

I am honored by the endorsement of Former Gubernatorial Candidate, Rep Janice Arnold-Jones.

Documents

Concerned Citizens Questionnaire