Financial Oversight and
Accountability – The
annual budget for the District is more than $560,000,000. Oversight of
a budget that big calls for experience and insight. Dan is a successful
business owner and has served in leadership capacities in several significant
state and community organizations where he has gained irreplaceable experience
in financial management and in the application of the principles of financial
accountability. This is a huge budget and it demands experience to match.
Embrace and Engage the Community - The District must do more, a lot
more, to engage patrons and to involve families as full partners in education.
We should never have to fear what our school board is going to do next.
Collaboration, bridge-building, and cooperation need to define the District
Getting to the Right Priorities – Children’s lives are enriched
in the classroom and there is no substitute for a teacher who is committed
because she or he knows she or he is appreciated and respected. The first
priority for the District has to be supporting what is happening in the
classroom. We have a legion of committed teachers and involved parents
and volunteers who are addressing student needs every day. This is where
decisions about policy and curriculum must start. This principle is sometimes
described as site-based management, sometimes it is simply described
as local control. Whatever it is called, the point is that teachers and
parents are metering the needs of our school children on a classroom-by-classroom,
school-by-school basis every day. Let’s nurture the opportunity
to respond to those needs
A Strong Voice – Our
community, our respective school neighborhoods, and most importantly
our school children must have
a strong voice on the Board. Our schools are at the heart of our neighborhoods.
Our representative needs to be capable of being a force on the board
with loyalty first and always to the school children and with an unshakeable
commitment to our neighborhood schools. We must first look to strengthen
and enrich our neighborhood schools.
