The View from Hillsboro - Advocating for Public Schools

My goals

Manage our money wisely, looking at the future

As a taxpayer, I want our tax dollars to be used wisely and prudently. This means getting the most effective quality public education out of our limited funding. Let's maximize the funds that go into the classroom, especially for K-3 students who need to learn the basics well, so that they can reach their potential in the rest of their years in school. But balance that with reasonable spending in infrastructure, maintenance and classified personnel, so that schools are supported and we are not penny wise and pound foolish and end up spending more than we should at a later date.


For the many small and large maintenance and construction contracts that the district has with external companies, let's make sure that we are getting not just the lowest price, but the best value for our dollars. And invest a small percentage of the money spent for those contracts to monitor and audit like we do for our large construction projects.

And let's work with our representatives in Salem to find ways to help our district and all the public education system be more efficient, keeping health care costs from spiraling out of control and optimizing the value of the services we receive through the Educational Service District.

Communication, communication, communication

There are many reasons to be proud of our public schools and of how they are managed, but in the past few years the district has not done a good job at communicating to the public about it. You can't have transparency and trust without good and plentiful communication.

If elected, I will be accessible. I will "adopt" a group of 5-6 schools in the district and I will attend school councils, PTA meetings, and other gatherings in these schools at least twice a year, to be able to listen to teachers, families, students, classified workers, and all citizens in those neighborhoods, and to establish personal relationships. I will do all I can to get the district to be much more active in its communication efforts, but in these days of lean budget I pledge to be an active part of the solution, at the very least.

I would also like to see the board and the district play an active role in building a stronger dialog with our elected representatives in the North Plains and Hillsboro city councils, in the Washington County Board of Directors and Metro, and in the legislature. Public schools must be represented and heard when decisions that impact them are made.

Bring new ideas to the table

While I don't yet have the in-depth knowledge of the workings of the district that the current members of the school board have, I can bring a fresh point of view and new ideas.

Let's all get together and think out of the box to find low cost ideas to improve education. Some examples: Train volunteers to tutor and read to K-3 students, especially in the English learner communities. If we want kids from families where English is the second language or where the parents work two jobs to succeed, we should involve them and help them. Offer classes for parents and volunteers so that they can be better prepared to play an active role. As a community, we can add to the great work done in our classrooms to help our kids do their best.

Why not have teachers share some of the outstanding work that they do in their classrooms with their colleagues, so that we can all gain from their knowledge? Sharing experiences among colleagues is a best practice in many professional organizations, we should encourage more of it within our schools.

These are just two examples of what we can do in the short and long term if we put our minds to it. Think of what we could do if we were to tap the minds of the people of the district for more and better ideas. In the next few months the district will work on its strategy for the next 5 years. I want to see that process evolve into a constant source of input from the community and of renewal of our vision and our goals.

posted by Unknown @ 9:25 AM