I have an extensive background in education, as a practicing school psychologist with two master’s degrees and 17 years of experience. I have devoted my adult professional life to public education. In my daily life, I recognize and address challenges faced by students and teachers as they strive to reach their potential.

If I am fortunate enough to be re-elected, I will be the third longest tenured member of the board and currently serve as Vice Chair. In the last four years, we have suffered nearly a 90% turnover in our board. I have a practical understanding of how our board operates and the challenges it faces. I have been on the Board through one of the toughest periods in American education and am eager to continue to use my knowledge base and experience to serve the Amity community.

I feel that our board has become somewhat divided in the last few years. My goal would be to develop the relationships within the board so that we can work across the aisle and spend more time focusing on the academic success of our students.

CABE outlines a recommendation for superintendent evaluation and suggests focusing on student achievement, educational leadership, organizational management, community relations, BOE relations and personal / professional qualities and relationships. Their model provides an effective framework for evaluating Dr. Byars.

As a board, we have faced some challenges in Dr. Byars’ evaluation due to the size of our board and conflicting priorities. I would like to see a smaller subcommittee focus on Dr. Byars evaluation so that unified and focused practical recommendations can be made.

Like every taxpayer, I would love for the budget to decrease or stay the same. However, costs increase, teachers earn raises, and our students are requiring more support. If we want costs to decrease from year to year, we risk providing less to our students. That being said, we must continually review our spending practices to look for areas of possible savings and look for effective and cost-effective alternatives in the services we provide.

A base increase of about two percent would be a starting point. However, that number will vary based on many variables - such as, but not limited to contractual obligations, energy costs and unexpected repair costs.

The state of CT provides broad guidelines that bound school curriculum. As a Board, we rely on our administration and educators to understand the needs of Amity students and help guide the adoption of the highest quality curriculum. As Board members, we must ensure that the curriculum aligns with the district’s vision statement and that teachers and students will have the resources necessary for success.

I do not have concerns about the curricula. This area is always evolving and being updated by our staff based on state mandates and to meet the needs of our students. Our staff want to have the highest achieving students. We are all motivated to develop a curriculum that will promote student achievement.

Overall, I feel that Amity students have excellent options for sports and clubs. I have previously raised concerns that our female athletes should have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Progress has been made in this area.

I believe the Board’s role is to make sure that our library media specialists can get any materials that they believe are needed in our libraries. We have excellent staff and I trust in their professionalism and decision making.

The POG provides an excellent starting framework, and I do not find anything objectionable in it. The challenge provided by the POG is how to take concrete, practical steps to develop these traits in our students.

On the Board of Education, we should lead by example. Though Board members may come from varied backgrounds and disagree, we must learn from our differences, approach problems with open-minded curiosity and model respectful discourse. As a Board member, I want to provide a learning environment that is equipped to allow each individual child to reach their unique goals.