INDEPENDENT FROM WELL-FUNDED, DOMINANT SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS: I am not being helped by well-funded special interest groups that seek to dominate education politics and who say they are not partisan, but are actually very partisan.

 

20-YEAR SUPPORTER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION: I am just a parent with three children currently in Davis School District who thinks very independently and cares deeply about students, teachers, representing the majority of my constituents and not extreme viewpoints, and doing what's best for our school district. I have a solid 20-year track record of supporting public education, parents, and teachers, and have the wholehearted support of the best of the best in education.

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LOWER TAXES: There are people out there who want me out because I proposed and voted for a lesser tax increase last year and therefore say that I don't support public education. The fact is, my vote was based on a proposal to reduce spending on iPads in the lower grade levels (I knew of upcoming legislation that requires districts to reduce their reliance on screens for teaching), and because I felt like we could further reduce administrative bloat at the district office level. My ultimate goal was a win-win: less of a tax increase, and more money for our schools where we really need it. Most people have *no idea* how much I have been doing behind the scenes to ensure that our schools are well funded. I have been working hard to correct an unfairness in education funding that will increase funding to Davis District schools while simultaneously reducing pressure to raise property taxes. My community expects our schools to be high quality and to use money wisely, and that's what I support.

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SUMMIT PROGRAM: There are people out there who don't like that I pushed back against the Summit program, a computer-based learning system used in Farmington High and in some other schools in my area. Our school district leadership felt like it was "just a minority of crazy parents" who didn't like the Summit program. However, I heard from so many parents, teachers, and administrators who were clearly not crazy, and so I worked tirelessly to make it a choice for students. I was also concerned that the district was putting so much time, money, and effort into a niche program that could very well be eventually dropped by its own company due to lack of districts signing on, and that's exactly what happened. I don't like to see teachers have to put so much effort into a curriculum/platform, only to have to change a few years later. That's exhausting for our teachers and bad for our students.

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In sum, I don't represent district leadership or powerful special interests: I represent you. We need checks and balances on power, not more of the same.

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ENDORSED BY SO MANY THAT IT WOULD BE FUTILE TO LIST THEM ALL:

• ​Tami Tran, Kaysville Mayor

• Tracey Meade, long-time head of the exceptional Davis High math department

• Julie Laub, sought-after chemistry teacher at Davis High

• Jodi Lunt, former head of the Davis Education Foundation, the charitable arm of Davis District

• See more endorsements under the “Endorsement” section

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DEDICATED LEADERSHIP FROM A DEDICATED SCHOLAR

• Mother of four, with two decades in 8 Davis District Schools

• Years of PTA & school community council leadership

• Sacrificed work at Utah's largest law firm to serve on the board

• National Merit scholar who graduated from BYU cum laude in humanities with double minors in physics and math

• Earned the equivalent of a physics degree while in law school; the only board member with a math/science background (Julie's opponent has a bachelor’s degree in sociology)

• Some of Julie's children have also experienced private schools, public charter schools, career/technical education schools, and have even been homeschooled (but not on vouchers); all these experiences give Julie unique insight into what constitutes high quality education

• Father was born in North Korea; Julie's profoundly grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country–she often tells his story at Farmington & Davis High graduations
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ACCOUNTABILITY WITH A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET

• Voted for lower property taxes to reduce spending on district office administrative bloat & on iPads in the younger grades

• Disagrees with the board’s recent approval to increase the superintendent’s pay (who was already being compensated around $400,000/yr)

• Halted the rubber stamping of corporate welfare; giving unnecessary tax breaks to outside entities harms taxpayers and schools

• Got the district to get competitive bids for services it was overpaying for

• Used legal expertise to minimize lawsuits & save taxpayer money

• Working with legislators to adjust education funding formulas to: 1) reduce pressure to raise Davis County property taxes, and 2) simultaneously bring more money to Davis schools without raising taxes

 

FIGHTS FOR:

• Teacher morale & parent voice

• Small class sizes

• Less screen time in schools

• Conservative family values;

• More meaningful teacher/employee/athlete surveys and feedback systems

• Special education funding (Julie has a child in Sped)

• Gifted programs (Julie's had multiple children in gifted programs)

• Strong dual language immersion schools (Julie's had children in both the immersion and traditional English side of immersion schools)
   

CHECKS AND BALANCES

• Independent from powerful special interests seeking to dominate Utah school boards

• Was not asked to run by someone in high levels of power in the school district

• Not seeking to expand a therapy referral business and does not stand to benefit professionally by serving on the board

• Chairs the Board Audit Committee and ensures that it operates as independent as possible from the superintendency

• Serves on the Board Policy Committee where she helps craft law for the school district and has prevented the board from making inadvertent legal mistakes multiple times

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