CHECKS AND BALANCES
I believe that the board's job is to provide oversight and be a means of checks and balances over our district leadership, and many have observed that local boards often do not operate that way. Boards can be supportive while also not be rubber stampers: we are accountable to our voters and our school community. I feel concerned when board members are asked to run by people already in positions of significant power in the school district, and I like to see more independence on school boards.
STRONG ACADEMICS & PROGRAMS
I promote strong academics and have myself received some of the most elite academic distinctions in education. I have a math/science background that helps me look critically at academic data. Our specialty programs, such as gifted programs, special ed, dual language immersion, sports, and extracurricular programs, should be strong as well.
TEACHER, EMPLOYEE, AND STUDENT MORALE
Teacher and employee morale is critical. Problems should be recognized and dealt with effectively. Strong administrative leaders who boost the morale of our schools and school district have a top-down effect on a positive school culture that is so vital for a successful school district. Students should feel safe and connected at school. There's a lot of great work being done in our schools, but I recognize that things aren't perfect and we must have a growth mindset to continually improve.
ACCOUNTABILITY WITH A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET
My legal expertise and professional experience has helped me look critically at Davis District's billion dollar budget to advocate for saving money and for moving money to where we most need it: at the classroom level. I was the sole board member to propose and vote for a lower tax increase last August based on my desire to reduce district office bloat and to support our legislature's push to reduce the number of iPads used in our schools, especially for the younger students. My ultimate goal was a win-win: less of a tax increase, and more money for schools where we really need it. There are people out there that think my vote meant that I didn't support the public schools. In fact, my vote was a thoughtful vote that I hope people take the time to understand.
I have already played a key role in halting the rubber stamping of giving tax breaks to outside entities–school tax money should go to the schools. I have spoken against district office bloat and excessive bonuses and unnecessary salary increases for our highest paid superintendency members. I have successfully pushed for the district to require competitive bids on services where the district was unnecessarily overspending. I have had the courage to continually ask difficult questions about expenditures. As we navigate upcoming significant declines in student enrollment due to trending lower birth rates and other factors, the board will have to make some impactful decisions. I further want to continue to use my legal expertise to help the board keep in compliance with the laws to avoid costly legal battles. My legal expertise has already proved incredibly beneficial, as I have stopped our board and district from inadvertently breaking the law many times. For the record, I do not view our district as being fiscally irresponsible, but I definitely think there are areas we can do better.
I have also been working very hard to collaborate with local legislators to mitigate some unfairness in the education funding process that is resulting in increased pressure to raise our local Davis County property taxes. If we can correct this unfairness, this will be a huge benefit to Davis County residents and can capture millions for our schools while reducing the need to raise property taxes.
REDUCE SCREEN TIME IN THE SCHOOLS
I have long advocated against excessive use of electronic devices in the schools and am currently in the middle of a tech usage audit as well as preparing to craft school district policy to further this cause. I have experience working in the field of computer programming, and I find that background very useful in our tech discussions. I recognize that we live in a digital world, that our students will need to know how to manage digital devices, and that some digital programs can aid in student learning. However, I believe that students particularly benefit from handwriting and learning from tangible physical materials, and we should encourage more of that–particularly in the younger grades. I also fully support the school board's ban on student cell phone use during class time.
In 2023, I fought to make the Summit Learning program implemented in several Farmington schools optional. While there were several positive things about Summit, and some teachers had great success with it, I heard from my community that they didn't like the computer-led learning and that this didn't work for all students. I was also concerned that our district would put so much effort into a specialty program that wouldn't last. And the latter is exactly what happened. It was a lot of work for the teachers to implement the program, and I didn't want that to happen to other teachers in the district.
SMALL CLASS SIZES. I have fought and will continue to fight for smaller class sizes. I was the only board member to come prepared with facts and research in public board meeting to counter our superintendent's assertion that research says there is little benefit to reducing class sizes. See the board meeting here: https://youtu.be/6ATBULn8pOQ?t=5275
It is vital that alternative research showing the importance of small class sizes is publicly discussed in board meetings and elsewhere so that education advocates don't lose momentum to push for small class sizes. I personally saw the effect of several people countering the need to push for small classes after they listened to our superintendency's presentation. Moreover, state open public meeting laws limit behind-the-scenes discussions with other board members, so having an open discussion in public board meetings is an important part of making things happen.
I've made small class sizes a big priority in budget decisions, and will continue to advocate for this at the district level and with our legislators. I am excited that the legislature has indicated that reducing class sizes is a major priority for this upcoming session, and I am keeping in active contact with influential legislators so that it remains a priority.
FIGHT FOR CONSERVATIVE FAMILY VALUES; KEEP EXPLICIT BOOKS OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW
I fight for conservative family values and support following the state laws that require the removal of sexually explicit materials in our schools. School district leadership begged to have me be a part of the school board book appeals committee due to my legal background and understanding of laws that are somewhat complex and nuanced. Our district has been sued by groups who align with national organizations outside of Utah that accuse us of intentionally targeting LGBTQ+ materials and materials about minority cultures. Many in these groups are motivated to get me off the school board even though these accusations are unequivocally false. We have state laws we must follow, and we should uphold them and not let political agendas override following state law.
I’m disappointed at news media headlines that treat the removal of these books as the equivalent of an autocratic government’s complete wipeout of ideas from society. The books removed from the schools are widely available for free on one’s phone or on the shelf from the local library, and they are as a whole books that truly contain explicit content. Incidentally, the school board has not initiated the removal of any of these books. People bring specific books to the attention of the school district, and committees made up of school employees and a group of rotating parents picked by lottery determine whether the books need to be removed in accordance with specific elements of state law. Sometimes an appeal will come to the board, and the board usually upholds the determination of the employee/parent committees because the decisions are based on state law.
COMMUNICATION THAT MAKES OUR COMMUNITY FEEL HEARD
I work hard for parents, employees, and students to have a meaningful voice in our schools. I have myself stood in positions where I have not felt heard, so I try to genuinely listen and be helpful even though I cannot always give people what they want. I have worked very hard in trying to improve mutual communication between our community and school leadership, including trying to improve our survey systems so that they allow for more meaningful feedback and a better understanding and connection with our school community. This is a challenge when we have a school district as big as ours with over 90 schools.
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MY ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS ON THE vote411.org VOTER’S GUIDE
Why do you want to be on the school board and what experience and skills would you bring to this position?
I see my role as a board member as one of oversight and providing checks and balances to district leadership. I can be supportive yet also require accountability in promoting academic excellence, teacher and employee morale, and better processes for solving problems. I want to continue advocating for accountability with our billion dollar budget. I want to continue to push for less screen time in the school. I want to continue using my legal expertise for the benefit of the district, including to fight for conservative family values and to keep explicit books out of our schools in accordance with state law. See the “Platform” section of my web site for more detail.
I have extensive experience and skills that I bring to the board:
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LEGAL EXPERTISE, SCIENCE/MATH BACKGROUND, AND AN ELITE SCHOLAR. I definitely bring some unique professional skills to our board. I am an attorney at the largest law firm in Utah and have been part of the Education Section of the Utah Bar so that I can further my understanding of education law. I am the only board member with a science/math background, and am a National Merit scholar, which is one of the most elite academic distinctions one can have in academia.
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FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE ON THE BOARD. I bring four years of experience on the board during which I’ve reached out constantly to our community and thought nonstop about ways that Davis District can improve. There is a huge learning curve to serving on the board effectively, and I’ve gained so much knowledge about education law, our district policies, our district culture, and how to navigate the complex dynamics of what will be the largest school district in Utah as of next school year. My legal background and understanding of education law has proved invaluable as I’ve served on the board Audit Committee and on the board’s Policy Committee that crafts laws for our school district.
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TWO DECADES EXPERIENCE WITH DAVIS SCHOOLS. I also bring firsthand knowledge of our schools because I have had four children in eight of our Davis District schools over a period of two decades. I’ve served for years and years on PTAs/PTSAs/PTOs in various leadership capacities and on Community Councils, including as Chair and Secretary. My children have also been part of many programs Davis District offers: gifted programs, special education, and dual language immersion, including the traditional English-only side of an immersion school.
If the district faces a budget shortfall, what specific programs would you protect—and what would you be willing to cut?
I don’t want to cut any programs, but if I had to make a decision, I would take a look at the program costs per student, and I would want to survey our school community to see what the community would prioritize.
What will you do to support teachers and improve teacher retention?
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ACTIVELY SEEK INPUT. I actively seek input from teachers everywhere I go and deeply care about teacher morale. We have a huge school district, but I will continue to do my best to listen well, genuinely understand, and help whenever I can.
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IMPROVE TEACHER SURVEYS. I’ve been pushing for improved teacher surveys that give meaningful input, allow for written comments, and provide better anonymity. I’m excited that the district is now working on improved survey systems. I believe it is critical to get these surveys right when we have a school district with over 90 schools.
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LOCAL CONTROL AND STABILITY OF CURRICULUM. I advocate to minimize the frequent switching of curriculum. I will continue to work for a better process for teacher input and respect of local control when it comes to choosing curriculum.
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GOOD ADMIN. I will continue to push for improved processes to ensure that we have the best administrative leaders in our schools. Good admin makes a huge difference in teacher morale.
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REDUCE BURDENS. In general, I advocate and will continue to advocate for reducing burdens on teachers. Excessive new mandates, meetings, testing requirements, etc. can make teaching feel overwhelming. The simpler the better.
What role should the school board play in decisions about books and curriculum?
There are several Utah laws that require the school board to approve books and curriculum, so it’s not really an option for the school board to step away from this decision making process.
With respect to books in the school libraries, there is a process that we follow that is mostly determined by state law. Generally, when a book is requested to be removed from Davis District school libraries, an employee/parent committee first reviews the book to determine if it must be removed if it contains specific elements delineated in state law. The latter committee is composed of school employees and a randomly selected, rotating pool of parents. Sometimes an appeal will come to the board, and the board usually upholds the determination of the employee/parent committees because the decisions are based on state law. Incidentally, the school board has not initiated the removal of any of these books. Media headlines make it sound like our school district and school board members are book banning maniacs, when in reality the employee/parent committees make most of these decisions, and the board usually upholds them because they are driven by state law.
With respect to school curriculum, the board is required by law to approve that as well. We have a district policy that requires curriculum to be viewpoint neutral (which obviously includes religious and political viewpoints), so my votes will consider compliance with that policy. Also, I try to approve curriculum that is age appropriate, reasonably turnkey for teachers to implement, and has long-term stability so that teachers don’t put a lot of effort into a curriculum, only to have it be pulled soon after. I think the curriculum approval process can use improvement, and I’m hoping some improved teacher surveys that the district is working on will help. I am a strong believer in transparency for parents when it comes to curriculum, and have been a big advocate for giving parents a heads up about anything in the curriculum that parents might be concerned about.
How would you ensure all students feel safe in school?
I think of “safety” in three main categories: emotional, digital, and physical. All of these are important and are things that I think constantly about. I serve as the school board liaison over safety, and have a great working relationship with Rich Swanson, the Director of Risk Management over Davis School District. I ask him lots of questions, most recently about the tornado response in our schools. Some other things I’ve successfully worked with district leadership to improve include: the monitoring of students with diabetes; identifying harassment and bullying when students are afraid to report it; and in the funding of additional counselors in the schools. There have been a lot of recent laws designed to protect the physical safety of the students at schools, so that is being actively worked on. We have so many fantastic people in our district working on the safety of our buildings, the digital safety of our school electronic devices and systems, etc., so I don’t want to take credit for the work on the ground. Of course, we don’t do everything perfectly, and we are looking for ways to continually improve.
