Campaign Platform
ISSUES
Honesty in our school system is something I believe all of us have been concerned about for a long time. Honesty and integrity need to be shown at the highest levels of our education system here if we intend to teach this to our children. The public needs to trust the School Board, and most do not. I personally have seen many things that need serious rectifying and will work with the board to have sound reasonable practices in place.
Our children need to be put first. Cutting teachers should be the very last thing that gets cut in our priorities in education. Cutting sports, and the arts programs should also be on the very bottom of our list of cuts. Children need these programs to help them become more rounded and to enjoy school more.
Accountability: Personnel: We need accountability from the top to the bottom in our staff. Why does it seem that only some guy on the bottom of the totem pole gets punished for things that go wrong?
Money/Budget: I would like to know where all the money is going. Just in four years our budget has almost doubled, yet the number of students has not increased much, and the money we are paying for each student at schools has barely increased. The amount per student that the School Board receives is approx $22,000 per child. The high schools only get about $5,000 per child to operate all expenses for the high school.
GOALS
Refocus teaching and discipline in middle schools
Ability group any students not on grade level and teach sequential steps in reading, writing and math, solidifying the basics.
Use parents, such as School Advisory Comm. and PTSA, to have more say in school policy.
Drop programs and “state rules” that prevent new solutions to problems.
Get the chronic discipline problems out of the classroom.
Have close vision screening for low achievers to detect easily correctable physical problems.
Build needed schools in a timely manner with quality, economic, health and safety factors included.
Use phonics based curriculum for teaching reading.
Have alternative assessments for those failing the FCAT but doing well academically. No one test should be the sole determinant to decide whether a student advances to the next grade or graduates from high school. Reduce the yearly testing to every other year and take some pressure off the teachers and students, cutting down elementary homework to reasonable amounts.
The Board needs to take back the reins of control; too much authority has been given to management without sufficient accountability to the board.
CONTACT
Call: 407-297-3758
Email: [email protected]
Write: 2074 Red Gate Road, Orlando, Fl 32818