School board candidate survey

* indicates an incumbent	Why are you running for the school board?	What is your opinion about the bond issue?	What is your view on elementary school consolidation?	Where could thedistrict cut spending? Increase spending?	What three other issues are at the top of your agenda?
Brent K. Garner104 Glenview Drive	Didn’t answer the question, but referred to his election flier, which said he wanted to defeat the bond issue, fix east/central Lawrence schools, and shift boundaries to make more efficient use of buildings.	Referred to his election flyer, which says to vote no on the bond issue because it closes schools and was not competitively bid. It also objects to DLR Group’s fees and rights and the doubling district debt.	Only as an absolute last resort.	During these slow economic times I doubt very much that any kind of an increase can be found. … If there are to be further cuts, I feel that they should be … shared by all patrons of the district.	1. Stop the bond.2. End the adversarial attitude the district has toward parents of children with disabilities.3. Work to adopt intensive phonics and math program.
Samuel Gould Newspaper employee 3810 W. 14th Court	I am running for school board because I believe that this is a financially critical time for Lawrence school district and education funding nationally. It is a time when we must be fiscally responsible.	The bond issue is an uncreative, irresponsible quick fix in a financially devastating time to the complex, far-reaching problem of school funding. … It doesn’t address all of our school district’s needs.	Don’t close the schools! Each school, the community it is in, the teachers and the parents are all resources. … The real question is how can we best utilize our resources?	I’d cut $59 million of debt off the taxpayers’ backs by getting rid of the bond issue. I would increase spending in many areas but not without doing the hard work of raising the funding.	1. Work with other government to achieve the district’s goals.2. Strengthen the school board.3. Provide outstanding education regardless of a student’s challenges or household income.
Cille King Apartment manager 1905 Countryside Lane	I’ve been an active participant in our schools and school issues since my son started kindergarten 13 years ago. … I represent an alternative position than the current school board.	I agree that we should rebuild SJHS, have a stronger alternative school, and that we should renovate our buildings. I disagree that we should close our elementary schools.	I believe smaller schools best serve our low-income/high-risk students, students in general, neighborhoods and the community. … Large schools alienate students … and impair our sense of community.	The district should take a closer look at administration and teacher assignments, check curriculum redundancies, work for energy efficiency and seek funds from the Lawrence School Foundation.	1. Help design a bond that will pass.2. Improve access to physical fitness and foreign language.3. Increase our planning and cooperation with the city and county.
Eddie Lehman Residentialassistant, Haskell Indian Nations University 1722 Ohio, Apt.	My dissatisfaction with planning and curriculum of the Lawrence school district has been growing to the point where I was considering placing my child into private school.	I am against the bond issue as it is drafted. I do believe that a bond issue is needed to take care of several pressing needs within the school district.	I disagree with the implementation as well as the ‘reasons’ given. … I believe in keeping the smaller neighborhood schools and smaller class sizes where students can receive more individual attention.	I believe the district should look at the primary mission of a school … Then ask what programs or services do we need to maintain to provide those services.	1. Plan for growth.2. Move back to funding core curriculum.3. Consider additional funding opportunities and partnerships with KU, Haskell, the city of Lawrence and Douglas County.
Gordon Longabach Retired Military 3612 Boulder Court	I want to help educate the public on the issues. … We have new federal and state mandates to comply with and I don’t see busing kids from west of Iowa to east side schools as the solution.	The work on upgrading schools needs to be done now. It’s a good time to get low interest bonds; it’s a good time to get contractors and it will give a lot of jobs to Lawrence.	Right now we can’t afford to keep 11 elementary schools east of Iowa in times of short money. We need to think of education in Lawrence as a community whole.	I don’t see how the district can cut much more; about all that’s left in the “pie” are salaries. (That’s about 85 percent of the general operating funds.)	1. Get the word out about the voting for the bond issue.2. Increase special education for the less gifted.3. Stop this rich vs. poor attitude.
Mary L. Loveland* Homemaker 749 N. 1500 Road	I provide 16 years of experience and the accompanying historical perspective to board service. … The district faces many challenges in light of the state fiscal crisis and new state and federal mandates.	This bond issue is the result of the most comprehensive study of facilities ever conducted by this school district. I firmly believe that the problems will not go away and will cost us more to fix at later date.	We have to think of the situation as an opportunity to expand our neighborhoods until they are large enough to sustain the appropriate number of neighborhood schools.	The district can save money by closing elementary schools. … I would like to become more efficient so that we can pay teachers enough to compete with salaries offered in the Johnson County districts.	1. Respond to the new federal regulations.2. Sustain dedication to our district’s educational goals.3. Plan continued progress on facility maintenance issues contained in our 20-year plan.
Rich Minder Youth program coordinator 1511 R.I.	I think that we owe all the children of Lawrence a sustained commitment to the best education possible within a context of strong neighborhood schools. I want to help accomplish this.	I’m certainly not opposed to a well-considered bond issue at the proper time. But this is the wrong bond issue at the wrong time.	We need to look at each case individually, but I see closing schools as a last alternative.	Start with a tough approach to wasteful spending, such as using teachers as study hall monitors or allowing small duplicative classes. Second, every administrative position needs to be justified.	1. Cultivate and preserve relationships that support our children.2. Ensure preschoolers are prepared to enter public school.3. Nurture cultural differences between schools.
Scott E. Morgan* Publisher 1618 Inverness Drive	We can either choose to ignore the many difficulties facing education and act like everything can stay the same, or we can choose to find better ways of providing the kind of education Lawrence demands.	It addresses numerous long-overdue maintenance issues, but much more importantly, it frees up $1.4 million a year in operational money that can be used for teachers and programs.	We need to take the money we have tied up in square footage and put it back into the classroom. … Taking four physically inadequate schools and placing them into two top-notch buildings … is the right thing to do.	I genuinely believe that additional cuts will harm the quality of education this town expects. … My top two priorities (for increases) would be class size reduction and increasing teacher salary and benefits.	1. Reducing class size.2. Preparing this district for the new federal mandates.3. Continuing to build a trusting relationship between our district and the community.
Sue Morgan* Church business manager 4604 Turnberry Drive	Because I truly believe that the most important thing we can do as a society is give every child a safe, healthy, educated start in life.	I believe it will help us meet our goal of student achievement for all our kids. … It’s a chance for us to reinvest in Lawrence and start providing the equity we have talked about for so long.	Our goals of smaller class sizes and quality teachers are the most important elements to our success. Consolidating our smallest buildings into two-section schools will help us meet both of these goals.	Administration will be examined again, as will everything else, but the discomforting fact is that all the easy cuts in our budget have already been made.	1. Improving achievement and success for all students.2. Recruiting and retaining quality staff.3. Communicating and collaborating with parents, staff, students, and community entities.
Leonard Ortiz College teacher 3032Yellowstone Drive	The board needs members who will listen carefully to all concerned citizens and develop and promote solutions that will best serve our students, teachers and the community.	The bond as it is written is too big. I believe that the board should have given voters some optional packages to choose from. Unfortunately, it is an all-or-nothing deal.	The data supporting school closures is inconclusive. There are numerous studies that argue that small neighborhood schools are more beneficial to students, especially at-risk students, than are larger schools.	The district needs to re-evaluate its administrative operations. … If we have the opportunity to increase spending, then it should go into the pockets of our teachers, who directly affect our children.	1. A new junior high at the current South campus.2. Preserve and enhance small, neighborhood schools.3. Promote multicultural awareness in the district.
Michael L. PomesEnvironmental geologist 528 Kan.	I am interested in making sure that the neighborhood associations in Lawrence have the voice they should have concerning their neighborhood schools.	The present bond issue is the wrong bond issue at the wrong time. … I could support a smaller bond issue for the replacement of South Junior High School.	I do not support any attempt to close or consolidate neighborhood schools. … If the number of students in a neighborhood can only support a single-section school, (that) is right for that neighborhood.	Cut administrative positions to save money. … Request that new businesses receiving tax abatements from the city also give financial or material support to the school district.	1. Safety of students, faculty, and staff.2. Continuation of art, athletic, drama, extracurricular and music programs.3. Science and math education.
Ron Powell Unemployed medicalassistant 1729 E. 30th St.	I feel my voice on the school board would be a voice for the neighborhood schools, families of special education, lower- income families and the alternative school.	I’m against a bond issue listed as proposed. In 1998, a bond issue for $16.6 million was proposed, $2.5 million for repair and renovation of existing facilities. … Where is that money?	If you notice, people moving to and around Lawrence choose areas with neighborhood schools. (Consolidation) places more pressure on teachers and staff with increased class sizes.	Cutting and consolidation at upper levels of the school district would be a good place to start. Re-evaluate teachers and replace ones who have lost a general good feeling about students, parents and education.	1. Propose rebuilding South Junior High.2. Propose using an existing facility for the new alternative school.3. Propose school improvements with activities. Find ways to pay for good teachers.
Cindy Yulich Bankvice president 4203 W. 12th St.	I strongly believe that every child – no matter their circumstance – deserves a quality public education. … To be in a position to assist our students as they journey to adulthood would be a privilege.	I am not running to support or defeat the bond issue. … I support the present school board in their effort to bring this bond issue to the table and will vote in favor of the bond issue.	We have a declining enrollment. By consolidating schools and protecting class size, we can maximize resources and deliver more to our students.	Operationally, we can only increase spending to pay teachers or pay other operating expenses when we find an equal reduction in some other operational expense or when we receive increased funding.	1. Increase communication between administration, the board, governments and the public.2. Educate citizens about the present system of school finance.3. Address the new federal mandates.