As a school board member, you have a constitutional responsibility for the oversight of budgets and finances.  What is your experience with finances outside of working with your home and family budget?

I know how to balance a budget. I was raised in a family where a financial ledger was the norm and I drove my husband crazy when we were first married.  I would hint what I wanted for Christmas but only if he could get it for a really great price. I’m not as picky about Christmas presents, but I am fiscally conservative; there are things that require large sums of money, but we need to shop around. It is always best to try and get the most bang for your buck. I have applied this mentality as I served as treasurer of the BYU MBA Spouse Association, as a president in church auxiliary positions, as a pta president and as a junior high community council member where our main purpose is to oversee the use of Trust Lands Funds allocated to our school. The allocation of taxpayer dollars should be done with intentional and objective oversight. 

My children have always attended public schools and I have always been engaged in the public school system so I have seen when funds have been used well and other times when funds could have been used better. My experience working in the public schools has exposed me to a wide array of programs that are offered. This experience in the public schools is essential when deciding which programs need funding and which programs don’t. 

I do not take lightly the responsibility of overseeing the budget and financing of the school district. I am fiscal conservative and work collaboratively with the other board members to ensure the funds of our community are used responsibly to address the needs of our students.  

What is your vision for the schools in Davis County?  What opportunities do you see ahead for the schools? 

Our school district has a reputation of great teachers and high achieving students. However, as I have listened to teachers in the community many are feeling frustrated by the lack of support and respect for teachers. As a board member, recruiting and retaining quality teachers will be a priority. No amount of technology or state of the art facilities can replace the person in the room.  Our teachers are the linchpin to a quality education. I want our district to continue to be at the forefront of quality education by supporting our teachers and letting them know they are valued and appreciated. 

As I have met with constituents, it is apparent that every household in Davis County has their own set of unique challenges. As we learn about the challenges and barriers in our community, we are better able to find solutions and options that address those unique needs. In our school district the opportunities available to our students are varied and vast. We have programs for our special needs students, our honors and concurrent enrollment students, and students looking to graduate with a trade school certificate. I plan to facilitate the growth of these programs, educate parents on their availability, and work to ensure they fit the needs of our students and the demands of an ever evolving workplace.  I truly want to see EVERY student, each with their unique needs and strengths, be successful. 

I am someone who is approachable and eager to better understand the views and experiences the students and families in our school district are facing. 

What role do our schools have in supporting the children that have barriers to getting a good education?  Many of these children have challenges in getting to school and are at risk in other ways. 

When the basic needs of a student are not being met, how can we expect them to learn and flourish? They are simply surviving. Ideally the needs of a child should be met in their home, by their family. But unfortunately, this is not the case for all students in Davis County. There are currently over 70 students attending Bountiful High School who qualify as McKinney Vento eligible. That is over 70 students whose needs are not being met at home.  

Our community has responded in an astounding way by collecting private donations from individuals and organizations who knew (and know) exactly what they were donating to, to build teen centers. I like to think of these centers as hope centers. These centers give students the support they need and allow them to matriculate in the school as regular students. Students do not stay overnight in the highs school teen centers, but they do have laundry facilities, lockers and a place to shower. They also have food and clothing vouchers available for students who qualify for those. These centers give students the support they need so they can graduate and become contributing members of society.     

We care about our football teams, our choirs, and drama club students. We build them state-of the art facilities and cheer them on. In Davis School District we care about ALL of our students, including and especially those who don’t have someone advocating for them at home. 

And I am the only candidate in district 2 who supports the teen centers. I hope you will join me in supporting these students. 

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School Board members build partnerships with the legislature to advocate public education as well as business partnerships to develop career and economic development.  What strengths do you have that will help you to develop these relationships?

I am the only candidate who has been endorsed by our local lawmakers: Rep Paul Cutler, Rep Ray Ward and Senator Todd Weiler. The relationships I have with them are built on respect and civility. I appreciate their approach to issues and know I can (and will) reach out to them with my concerns and solutions for the challenges we confront as a school district. As a board member I will also work to build relationships with lawmakers who serve on the education committee. I am familiar with the legislative process and feel confident and comfortable navigating it to address the needs of our students. I have also worked with our local state school board member,  LeAnn Wood and have a lot of respect for the work she is doing. She makes herself available to the community and is well informed on things happening at a local level as well as at the Capitol. Within our local and state PTA we also have individuals who do an excellent job tracking the many education bills that come through during a legislative session. They work to identify and inform others about concerns with certain bills or things that would be beneficial for our public schools. We can not all be experts on everything so I value the insight of these individuals and appreciate the work they do. These relationships with lawmakers are essential. The decisions of our lawmakers have a direct impact on our classrooms. I am grateful to be endorsed by these individuals as well as many others throughout our community. 

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As a School Board Member, you are to be non-partisan.  How will you separate personal political beliefs in order to best respond to the needs of the students across Davis County?

Politics do not belong in our schools, bottom line. I am a candidate who has always supported this mentality. It is unfortunate that politics have become an issue in education and a very divisive issue. Instead of focusing on the needs of our students and supporting our teachers, we are having to deal with political conflict. We need to support and uplift our teachers and focus on removing politics from the classroom. It is frustrating to see teachers publicly shamed and undermined. If a parent has an issue with something in the classroom, there are ways to approach the problem civilly and with the intent to better understand versus public shaming. And if a problem needs correction that can be done privately.

At the end of the day, I think we can all agree that the reason we are so invested in education is because we care about our students and communities. The more we can find things we agree on and are working toward, the more successful we will all be. The more we are willing to come together and set political views aside, the more objective and productive we will be. I am someone who actively seeks out the views and opinions of individuals I don’t necessarily agree with. Some of my closest friends have very different political views than I do, but we have a relationship of respect and civility and there are far more things we agree on than we disagree on. I am a candidate who is willing to listen and bring all voices to the table and work to remove politics from our schools for the benefit of our students.