Academics
Academics is “A” in my ABC’s campaign.
Rigorous academic instruction is far and away the most important function of the schools.
Teachers should be hired on teaching competency rather than diversity checklists. Discrimination in hiring practices based on the immutable characteristics of race and gender is not only unfair; it is illegal.
The School Board needs to focus budget expenditures on Academics, not Activism. Vast improvement in student proficiency must be demonstrated for RPS to gain the trust of the community.
When that happens, a true partnership will be formed between the schools and the population served.
We want to be proud of our Rochester Public Schools! This will only happen if we commit resources to attaining high student achievement across the entire RPS student population.
The key to achieving this is to abandon failed social engineering and theoretical educational “feel good” concepts like “belonging, “social emotional learning” and other dubious programs. Some, like “grading to learn” and “sight reading” have already been replaced by accountability and phonics. I predict this will result in demonstrably better outcomes. Much more needs to be done.
I look forward to participating in implementing policies that will enhance academic excellence in RPS. By diverting funds from non – academic pursuits into academic- focused programs that produce results, RPS will not be continually begging for money from skeptical and disappointed taxpayers.
Budget
Budget is the “B” in my ABC’S campaign.
I am and always will be the taxpayer’s best friend. I pledge to never approve expenditures that do not further academic achievement and the development of productive graduates of RPS.
The School Board is accountable to and reports to the taxpayers and voters. The Superintendent is accountable to and reports to the School Board. These lines of authority are not reversed!
After the failed $100 million referendum in 2023 the Superintendent’s and Board’s joint message to overburdened taxpayers is: “OK, now we want $200 million.”
Where do these $100 million and $200 million figures come from, anyway? Why not just say $400 million (by the way, with inflation adjustments pushing it to half a BILLION $).
Actually, they ARE proposing $400 million. Due to a new law enacted by the 2023 MN legislature, passage of a referendum allows it to be renewed once upon expiration WITHOUT voter approval. This was already done this year when a 2015 RPS referendum was renewed for another 10 years.
This will keep your property taxes high for another 10 years, even without passage of this newest attempted tax grab.
All of this is beyond insulting to taxpayers and the new referendum should be soundly rejected in the November election. As Rep. Andy Smith of Rochester stated: “We (the MN legislature) passed historic educational funding so that local school districts won’t have to rely on increasing property taxes to fund the public schools”. How did that work out?!
Common sense
Common sense is “C” in my ABC’s campaign.
Transgender Policy 413A was recently adopted by the current School Board. This policy is misguided on several levels, beginning with the obvious issue of usurping Parental Authority over their minor children by actively hiding information from parents.
A particularly egregious example is permitting trans biological males to access locker rooms that were previously private safe spaces for biological females. There have been rapes in such facilities in other schools that have followed this stupid practice.
Many students, families and community members have values (moral, religious, or other – based) that this practice blatantly violates. The burden is then placed on those students and parents to request alternate facilities to avoid seeing or exposing themselves to anyone of the opposite biological sex. These students have to single themselves out to get privacy, exposing them to bullying, shaming and ostracism.
The vast majority of RPS students can’t legally vote, smoke cigarettes or pot, drink, or drive. Yet, this policy allows students to change gender identity at school without notifying parents!
Another example where Common Sense needs to prevail.