MCV CUSD 40 School Board Candidate Forum - 03/20/2023

001thank you so much for joining us tonight for this Moline hole Valley Board of Education candidate Forum my name is Karen Dahlstrom and I'm the executive director of the Moline Public Schools Foundation mpsf is very pleased to have been asked to partner with the Moline Education Association to host this evening's form thank you I don't think she's in here but thank you to MBA president Susan Hafner for her work in bringing this event to life let's thank Susie foreign so to our candidates thank you [Applause] finally to everyone here with us this evening to you in the audience we are so glad you're here the questions that will be asked tonight are designed to help you get to know the candidates and learn how they would contribute to the board if elected we hope this

002conversation is a helpful springboard for you to feel informed when casting your ballot on April 4th so to all of our voters here today it's the last time we're going to clap right now thank you all for being here so without further ado be now for me to turn things over to our moderator and officially serve tonight's form so please join me in welcoming Brandon Tidwell to the stage Brandon is an alumnus of the Moline Public Schools and a current board member of Moline Public Schools foundation and he is going to be taking things from here so thank you Brandon good evening as Karen said my name is Brandon said well I'm happy to be here tonight to serve as your moderator I'll be asking the questions to our candidates over the next 90 minutes

003the questions were generated by the moment education and Association and have not received by the candidates in advance if you haven't already be asking this time to please silence all electronic devices will be choosing from Seven candidates to build four seas on the board each with a four-year term the following current board members have expiring insurance for those present when I call your name please raise your hand Audrey Anderson Justin Anderson Kate Schaefer she's here hey thank you and Maria tregaris now I'd like to introduce the candidates running for school board this evening as I call your name again please raise your hand current board members seeking reelection are Audrey Adamson and Justin Anderson the candidates seeking their first term are Mickey Carter Ramona Dixon Lindsay Hines Justin Farrell Mariella Trevino thank you everyone for

004being here tonight if we're ready let's go ahead and get started with a discussion for tonight's forum each candidate when we get in 90 seconds for brief introduction and opening remarks this will be followed by seven questions each candidate will have 90 seconds to answer each question candidates don't have to use the entire time but should you go over a parent who is needed in the front row or raise some classroom letting you know that your time is up if you see the placard we'd ask that you probably wrap up your remarks each candidate will also have the opportunity to be the first to answer the question as we go in table order starting at the end with Audra and then proceeding through seated order more rapidly if you need me with closing remarks and

005once again all candidates who have 90 seconds for comments please note that for this event candidates will only be addressing questions on stage prompted by the moderator there will not be an audience q a with that said let's go ahead and get started Audrey you'll be starting out this meeting for us if you would please provide a brief introduction and the reason why you're running for the Board of Education your 90 seconds starts um I live work and volunteer throughout the molding Community uh so I worked on Western Illinois University as the Director of our career center for both the mobile campus Macomb and our online students and a volunteered a variety of things uh throughout the community both of them associated with our school so being Logan PTO president previously involved in music and

006drama boosters music trivia April 28th um so um I also had a chance to work with the morning coffee Club at Wilson being a boom Club discussion leader as well as next week I start a new adventure as a ja volunteer over at Lincoln Irving so I like to spend my time I believe in sort of finding neat feeling um and so four years ago when I started on this journey um I thought that this was a need in our community to have some different voice during that time I had a chance to really learn a lot about uh what really happens behind the scenes in a community and that has been such an amazing experience to learn more about this tips on how to make our school finances policy um and I really believe

007that because I learned that I could tend to be a good voice on the school board if you move forward um I have two children who have gone through the Moline School District my oldest child graduated last year and is now in college and then I have a ninth grader high school then also the spouse the molding educator so I really believe in the lead I believe in what our school district has to offer I'm excited to be here tonight thank you Justin you're up next if you please give us your inner level soon and tell us why you're interested in continuing concerning some work good evening [Music] I'm finishing up my second by Broadway I also live work volunteer and we have to be involved in our home Community as well um I've got

008six kids four of whom I've graduated out to still in the district and this is my way of being invested into participating as well as representing voices to the school district all right already The Experience knowledgeable on what's going on here it happens where we're going to go as well as continue to be involved kids right here every day you know what's going on in years great thank you Justin making your next if you'd like to proceed with your introduction please make sure yeah I want to get too close if you think about I am Michelle Carter and this is my first time you've been attempting to apply for anything um I have recently retired I have a child that went all the way through home online school district and now my grandma and I'm

009very concerned about some of the issues but when I was uh a parent I was very very now that I'm retired happily retired I see a need we have to address our students here so I decided to step up like all they say and volunteer to do a service room so much Ramona you're up next if you'd like to pursue with your introduction why you're interested yes it's yes my name is School District students um I just like to practice this by saying I'm running not because of those two because I am an off mother I am going for the year of all students I am the legend of my heart training um this is in my goal and this is what I do so I am not wrong when I came here 10 years

010ago and molding total Valley to Ubana spam and my kids in this family so this is why I'm a junior and here at Illinois high school and I have an eighth grader over at Wilson School District so I'm running because I know that the way we deliver education has drastically changed over the last two 15-20 years I want to be a part of changing that our students are your grandchildren your children and generations to come will experience of things that this board has things that are relevant to education but of stakeholders in the educational system Nana we need to make choices great thank you Jason it's your turn to proceed with your introduction and reasons for running for the board hi Jason Farrell um parents of four kids of the school district a bit of

011all those can be a different view reception coach District soccer baseball and my wife and I've been involved PTO we just kind of felt like now was the time to step forward a little bit more get more involved usually though my expectation technology to kind of bring that for me there's been a lot of talk about making sure our kids represented well I also want to make sure that there's someone here that's representing our teachers our Educators um everything that they need to do their job well because we're spending eight to ten hours if you please proceed with your introduction and presence report are we there within SpongeBob all right Lindsay Heist uh I am bored already East Moline I'm an MHS alone to my um I do a lot of work in the community

012and with the school so um I love to volunteer at Hamilton Elementary I've got a second grader there I have a seventh grader at John Deere who doesn't like to volunteer as much at that school but I'm also involved in some of the district offices as well so I've been taking part in the parent advisor report I was just involved in a session about designing um a portrait of a graduate so kind of figuring out as a community what we want our graduates to look like after coming out of Moline High School I serve as a mentor through lead firm which is a facilitates mentorship for professional women I'm a reading buddy over at Butterworth through reunited I serve on the board for both Mercado and Fifth and Twin Rivers robbery so I like to

013keep busy um and I like to make sure that I'm really getting back out of the community I love living here we love sending our kids to school here um and I've seen such great work come out of our board over the last couple of couple of years a couple of terms um you know we've got the Bartlett Center the PE facility we've got an Aspire wing all here happening at Moline High School um and I really want to be part of kind of that next big phase of work that we have to do here so thank you thank you Lindsey Mariana if you please proceed with your introduction and reason for running for board thanks okay my name is um I think I've already said a lot in my very beef brief biography no

014I'm just kidding um so I um I lived in Moline since I was two or three years old I don't know remember it was so long ago as a baby I'm a first generation Mexican-American but both of my parents are uh born in Mexico I have two kids they're on shield with me um I hope you can tell them apart they look just like me and um my son and he's a senior in high school here and my daughter is in seventh grade at John Deere um I went to Erickson John Deere I graduated only in 2005. um I also oh let's see I have a master's in accountancy and a master's in statistics and decision analytics and a master certificate of business Analytics um what I want to bring to the table something different

015a different uh perspective I want to bring a financial perspective to the school board I know all of us here are very um passionate about the students the teachers um you know I know numbers I know budgets I want to use my expertise to help out the community and um and the schools so yes thank you so much well it seems like microphone number three is looking the best so that's why well thank you for providing your introductions and your enthusiasm and willingness to be on the board we're not proceeding to the questions portion for tonight's Forum Justin you'll be the first to respond to question number one once the question has been read you'll have 90 seconds for your response here we go okay ready question number one is there a particular issue that

016motivates you more than others to serve on the board of education yeah for me um Marietta just mentioned with the financial background for me uh financial advisor um five-day trade and so when I my focus of interest is also Finance is making sure that the district's running well that the risks that are being taken are appropriate if the planning and budgeting as well the statistics and and those details still have a little link up on me on those cards and and so that'd be a great addition to the team um but for me there's good science that's my expertise by day that's where I'm passionate about to make sure that we're handling the taxpayers money appropriately and as efficiently as we can to also accomplish what we need through so they're being respectful to to

017your to your wallets as well the one thing I like very much they've been able to maintain or reduce our tax rate and for several years in a row that's one thing that I definitely like and pay close or vote for the taxpayer as well great thank you thank you Europe thanks is there a particular issue that motivates more than others to serve on the board of education yes there is a couple of issues that um affect my interest uh for those considering like this um issues of parental rights are really important to you and when I saw the stickers Club was that Jamie Adams I was very upset because there was a lot of controversy in our feet now a lot of parents that thought that this was unacceptable it and the whole concept

018of parents and their viewpoints towards what's going on in their own Community Schools with their own students is very important to me and I feel that parents really need to be supported as they try to be the responsible ones looking out for each other thank you [Music] Ramona is there a particular issue that motivates you more than others to serve on the board of education so I'd like to paraphrase that I would like to take the opportunity to look at it as a challenge versus an issue but I talked about it in my introduction the way that we do education stress change so the stakeholders that we do education for we have to consider that whether we're talking about funding whether we're talking about the fundamentals of education so for families that we service they

019look different than they looked 10 15 20 years ago there's teachers that are teaching in our schools there are more dominance on those individuals than there were 10 15 14 years ago the mental the stress is that students teachers staff custodial maintenance everyone in the district is getting now those pressures they're impacting our larger community so those are challenges that we as a community can have school board and those members within can work with the administration to begin to look at it but we're going to need the whole Community to help with this challenge thank you Jason is there a particular issue that motivation more than others from the Board of Education I'm going to pick back on Ramona's comment here because I totally agree with her and not only do we have education that

020looks different now than I did 10 years ago but our kids are expanding when we believe how they represent themselves how they learn and so our teachers need access to different ways to reach those kids we need better access to teaching materials class programs we need to promote equity and plus support for our kids and and to be honest sometimes that's going to cost somebody sometimes that's going to require vegetarian input I think we need to make sure financial responsibility and putting the needs of our kids in our schools um make that commitment and make it good you know I want to make sure that each kid regardless of their economic you know background their ethnicity their orientation that they have access to these things they have voice search thanks Lindsay is there a particular

021issue that motivation more than others to serve on the board of education yes I would say uh much of the same as as Ramona and Jason I I fully believe we have an opportunity here in Moline to create an even more inclusive District so over the last handful of years definitely since I graduated which was more than an eventful years ago but um I've seen the expansion of the types of um things that are being offered in school in terms of curriculum the types of activities that are being offered sports that are being offered all of those things so we've done a really great job in ensuring that we have the resources and the things in our district that will motivate and Inspire every kid but I think we have the opportunity to do better

022so um we can keep improving on that um our teachers are just our our greatest asset you won't hear me say that enough they're just our greatest asset and our school's do a great job of serving the majority of our students but I do think there are some students in some populations specifically within our special needs group that can be better served and I think we could figure out how to um you know define success for them and and help them Reach that whatever that looks like so thanks Mariana is there a particular issue that motivates me more than others to serve on the board of education it looks like they already said everything that I wanted to say but um yes um I want um you know our students to be prepared to conquer

023the world after graduation and and that also includes um you know from language barrier um we have some Moline Echo Valley schools have come a long way with the language of various uh English is my second language um I bet I didn't learn things until I was 10. even though I went to Arizona you know um but there's still um you know the language barrier with the parents and the students in our community so um I just want to [Music] for the real world out there and to use my language and to be the voice for those who who don't know English she'll have the next question I'm so sorry Audrey please thank you um so much like many other individuals have said um Equity is a huge issue that makes me run is to

024make sure that we are providing accessible and outstanding education to all students that make a choice that their families make a choice to have holy and cobal and be their home um but we do that in a variety of ways and the board that I think has has worked very hard um during my time in the previous uh years before that of increasing the amount of resources we give our Educators and the how we can prioritize our finances as Justin said to make sure that we're putting those in the right place to provide the best education for everybody that comes um another thing that I think a way we provide Equity as well is that we trust um an issue for me so we trust the Educators and staff that we hire they are the

025experts in what they do and we need to trust them to educate our children um and to be the Librarians to our children to the administrators who are helping form decisions about curriculum for our students so we need to to know that we are hiring good people which the board is responsible for hiring the superintendent to defend hires and helps hire all these other individuals who will then hopefully create a wonderful School environment for our students and I want to be part of that continuing my apologies again all right Mickey now it's your turn for question number two what attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members if you have any particular experiences or skills that have prepared you for this position I I consider my main qualities for being on the school board

026to be that I am a parent and a grandmother I am a long time resident of Moline and a taxpayer and I'm deeply concerned with our students but sometimes people want other things when when they ask that question so I'm also a college graduated I have a BS an interior design and a ba in general Studio Art I'm a licensed commercial interior designer most recently retired and Army Corps of Engineers I spent my whole career as a commercial engineer designer and I have many skills from being in that position while I was there I was the head interior designer and I was responsible for all things that had to do with interior design and Furniture throughout the entire Middle East in addition to performing full design and my own work I also supervised the work

027of hired interior designers for the core yeah and while I was doing this I developed a lot of skills I developed skills and Leadership teamwork and managing and completing massive and complicated projects on time I negotiated with government rules and regulations and managed to get my work done in spite of the very difficult task of maneuvering around all the rules and regulations in other words I had a lot of problems and I was successful at it but I think that these skills that I had in my job with the government are very transferable to the school board position because you work on a team you can have rules and regulations to work with I've worked with a lot of financial issues because the work that he did wasn't billions and so for this reason I

028think that I am qualified to be on the school board and have a lot to offer thank you Ramona Mira what attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members and if you have any in particular experiences or skills that have prepared you for this position please um as Audrey noted earlier the role of a school board is to govern over uh superintendent so the board adopts enforces monitors and governance house school policies that school policy is nothing that we create here we create local procedures and protocols but our number one job is to hold the superintendent account against those who have been hired under their umbrella and so I think that is very important piece of knowing your role on the school board um when we talk about as an educator I've already share

029with these guys that I have that experience as educator and an administrator we we don't go taking over those administrators roles duties and responsibilities because we've hired every trust that they're doing the job our goal is to question when things don't seem clear to us or the public for you guys for your bringing things to us just a question is to collaborate with those administrators within the district maybe the superintendent who then collaborates with her team on those questions that you have that might be delivering an opportunity so I feel like the qualifications to be a school board member um the knowledge skills and abilities are to be positive to be collaborative to be committed to the work to be courageous to be able to ask the questions but know again you can't come to

030this table being an advocate for your own personal reasons um and just have the heart to lead peace thank you here's our essential for school board members if you haven't in particular experiences or skills have prepared you for this position sure I think as a coach one thing that you need to do to coach well is to complex issues and simplify them in a way that other people pick up on them quickly without really diabetes to do and I see that on the school boarding meetings now for about a year and they're dealing with complex stuff we're dealing with taxes with all kinds of petty documents but they do a great job of summarizing that the way the general public can understand it and get the idea to provide when they're voting so I think

031that's going to be for any of us but uh I also think we need to with seven people working together so we need to be able to work with different opinions you know work with different people the different personalities and find common ground and I think a big aspect of that is integrity who was going to stand for what they actually believe in and that's fine when it's time to have that conversation but when the vote has happened when the voters been completed will you join with your team in presenting that to the community hold to that or will you go to social media blast Administration and blast the superintendent um I think that that's a very important aspect that we need to look at if you're going to vote for somebody here are they

032going to support the school district are they going to support this team or are they going to go back to you know other squares and then take that and air their agreements I think that's a thing Integrity issue thank you Lindsay what attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members if you have any particular experiences or skills that have prepared you for this position please elaborate a couple of the biggest skills would probably be listening and empathy so um you know like several of the other folks have mentioned we're gonna have to work pretty closely as a team we're going to have to be collaborating with members of the community we want to make sure that we're meeting good partners with our superintendent our Administration um so but you have to listen I think

033that's when the word starts and again our teachers and and not just the teachers everyone that's working in the schools you know lunchroom staff maintenance or counselors all of those people are facing kind of unprecedented times and and they need all the support they can get so I think it all starts there I for a living I work or I uh I work full time for OptumRx which if you don't know that the health services um company and I manage our providers and the Staffing our providers oftentimes are not excited with our services um and so I have to do a lot of listening a lot of um reframing and kind of breaking things down like Jason was mentioning um and and make sure that you know I'm understanding where they're coming from they're understanding

034where I'm coming from just to get to kind of that middle ground and get to that at least understanding and maybe we can't make everybody happy but if we all understand what our um our greater purpose is and what we're ultimately trying to do I think we can definitely make some steps towards that thank you Mariana what attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members if you have any particular experiences or skills that have prepared treatment please allow it so you definitely have to be a good listener um and be a good workload as a team and ask questions um I believe no no question is a dumb question just ask questions you know um and also to know what is being presented in front of you from the school board has to make

035the decisions and sometimes they have to make tough decisions so it's good to have a board that has different perspectives and comes from different um backgrounds um so I think me in general understanding uh budgets and finance I am statistics I know how easy it is to manipulate data to favor a certain group or categories so I'll definitely be asking the tough questions um you know so that way we can all come together as a team and make a good decision for all of us thank you Andre what attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members if you have any particular experiences or skills that have prepared you for this position okay so I think uh the main attribute is really understanding what the role is and what the role is and um and

036as many people have referenced as uh knowing that we are supporting and hiring a superintendent to do good work and then representing our community that elects us um and being that liaison between those two entities to make sure that people know where to go to to ask good questions if they have concerns or other things like that but um I think some of the attribute stars that you need to be a really thoughtful decision maker you need to be rational as you look at all the information that comes before you and ask the questions as many people mentioned but just be thoughtful as you consider all of the options and who the stakeholders are and who those decisions are going to impact um we have finite resources and we need to make difficult decisions sometimes

037about where himself but we need to do the best by the greater good I think um one of the other areas I think is that in my work I work a lot with Freer Pathways and work with college students so understanding uh kind of what are the options for our students and as things come before the board I think being able to look at those things critically uh to know kind of how are we preparing the portion of a graduate was mentioned before of like what are we preparing our students for what will their next great step be college career otherwise after they leave Moline and so I think that's an attribute I have as well as that I work a lot with individuals and groups to help come to consensus and I think that's

038a huge part thank you Justin contribution behaviors are essential for school board members if you have a particular experiences or skills and shoot for this position please elaborate has been mentioned already there's definitely Integrity openness open to being talked to uh being available to to your community and to school district and just ask a representative the board also remember the board represents the community the district who helps work with what the community wants and with the district needs to do and it enrages that gaps represent seven of us about 70 000 amongst Smalling corrality population it's a lot of people there's a lot of ways to look at all the issues and it's the knowledge instead asking questions to understand a whole new point of a topic there's no way I see that in the

039mirror you see it you see it there are all the different ways to look at something again it's microcurricular understanding as you can so when it comes time with a thoughtful decision making you're going to make a decision that and above then not visual factions people who see this the way you do but everybody else and everybody else is humans and how it affects their data device integrity open don't be afraid to hold a line when you have to and something that that your community is asking you to do that you believe in with them and understand that you do at the end of the day it's collaboration you work together learn what everybody has had you come to a consensus that works for the whole community thank you if you please pass the mic

040for Ramona she'll kick us on Ramona what's the school board member's role in responsibility how does that differ from the role of a superintendent or Administration I think we kind of hit on that one in the previous question I think I was waiting over my exclamation so I'll probably be worse the board supports the superintendent in that entire fire the superintendent um that's the only employee that the board has any jurisdiction over the board of Acts in the forces monitors governs policy but the superintendent holds everyone else in the school district accountable for doing their jobs um like I mentioned earlier the board should ensure alignment with the overlay school hold on the Illinois State Board of Education guidance comes out that's why it's important that we are in a position where we do our

041due diligence to free those packets when they come out to educate ourselves and to ask questions directly on the superintendent if we have them honor and respect the process protocols like the superintendent Health administrative team have in place by going directly to the superintendent establishing that open um conversation we hear from we are the Liaisons like Justin I'm alluded to between the district and um other critical duties that we do we approve the district's budget you know Personnel matters when any issues may arise we technically collaboratively those issues or challenges with the superintendent we ask questions of that person we remain open listening leaders um and then we actually seek involvement from our stakeholder groups foreign member's role in responsibility how does that enrollment differ from the role of the superintendent I think Ramon killed

042itself perfect I think so my focus to talk about what school board member did what are jobs because I think there's some misconceptions for example it allows a school board memory I can tell you right now I'm never going to show up in a class for one announced and sit up in the classroom and watch that teach that's not much that goes through the superintendent and then is brought to the school so I think that would be an abusive power and so I think we need to be careful about some of those things School Board member also doesn't develop policy themselves people they're going to vote on they're going to discussed it throw them some things in there but when it comes to some of these controversial topics we're not speaker setting books that might

043or how we're going to teach classes things like that there's a proper flow of information and proper process for how those things happen and so it's important that each School Board member and us as a team understand and respects that process so your second Ramona and then we'll work overtime thank you Lindsay as the school board member's role and responsibility how does that role differ from the role of a super of the superintendent important yeah so again I think it's it's pretty much been covered I will say you know second to what Justin said we are here to represent the community and kind of understand what the community wants for our students after they graduate and ultimately I think we all want a successful graduates coming out of Moline and hopefully at some point making

044their way back here and becoming productive members of our local community here um so yeah thanks Mary Ellen what is the school board member's role and responsibility how does that role differ from the role of the superintendent or Administration no um so I think opportunity to ensure that procedures um being enforced and make sure that our policies are not leaving any student behind um and um you know with the superintendent definitely have a good relationship with the superintendent um and just I guess of course just like Jason said like we're not going to be in school and watching over the students back I don't think my kids would like them actually um um but yes definitely enforcing making sure that the policies um are beneficial for all of us Audrey what is the school board

045member's role in responsibility how does that rule differ from the role of this the superintendent more Administration when I first became a board member oh we had to go through a lot of trainings this is a voluntary role but it has a pretty steep learning curve um that involves a lot of compliance and guidelines and um really being trusted with something important in our community um our goal is to be one of seven we are not to voice on our own making decisions we have to come to that consensus um the district person for the Illinois Association of school boards uh they described it as uh that we are in the valley and the administration is on the dance floor and we are not the ones doing the things we are the one kind of

046overseeing the things making sure that things are happening that should be happening in our district asking the questions when we need to and watching that happen and providing some guidance or not getting in there and doing the things um that even for me I know that as a school board member but at the same time one time the type of person who wants to jump in and do the things like in balancing places and so this has been a much different volunteer role for me than else I've ever done but really enjoyable to learn about those roles that we really have another big thing I like to say is that we help set those goals though so even though the district the administration the superintendent we take these goals and then our superintendent gets to

047run with them to figure out which one refer experts one of the teachers the staff who are going to implement these things for our students in our community um so that's the big difference is that we help come up with those things we make sure policies are being followed and we make sure that Financial things are correct but then we also uh just get to watch them hopefully do their work and continue to supervising so lots of differences but a great collaborative environment Justin once the school board member's role in responsibility how does that role differ from the role of the superintendent board Administration very dangerous being covered very pretty well pretty detailed uh the only thing that I would also add on top to all of that is our board member should also be

048very in tune with with what's going on in our community all the aspects of word research the goals who puts those forward and yeah so there's a whole lot of code regulations and all that those have to fit with him but we should be in tune with what our communities wanting us to do what are those goals how how do we relay that and how are we learning from what from all all aspects of those we represent hey thank you school board members role in responsibility and how does that will differ from the role of the superintendent or Administration well this is elected position some people vote and I see a school board member as the representative of the parents in the in the district because this is their their voice they get to vote

049and I feel that the school board members need to listen very carefully to the families in the community the function is as it's described but it's a serious duty to represent accurately the families in the school district and I feel like as an elected physician we need to really focus on what is being said by the families thank you if you please pass the night to Jason I mean our next question Jason you have question number four what is the public relations role of the board how would you improve the current communication with the community I think that we've said it before a liaison between parents school district is a huge part of it we need to be able to listen to parents listen people come in these meetings and speak openly help represent those

050views but the other part of that is to be very upfront on what we can and can't control not too many promises not to say hey we can change this can be very upfront say but I think I can't answer that specific when it comes to communication with the school this district is awesome as a parent I can tell you right now Communications immediately well informed descriptive or detailed um I was joking with my wife earlier today the kid in preschool or grade school middle school and high school you're getting three different communication tools so that can be some ways feel like a lot and so I would love to bring my expertise in technology to help find a way to maybe simplify that to maybe streamline that each to add that which has different

051pros and cons and so that's why we use them but there's always room for improvement so communication from the teachers technology thank you Lindsey what is the public relations role of the board how do you improve the current communication with your community yeah so as I mentioned in my introduction I'm I'm pretty involved in the community I think that's very important on having those connections with different non-profit organizations different um Community supporters different businesses that are out there and kind of understand what's going on locally in our community and and take that back to the board and actually just over the last few weeks during this process I've had a chance to sit in on several other meetings and meet several other groups and here are their perspectives and things have been um both groups

052that support the school directly as well as groups that are just kind of out there in our community doing good things and I've been able to hear their challenges um and kind of understand how a better relationship or a better partnership with the district may be mutually beneficial for for our students for our teachers and for our community so I would love the opportunity to continue to do that to continue to meet with those new groups that not already influenced into a couple of us had even talked about you know if we are elected I'm deciding you know in an efficient capacity maybe doing some sort of rotation at those meetings just so we can keep a pulse on what's going on out there in our community like I said both of the groups directly

053supporting those school and with others just you know out there doing good and um and and hopefully getting students involved in those two things too so um I think that would be the the big part as Jason said I do think we have an opportunity to streamline our Communications that that because we are using multiple different Technologies thank you Mary Ellen what is the public relations of all the board how do you improve the current communication with the community definitely listen and be a resource um just like Jason said we can't answer all the questions that they have um so definitely when you're out there you're a board member is in the spotlight they represent the school district um and even me right now campaigning um they're like oh well if you get elected you

054have to do this okay thank you you know but uh definitely this is and if you can't help them um you know be a resource and be like okay I think I know where to get you help that you need um and especially um again um here in our school district there's some uh there's a large um ESL Community as but I'm from the Photoshop neighborhood so that you know there's a lot of first generation immigrants there so those people who do not have a voice um how can they ask questions if you don't know what they're saying so I think me knowing Spanish I can help them um and listen to them and be a resource um because they are currently understood thank you Audrey what is the public relations role of the board

055how would you improve the current communication community um I think our role is that to be a connector and so we need to be available and accessible um and to help individuals in the community that have elected us to be aware of how they can interact with the board and how they can have concerns with the district be addressed as many of the other people have said that we are not in the problem solvers um but we will connect people to the ones that have the answers um and so that's making sure that we're using the proper channels of communication when people reach out to us um but I do believe that we do need to make people more aware of what the board does and how they can connect with us to connect with

056the rest of the district um and so that's making sure that we're out there in those Community organizations that we're attending other meetings that people know that we are board members that we direct them to the right places on the website all you can all of our phone numbers that are current board members are right there all of our emails are right there on the website so people can get a hold of us at any time they want not for us to solve those problems but help them connect people to be that liaison to the problem solving but I think overall in a PR perspective we're also part of the face of the district our superintendent is the primary face of the district but we need to be a cheerleader for that as well with

057that united front when decisions are made that we need to make sure that the community feels good about the things that are happening but also good about whether issues that they're being resolved in the right way and that we're taking concerns seriously so our role of the board is to be that bowling cheerleader and connector thank you Justin what is the public relations role on the board and how would you improve the current communication of the community responsibly available out there connected involved and and being be the receiving sounding board as well as the connectations right we don't promise an outcome but we can promise to connect them to the process and then help help ensure the process and it's it's also great for your voters we're one of seven to represent the whole Community

058it's also being a voice back to the district for the folks that you're hearing from and and and and advocate for those that are that are reaching out to you that you're representing it's also once a vote happens whether you are on the positive negative side of it or it's unanimous um your one voice you move forward in unison because that that's what the communities decided and the representatives of it therefore that have enacted thanks Mickey what is the public relations World reward and how would you improve the current communication with the community well I'm last so I mean everybody said much of what has to be said about the function um you can't stress too much how important it is to listen but it is a four to seven people and there are a

059lot of concerns there's different concerns everybody has their own concern we have to be very transparent to people parents families that are talking to us about their concerns about what we can do what it's possible to do um and we have to be transparent about the results of decisions like posting them on the Facebook whatever communication to the public so that there's transparency and people know that the the things that we are deliberating about have been taken seriously and have had the whole due process um it is a difficult thing to work on a committee there's seven people there's seven perspectives it's a teamwork effort be positive a lot of please [Music] communication is key you can never over communicate um it is important to communicate in various mechanisms because we are dealing with different

060stakeholder groups so sometimes we we can't assume that because we put it out there one time via email or whatever um that stakeholders have it so that over communication is key that board is the liaison between the community which some community members may be employees of the district but they are I think it's important that we or is the idea that those individuals that are employed by the board are still communication so you can um participate in board you can come as foreign citizens um and that we are the polls we're the close readers of the community people come to us our job is to bring it back to the superintendent so that the superintendent can then connect with her administrative staff to because they are the subject matter experts and I failed to address

061this in the last question when it said the superintendent and the administration and this would be a task for me as a person who's an administrator in another District to make sure that I I sit to it as well because I've been thinking that I am such a better expert and I could not do that it's it's not in sync with what my role would be as a school board never to go to those individuals so I need them to go to the superintendo as well so communication thank you can please come to Mike to Lindsay she'll read out our next question Lindsay what's your vision for education in this community as I mentioned I actually just took part in the first session of portrait of a graduate which um like I mentioned instead of

062Designing what we would like our graduates to look like coming out of Rolling High School we decided to put this stuff in there um I think ultimately I would like our students um our students to be able you know we do it we do a lot of teaching the kind of hard skills I think we need to lead some of those soft skills a little bit more um and by soft skills I mean um being able to collaborate with folks dealing with different personalities um leading through changing towards real conflict um resolution all of those different things because we are we're we're trying to prepare them for jobs that may not exist yet you know smoking with jobs that are out there today didn't miss 10 years ago certainly not when I was in high

063school they didn't exist so um I think we can continue on what we're doing but I also think we need to take a look at some of those other skills that may be less finite and no more qualitative so that's what I would like to see for our students coming out of awareness thank you Mariella what is the vision for education in this community definitely prepare our students for the real world after graduation I have a senior in high school you know and even though I chose the college job my son didn't and um and that's all right you know he's um you know there's trades out there there's um the social services military um I think um if we train and educate our students um right way and as well as mentally to be

064able to kind of be on their own to be adults good adults maybe once they graduate thank you Audrey what is your vision for education in this community um my vision is that all of our families and students feel they can come as they are to our schools from the time they enter in pre-k um up till when they're graduating onto their next great step and then all of our Educators feel supported and given the resources they need and the rest of our staff also feel supported in the role that you play in educating our students um and I think as Quincy and stuff has said that we need to be preparing our students for their next step whatever that step may be and starting to have some of those conversations earlier and often about

065the skills they're developing so that they can go be the best of whatever that is when they leave you that they feel prepared both with those essential skills as well as maybe some of the the highly technical skills I'm really proud of our district as we've launched it to developing making career Pathways without our grow your own teacher program we have different things within our CNC and other areas like that with the trades and we're exploring other options make sure that students get connected to the things that drives them to want to go from kindergarten through that last day of all across that stage so my vision for it is that we make this a place people want to be and I want to graduate from that families want to be thank you Justin what

066is your vision for education in this community a warm welcoming loving place that everyone can walk in but it's like Audrey said kindergarten to graduates and be able to see a warm accepted love on themselves whomever however they may be mentioned we don't know what pathway people are going to go I believe we need to continue stepping towards preparing people to live our day-to-day lives keep it respond be responsible with it and all the different Pathways someone may go when I'm buying four on children who have graduated and gone forward by two of Charles Collins one chose the workforce and one towards the military who knows even in your own household where someone will go everyone needs the opportunity to be able to have the launch that they need to go there it's a productive

067and successful aligners they can I think perform loving caring and accepting environment to teach us the core and anything else they need will help thank you Mickey what is your vision for education in this community my vision is that we would graduate from high school kids that are extremely well prepared and all the basic academic subjects the Reading Writing and Rhythm attack so to speak that they would be competent and efficient and efficient in what they know that they are being well prepared to go out to the next step whether it be college or into the workplace but that we would not be apologetic about what they had learned I my vision is that they would learn in the schools to get along with each other to be civil even if they encounter people that

068they don't like to just like in a workplace put aside their differences and treat each other with civility we have a lack of that sometimes and we really need it but we need to change our train our kids as well that there's differences in the world people are different and nobody has to be able to people are all different but we must be civil to each other and put our eyes on the tax just like in a Workforce we need to focus on the mission we need to focus on the vision of learning math creating of the other academic subjects and treat each other with a dignified civility thank you you pass the Ramona please what is your vision for education in this community my vision for education in this community is that um all

069truly means all so all kids are stakeholders all teachers everybody around the table embracing that emotion of equity so if we get there I know we will get there one of the things that the district has started and I think Lindsay alluded to it was The Graduate profile I was super excited to be a part of that work as well um in the fact that knowing that we could look at what we desire that Vision that long-term Vision know it can't happen in one year or two years it may not even happen in the next three but if we have a vision in mind a goal set we will be more apt to achieve that goal than if we didn't have like seven so you know one of the pieces that we presenter honed in

070on was that follows and or careers should be accessible so we know here in the Longview School District that we're training kids still they juice College if they choose military whatever they choose they're prepared for it so of course work that we offer here the soft skills that um you know some with the coursework in the world around the dedication that we provide them that they're getting that collaboration that teamwork that empathy that we're immersing that into how we deliver education here is exciting to know um I believe that those 21st century work skills are what we need to make sure that our students are prepared for whatever things Change Daily technology is evolved in AI is a big thing it's you know I know if you're in high school English teacher you're probably worried

071about it you know when people are writing classical right now so why do I have this conversation everything so that's my vision for the district thank you Jason what is your vision for education luckily everybody else but um I would say one I would love to see our school district be a better representation of Rich genders Memorial Valley sexual orientation that those kids all these different backgrounds have a voice and inclusion can be involved in leadership roles um I think we've made some huge strides in that I think we have more work and I want to see our school district be a place that is welcome to everyone regardless of where they talk about those kinds of things the other thing is I don't think there's a finished picture for our education it's a fluid

072process that's always changing we're learning more every day we just actually brought in a new math curriculum that talks about breakout decisions and things like that and so I'm inspired to see that we're not afraid to share both teaching styles that are giving out data teaching ideas that are finding aren't as you know strong as some of these new ideas and so I want to see that collaboration that partnership between parents and the school district that we're hoping to taking new steps taking those links and finding ways to connect with each kid whether it be through IEPs and special Edwards everybody through review teachers but that we're doing everything we can to reach every kid that might learn a little bit differently than you know most of the kids would learn so that they can

073also succeed in our level thank you please pass it like to Mariana she'll kick off our next question Mary Ellen what are the strengths of the molineco Valley School District definitely our diversity um not only culturally but also look at our extracurricular entities we have a plug for everything now that's just that's awesome I mean you can always use more clubs but um but yes I remember when I was in in high school um that was when we when they actually started a chess club there was uh they started an LJ music Cube plus Club back in 2005 and we've talked a long way since then um and then the other part of diversity that you talked about yes like there's um I you know I'm all about statistics and I read online um at

074the high schooler wanted and four students are Hispanic one in 10 are black African-American uh overall about 48 of all of our students are minorities so diversity is huge and and it's fantastic thank you you Pastor like that Audrey please Audrey what are the strings the low income Valley School District there are so many um so just to narrow it down a little bit one thing that I have been so impressed with in the last several years being on the board is that we have really put in an intentional focus on recognizing that schools are not just places that students show up at and learn subjects at and then leave but they bring their whole self to them and that we needed to have social emotional learning uh happening where we're having you know intentional

075discussions that we're training our staff to be able to have those sorts of discussions with students to support them to provide the resources needed that we purchased resources and tools to sort of evaluate um the needs of our students and how we have different Learners at all different levels coming towards people coming from all over not just even the Midwest and we have several refugees in our district and so making sure we're being welcoming to them and being able to understand their needs um and so that's something I think we do really well is that we've looked at the whole student and there are so many uh different sorts of barriers but also just advantages that some of our students come with and looking at all of those to make sure that we're serving them

076thank you Justin what are the strengths in the morning School District I think one of the biggest strengths is our staff and our team I think we have an amazing staff and administration around all of our buildings where I do believe every kid is welcomed in by name with an hug as they wanted and they feel the warmth and the welcomedness right away I that comes with Community Support another part of our strengths so Community is there behind us in a positive way always and in a vocal way we needed um I also believe that bringing animation my four kids who have graduated and gone on to the next step the lines one right here Broadband trades my high schoolers chosen their trade yet another pathway out of my own announcement it's amazing to see

077when they're all given the right platform where they can go and what they can choose to do and succeed I think that's our strength I think we give the kids that I think everyone that is on the team in some work or board members past board members staff in any of the buildings they are they genuinely want to see the kid succeed and the students succeed in the community thank you Mickey what are the strengths of the bowling pool Valley School District I also believe that there are a lot of good teachers here at this district and that there is a great effort to provide for the needs of the students and that being said we have a lot of different backgrounds for this in this community we have a wealth of cultures different types

078of people and that is the strength it is a great privilege to have people of all different types coming to the school it makes our school very rich so between good teachers and a rich variety of students it's a good mix thank you Ramona what are the strengths of the Bowling Club LA School District there are many strengths that the district has I'll start with a partnership between the Bowling Club Valley school district and the Moline Police Department that is like none that I've ever seen and I've seen education Happening by different states the partnership is something that this community should be proud of this administering the administration the teachers and staff I mean you guys is something to be um very proud of um I also believe that we have a great sense of

079school pride here um as I noted earlier I'm not from here we drove in from Virginia on a Wednesday probably at about 3 30 walked into Franklin Elementary School school was literally closed but the principal then walking with myself and my husband and my I had one girl that was full-aged she was in first grade it was the last month of school he walked us through there those teachers stayed at her they want me there classrooms I'll tell a sense of relief knowing that my first grader had just transitioned from Virginia coming here as an educator Mom that's all I talked about in the car ride my husband was probably like overwhelmed and he just wanted to include yeah and so when the principal said sure I'll walk you through and the teachers just embraced

080us that was our family Franklin will always be family and it just resonated you know with us into you know like when it was kind of a no-brainer where my husband decided that he was getting out stay here this is the following place that we've been able to call a home in my adult life outside of South Carolina and that that sense of family has isn't still here thank you Jason what are the strangers of the bowling Eagle Valley School District it goes without saying our teachers and Educators and all that but I I think what really kind of gets me and really inspires me are the people that are involved with our school district that are not in the classrooms whether it be our custodial staff um Keith Carson was a good staff do

081a phenomenal job that are here at all levels making sure our schools are up and running and everything is ready uh people on the staff who will lose it we're losing our CF bow to retirement and on all the artists I think it's Titan to be some huge shoes to fill um I mean I'm embarrassment but uh people who have given their work fees will really be yours to the school they're not just punching they're not coming in nine to five but they are here every night they're here every day pouring into the school and they're not being celebrated on the same level as our teachers aren't Educators so I think that that's a strength that we have that I can help in other school districts but man we're lucky to have people like them

082that are here every day and making sure that everything's running smoothly and they're not getting the same thing thank you Lindsay what are the strengths in the Bowling Club Valley School District yeah so I'm gonna have to go with um staff and our Community Partnerships as well and um as as Jason mentioned it's not just our teachers um it's the staff working at every level of every school I think you'd be impressed to find a student in our district that wasn't able to find an adult in a school that they could connect with that they trust that they feel like they can talk to and I think that's so important um to make you feel like you belongs make you feel like you're included it's made you feel safe as you know supposed to say

083pizza on issue too so I think that goes a long way and then like Ramona was talking about you know the partnership between our schools and our Police Department is phenomenal I'm impressed by that every day at every event but along with them you know the city itself uh Metro we have a great partnership with them the schools do a lot of work with non-profits in the area like the gray matters Collective they do a lot of work with the high school um Fosters boys we've got the breakfast just Optimist Club we've got kids at elementary schools reading two seniors that live in assisted living facilities those types of things just again I'm super impressed by the Partnerships that we have and then we have companies that show up again and again to support our

084students by donating on their time their money they donate food to our sports teams to our events so that Community provided it goes a long way um and I think our school will look a lot different without it so so we should all be really proud of those relationships that we've cultivated thank you and then this will be our last question before we move into closing remarks and Audrey you'll kick it off for us in regards to the molenical valley District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions on how this can be yes so one of the wonderful things as a board member gotten do is set goals so we are looking for continuous Improvement there's nothing that uh we looked at and

085okay that's done um so you know we look for the areas we need to improve and then sometimes we make changes from the district the administration makes those changes and some of them need um some are one-offs and others are part of what becomes part of the fabric of what we do every day um so some of the areas that I think we're still working to improve is uh making sure that our staff at all levels is representative of the community that we serve of just increasing diversity across our staff recruiting and retaining a diverse Workforce um and I know that HR Works in that area trying to make sure we're reaching out to different types of uh places hiring boards colleges and universities Etc to try to do that sort of recruitment level so

086that way our students see themselves in the people who are teaching them working in their buildings doing everything in our district um and look at the opportunities that are available to them in those sorts of roles um and then just some other areas might also just be as we continue to look at facilities Equity that's something we address we have limited resources so we need to make decisions about where we spend our money to make sure that all of our students and our staff are working in Equitable facilities um and so every district has deferred maintenance with all the things that we have amazing staff keeps our facilities running and in the best shape possible but we know that there are areas that we want to continue to work on to improve for all of

087our students at the community thank you Justin in regards to the millennial value District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions on how this can become key where I say that I'm the only worker always one thing we're focused on in our library critical thinking back bringings bringing navigation day-to-day life back um and I believe that that's one thing I like continue working on and helping see happen is prepare our kids for real life not just an academic event not just a friendly environment but everything they'll face in life out there prepare them for Budget checkbooks meaning basic skills to exist I think that's just in general not our district alone but I think that's something that's been left behind a little too

088much I would I think that's one thing I would like to see brought back into it into a main goal and brought back thank you maybe in regards to the building called Valley District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions on how this can help I think that what needs to be improved is some of our scores especially in reading and math reading and math core proficiencies that we don't have the best scores these are important technical areas that our kids need I mean there's many other things that are important but if our kids can't do math and read They're not prepared to go out into the world and our source should be higher we have a lot of room to go there

089um there's I would say that we should focus in on some of the areas where we are academically underperforming and put more resources to those and less resources to things that are not as critical for our kids thank you Ramona in regards to the bowling pool Valley District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions on how this can count yes um I believe wholeheartedly and well-rounded education and a part of a well-relevant education involves the academics but also looking at students their OS we don't disservice the student who service the parent and unfortunately some of our kids there's the situations that they're afforded that comes into the classroom classroom teachers are overwhelmed a lot of times with some of the issues that are

090not in their control so I think one of the things that you get focus in on is an area of opportunity um is diversity embracing that inverse diversity Audrey alluded to the human capital aspect of it having students having teachers that represent a population of students that are being service I I wholeheartedly agree with that and then I would just like to totally in on the academic Department um we we do a great job with the number of AP classes dual enrollment higher level rigor sports that we have in place for our district in order to expand the assets and offer opportunities to those who might not otherwise afford them I think it's essential that we put Sports in places when we give people students in those classes that they have the supports they need

091to be successful this will help them be successful when they do go to college as well because I do believe many of those students that come from those underrepresented backgrounds can go to college with a proper supports here so I believe that could be an area of focus as we look at tackling one of those challenges all right District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions on how this can be done uh recently we just did a ribbon cutting uh the other substance High School for the Aspire Wing um I think you were there and uh it was recently reported a school board meeting that we've gained back over 100 days of suspension by having that Aspire with having kids with behavioral issues

092serving that time you know and going through that with counseling in school and then going back to class huge step forward and then first of all I want to thank the award members over here that voted for the Audrey thank you for the people here that brought up the school board up out there thank you but we're not done we need more resources for our social workers we need more resources for our counselors I think our goal should be zero throughout the school suspension our goal for truancy should be zero and that means that we need to devote that Focus to making sure those kids are being reached out to those parents are being reached out to I know we're finding ways to to educate them in a way that they can learn and then

093get them back into to the high school into our schools where they're learning amongst peers so The Inspirations huge step in right direction but to me kind of gets my engine running on hell what's the next step now how do we continue to pour it into that so my main area Focus thank you cleansing in regards to the mulling cold valley District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions about how this can be held yeah so I think diversity and inclusivity are the big ones for me and um you know again we we're so lucky to have a diverse group of folks that live in Moline that throw them only in schools um but diversity you know it's broader than just folks from

094different races or that have different religions we have students with different you know neurodiversities and and physical ability diversities and um people with different home lives like Ramona alluded to we have kids that are lgbtq plus and and they're struggling with their own types of issues so we have to be very aware of all of these things that are going on um and again our teachers are overwhelmed our staff in general is overwhelmed so we have to do a better job of supporting them and I think our our District's done a great job we've been implemented some new Mental Health Resource and emotional health resources which is critical um at this point in time so I think we just need to kind of double down there um I've also I also mentioned previously in one

095of my other pictures about our special news group of kids that we have in the Moline district and I've been talking to some parents of some of those children and um you know just as an example um at Hamilton they you know we have our life skills class that that group of kids there's a broad range of abilities in that class all in one class and because of that some of the kids that are in that class get very overwhelmed and very overstimulated um easily so they come in a separate door to the school because of that some of the other kids in that class feel very secluded and feel very kind of left out so if we can figure out a way to try to kind of re-engage those kids um into the main

096parts of the school and the main events of the school I think would be much better off thank you Mariella in regards to the Moline cool Valley District as it currently is do you see a specific need for improvement if so do you have any suggestions on how this can help I think always can I'm sorry I think always continue to make our staff our teachers and our students feel comfortable at schools um you know we say this at work this is the same at our schools a happy Teacher is a good teacher a happy student is a good student um so definitely mental health is big and you know times aren't changing now with social media after the pandemic things are tough and our students our teachers are facing different issues than when when

097I was in school um so yes definitely continue to make sure that that our students staff and teachers with what they're doing thanks thank you Mary I'm going to ask cheating on to the mic please so we have concluded our questions section for the foreign and now we'll be moving into closing remarks each candidate will have 90 seconds for closing remarks Mariana if you please start us okay so again my name is um my name is listed last on the ballot for if you forget my name um I mean again I've said so much already in my brief biography um um I'm a mom I um I work in nonprofit I'm a fiscal director uh for an agency that does Senior Services uh before that I was um on grants accountant um and I I

098do help a lot in the community um I feel like I want to give back to my community for everything that they've done for me um growing up I was in poverty I was very low income uh when my dad passed away when I was 13 years old I was in eighth grade and we had to go on government assistance um so that was up um you know and I I had I got the free lunch at school I got the the clothing from shared Joys that was you know I got to go shopping with the top and you know um and so I just want to give back for everything that taxpayers have given to me I mean and I feel that's probably why I went to college because I wanted to get myself

099out of our game you know and then now that I have all this education I want to use it for good and that is why I am running for school board thanks Lindsey please go ahead with your closing remarks yeah so first of all thank you everybody for coming out I was not expecting to turn out this big so this is excellent to see so many people invested in our school board and and our teachers and our students so thank you for taking time out of your wing to come here today I've been super excited to hear everybody's answers um in in everyone's passion for serving our schools and our community um you know we always choose to live here right so we were born here we could we could move anywhere in Ramona and

100team here from South Carolina this is where we want to send our kids to school this is when we're private call home and um you know we just want to I guess I won't speak for everyone if I just want to get back um as best I can and make an impact kind of at a greater level so um again just want to thank everybody if you have any questions please feel free to reach out via email you can find me on Facebook um please please look it up and I assume that Brandon will tell everyone but I'll actually be April 4th please make sure to get out of there and thank you Jason go ahead and check those remarks yeah but uh to the second one it's inspiring it's easy to be more involved

101and so I want to encourage you don't let this be the end he's come to school board meetings please log on get involved with what is being shared those meetings because there's some good stuff and and we need your information we need your voice so please don't don't stop here please keep getting involved um I think that's huge and regardless of who you're going to support we're not support please come out and vote um think your voice is heard and get involved in the process and uh regardless of what happens thank you for your time I'm excited for the next step I'm excited I'm exploring the years of our our schools um I hope I'm a part of it but if I'm not in this position um thank you [Music] um while I love them

102very dearly I am running for their classmates might not have a situation that you're affording I'm running for their teammates that sit on that we spend countless hours on the quarter with I am running for their teachers they're custodians maintenance staff parents that support the work the volunteers the community agencies that dedicate ours of time lots of dollars to this Clause of Education I am passionate about education that's why I run I look for your support in May perform thank you thank you for coming out tonight thank you Mickey please proceed with your closing remarks I am running from the school board because I care and I'm concerned about our our kids the students in this community these are very challenging times for all of us in our culture and staff at the kids school

103and they deserve the best that we can give them and they deserve a good education there's tons of taxpayer money being poured into these public schools and we can't afford to waste anything we have a lot of challenges and we deserve to give our kids the best that we can give them we deserve to teach them truth and to teach them to be resilient people that are not victims that are not looking for excuses that are able to stand up in society and be confident to hear people that know fundamental basic things and so these School Board elections are very important and you should all carefully consider who you vote for and I hope you will vote for me I'm ready to work for you I've heard our views thank you remarks again thank you

104for telling your time tonight your attention to to our today election and what happened shortly you guys our students and the education part of our community um it's been an honor to be a part of the team here for for two times eight years I'd ask for your support on April 4th to continue being an advocate for our community our parents our students to continue the work that we've been doing we've heard a lot of good things so we're on a good path of so many things and it's absolutely exciting to be a part of to continue developing and continue to working and giving back to the community I like that it's one Comics being everybody's got a reason to give back we've heard a lot of good Hearts here tonight thank everybody your troops

105to vote for it will make a difference and stay involved don't again you're appreciate it don't let tonight be aware your interest in your activity ends thank you Audrey please proceed with your closing remarks well um as others I'd really hardened to see the crowd here tonight um it's wonderful to see that many people that care about our community and also I've been honored to be able to be on the board and been trusted with that responsibility for the last four years and I hope that I can be trusted to continue serving in that capacity I also want to put reading School finance and school policy books like that things to use for another four years as well so it's been a steep learning curve and I feel I know a lot and have a

106lot left to offer in terms of being somebody who will listen take the job seriously do my due diligence and researching what's happening and represent our community well um I care for all the Moline every student that walks through our school stores and I really do believe that strong Public Schools create a strong community and I want to be a part of that to lead to the Future so I asked for your vote thank you so much and wish them all the best of luck we would also like to thank the Moline Education Association for hosting this event and for asking the only Public Schools Foundation Department to all the community members gathered here tonight and those watching online we thank you for your continued support of the Maliko Valley School District we encourage all

107of you to exercise your vote um you're right to vote on April 4. as a traveling graduate class of 1999 it has been my sincere honor to serve tonight and beyond your stage thank you and have a good night