001e e all right if we could take our seats we'll get started all right everybody good evening my name is Keith Marty I'm the proud superintendent of the Parkway School District and I want to welcome all of you tonight to our annual uh League of Women Voters of of candidate Forum uh this is always an event that I uh am pleased that we take time in Parkway to uh allow our candidates to uh have an opportunity to express with questions from you and from our public and so again welcome and I know you'll get directions you we have some questions I think to start the program but we'll certainly gather some more I just uh want to say that um uh as superintendent for quite a few years uh I I think the elected board
002of education is an important role in our community and uh I've been blessed in Parkway to to serve with u some wonderful board members and we have some wonderful candidates this year so I'm very very proud of our community for uh the work that uh they do in supporting our our schools and also in always making sure that U holding our board and this and the superintendent and all of us accountable but we have had a great working relationship here in Parkway and again looking forward to hearing from the S of candidates tonight I also want to thank the League of Women Voters for your continued support of this event and all the work uh that you do each and every year and we have a number of women here tonight that will be helping
003and assisting so without further Ado we'll get started and it's my pleasure to introduce a vet Kell who is a veteran of this uh role this year and then uh I think she this was in this role last year and uh she'll be our leader our facilitator tonight so uh sit back and enjoy and candidates best wishes to you thank you very much enjoy the show good evening everyone uh we are here for the Parkway School Board candidate Forum yay everyone in the right place all right just making sure everybody's in the right place before we get started uh the League of Women Voters is very much a believer in being an informed voter and these candidate forms provide us the ability to give the voters information about all of the candidates um from their
004voices and providing questions that y'all wrote so every question that we ask tonight are not questions that come from the league these are questions that come from you the voters um there was an online portal for people to submit questions ahead of time we did get um about 12 about a dozen um questions ahead of time you can also submit questions here tonight we have our lovely card takers in the back and we have um 3x5 cards please feel free to write your questions on the cards and then hold them up and they will come grab them and they will bring them up to me and I will do my juggling act to get everything in and ask as many questions as we can in the next 90 minutes um all of our candidates this
005evening have received the ground rules but I don't believe that everyone in the audience has received the ground rules so I'm going to let you know how things are going to go tonight um so the Forum uh will go as follows we will have two minutes for all of the candidates to provide us with an opening uh with opening remarks that will be 2 minutes our lovely timekeeper Jan up here at the front has this great paddle and no she will not use that on the candidates unless absolutely necessary but there is a 30 second and then a stop and so please watch out for Jan and when she when I see the stop sign I will if you're in the middle of a sentence I'll let you continue through the sentence but if that
006sentence becomes a really bad runon sentence a we're going to use that against you later but B I will then catch it down from there so we want to be we want to be very respectful of everybody's time um then we'll move into questions each candidate will have one minute to answer the question and every question will be answered by every candidate so we do not do targeted questions to each candidate so if you have a question specifically for just one candidate I would very much encourage you to come talk to that candidate after the Forum or um talk to them later if you do submit a question that is specifically to one um candidate I will generalize it so that it can go to all candidates um we ask that the audience remain respectful
007quiet we're here to listen um throughout tonight and that the candidates do not address each other this is about providing your opinion on the question that's asked so we want to hear your information not necessar how you feel about the person next to you or any of the other school board Representatives that may or may not be here tonight I know there's a couple out there that I see um but after we get through the questions we will ask questions until we are out of questions as the moderator I do reserve the right to combine questions um I'm already seeing some themes emerging this evening so I will combine questions where appropriate um or rephrase where appropriate once we have asked all the questions we will then move to closing remarks and you will again
008have two minutes to provide closing remarks for each question we will start with a different person um I do tend to get a little mixed up at times especially after we get to around two or three and I start seeing like five of you if I miss anybody just keep me honest and holler at me um or as we start rotating through so we'll start with um Jeffrey at the beginning here and then work our way down and then rotate all the way around um if we don't happen to get to everyone's questions tonight please please please contact candidates or look up their information and come talk to them I'm sure they would love to hear from you and um converse with you about any any other issues you may have um or questions that
009you may have for them so you will be voting for two candidates of the four that are up here this evening on Tuesday April 8th which is election day and we have Jeffrey sector here at the end did I pronounce that Spectre sorry see I even have my glasses on and I'm not doing it right Mia Robinson John kilper and Ally seat um and we will again we'll start on this end and work our way down and then for closing remarks we're going to start with Alie and work our way this way sound good all right fantastic well we're g to start with opening remarks Jan's gonna get her handy dandy little uh timer out and Mr Spectre you're going to start us off wonderful uh good evening first off I'd like to thank the
010leg of Women Voters in Parkway for coordinating this forum tonight uh thank you to members of the community fellow candidates and guests for coming uh my name is Jeffrey Spectre and I'm seeking um re-election to the parkway Board of Education I'm a proud Parkway Central graduate class of 2003 and and and an advocate for Parkway my incredible wife and I met our senior year at Parkway Central and have been together ever since she was also a teachers assistant for many years in Parkway we have two amazing girls who are in fifth and third grade at Green Trails Elementary my mother is a retired Parkway teacher and I have many friends and family who are either current or former Parkway teachers my roots are in Parkway and in the community and I'm Parkway proud being a
011member of the parkway board for the past three years has been rewarding and challenging however there's always ways to learn and improve as part of my candidacy and as a member of the board here are just a few things I I am committed to one ensuring a safe and safe environment that supports physical mental and emotional health for all Parkway students faculty and staff working to keep our district moving forward and keeping lines of communication open and transparent within the parkway Community supporting diversity Equity opportunity and inclusion by providing unbiased education free from free from discrimination hate intolerance Prejudice and exclusion developing Parkways already stellar reputation by advocating for allocation of District resources responsibly and giving our students the opportunity to learn from our history so we can have a brighter future I Envision the
012district where every student feels valued every teacher feels supported and every parent feels heard together we can cultivate this environment where our CH where our children are not only achieving academically but also grow into compassionate and responsible citizens ready for the everchanging world I humbly ask for your support and your vote in the upcoming election let's work collaboratively to shape our future and most importantly make it bright for our students thank you for your time and I look forward to the opportunity to serve your community thank you moving on uh good even good evening and thank you for being here um I'm newer to Parkway so I wanted to spend um these first two minutes just kind of introducing myself and sharing about my background and what brought me to Parkway my name is Mia
013Robinson I am originally from Edwardsville Illinois but I have been in the St Louis area since 2007 um 2007 is when I began college at missou and at missou is where I earned a bachelor's in psychology Bachelor's in communication and a certificate in Multicultural studies upon graduation I returned uh home to St Louis and started working in public education where I've spent a total of 13 years um in various roles these include um Adventure Club activity assistant PA professional with SSD a technology assistant teaching a technology computer skills class 2K through 5 and the past seven years as a school counselor I earned my masters in counseling from umil and my educational specialist degree in mental health practices in schools from missou I moved to Parkway in May of 2023 with my husband um and
014we selected Parkway because heavily because of the school district um we don't have any kids currently in the district but um I am pregnant so it is a consideration of mine where my my children will be going and um Parkway is a renowned district and one we wanted to be a part of I'm running for Schoolboard as a community member former educator and future parent I want to live in a district um that I feel comfortable sending my child and I want others to feel the same way so thank you for your time thank you thanks to everyone here thank you to the League of Women Voters uh the Parkway School District uh and everyone here and at home who's watching I am John kilper and I am a candidate for school board because I
015believe that strong public schools are the foundation of a strong community and I'm committed to ensuring that Parkway remains one of the top districts in the area a little bit about me I am a Parkway Alum I graduated from Parkway North in 2001 my wife is also a Parkway North grad 2001 one we have two kids who attend mckel elementary uh and our oldest will be attending Parkway Northeast as a sixth grader next year just hard to believe I've also been an active well in my wife I should say is also the PTO president at Melby does a wonderful job there so we we are active in mckel in addition I'm a longtime volunteer with the district in a variety of roles for the last 15 years uh those include being on the board of
016directors for the parkway Alumni Association as well as serving on the park way steering committee since 2016 because of my work with the district I've developed a unique understanding of Parkway strengths challenges and priorities and I've also built relationships both within the district and within the broader Parkway Community Parkway is known as a destination district and I want to help solidify that reputation as a board member by ensuring that all students feel welcome included and safe when they come to school regardless of their background and circumstances so that they can focus on becoming empowered Learners I want to make sure that our teachers and staff have the training tools and resources they need to be successful and I want to continue parkway's history being fiscally responsible in a way that prioritizes student learning and supports
017our teachers and staff I'm committed to working with parents teachers all the other stakeholders of the parkway Community to keep Parkway moving forward in a great District that it is thank you again for being here and I look forward to answering your questions good thank you and Miss thank you to those of you who came out tonight thank you to those of you who are watching online and thank you to the League of Women Voters in the Parkway School District for this opportunity to share more about myself and my reasons for running for the Parkway School District I've been a proud Parkway resident since 2016 when my husband and I purchased our first home specifically here in Parkway I'm the proud parent of two children William who's a first grader at Ren Hollow Elementary in
018the South area and Sarah who is persistently disappointed that she's not yet a Parkway student at AG I'm from St Louis and I am the product of a high quality public education and I credit a lot of my successes and opportunities thus far in life to having a high quality education growing up I also believe in using your time talents and treasure to serve your community and make it a better place in my day job I am the chief of staff for the Clark Fox Family Foundation where I oversee program research and initiatives that support kids and families here in the St Louis region I'm also a former classroom teacher after graduating Truman State University with degrees in German and Spanish I became a classroom teacher where I taught K through 8 Spanish as well
019as then later transition to teaching kindergarten while I'm no longer in the classroom my years as a teacher fundamentally reinforced my belief that all kids regardless of their background deserve access to a high quality public education as well as cemented my deep respect for educators and the difficulties that they face every day I'm excited to share more about my priorities and um my thoughts tonight here thank you again to current members of the board Dr Marty and my fellow candidates here tonight as well okay thank you very much we're going to start with Miss Robinson and we're going to start with what do you see as the specific strengths and weaknesses of the parkway District well um I feel Parkway has a lot of strengths which is one of the main reasons we chose to
020move to this area um it's known for high quality high quality curriculum um I know the the Educators in the district are um experienced and well educated um I like all of the Just my background as a school counselor all of the mental health support that Parkway is able to provide um I know they've added a lot of positions in recent years um and are really working to meet the needs of the students um and I like uh parkway's current focus on Dei it's also a very important area for me and with the Dei office and the policies I've reviewed I think it's a high priority for Parkway and that aligns well with what I want in a school district for for my child and for other children thank you Mr ker all right so
021with respect to uh um strengths I think one of the big strengths for the district is its reputation Parkway is known for being an excellent district and I think that that uh the district gets to be a leader in that regard a lot of districts look to us and I think that that really helps us in terms of attracting good talent you know teachers and staff uh and also you know bringing people into the district um I think the commitment to Excellence and the forward thinking that the district has and my work on the steering committee I've seen that firstand where the district really goes through the process of trying to uh plan for the future in a very strategic way and then hold itself accountable to meeting that um I think the question also
022asked for some some uh weaknesses or some challenges uh I think that our aging facilities is is a challenge that we need to face um you know a lot of our buildings are 50 plus years old uh I think the facility 2050 initiative goes along way to think about what we can do with our schools um but that's certainly something that we're going to need to think about going forward um and and I'll stop there thank you do love when they regulate themselves Mr seika or M M seika Parkway has numerous strings some of which include our diverse Community um we span a large geography we um have incredible racial linguistic diversity amazing students um high quality Educators and staff who work diligently day in and day out to provide a high quality education for
023children in Parkway we have exhibited good fiscal responsibility that leades Us in in a solid place for the district and we have as other candidates have mentioned a really positive reputation families move here to the Parkway School District specifically for our education I agree that aging buildings and infrastructure continue to be a challenge for the district um as well as an aging District population um and I think that we have some opportunities to continue to strive for academic excellence and performance I'd like to Echo what my fellow candidates have already said about strengths um one of the biggest ones though is I believe the um our teachers and our staff we have some of the best teachers and staff that that are in the the area um our retention is very high because people want
024to stay in Parkway um the what we pay teachers our benefits it it it really is attractive to the community um you know without great teachers and without without great staff our teach our our children are going to have not a very good education um you know the I'm going to go more into the weaknesses because they they've covered a lot of the strengths um the facilities is probably one of the biggest one that Mr kilber mentioned um we have you know I've been to Parkway Central since I graduated and it looks the exact same from when I graduated and that was over 20 years ago um you know those are things we need to look at um facilities are a big part of making a child's EXP experience and education worthwhile if they are
025not in a place where they feel like they can learn they're not going to do a great job learning um one of the we do have some challenges coming up I wouldn't say weaknesses but challenges with the um with I'm gonna stop there thank you move down and start with Mr kilper yeah how would you address the rising class sizes especially in elementary yeah so this is an issue that I'm uh very familiar with as I mentioned at the top my kids go to melie and we at one point had so many kids that the district had to split it up and make a whole new school um so uh it's it's definitely an issue um you know i' I've heard you know concerns about class size um I think it's important that we as
026a district are again forward thinking we need to be making sure that we're getting um you know resident data consensus Data Tracking you know families moving in and families moving M out um planning ahead to make sure that uh we have the facilities kind of going back to that um and the teachers and staff to man those classrooms to take care of our kids um where we don't want to be as surprised where one year all of a sudden we have 30 40 50 kids show up that we didn't know were coming um so I think the biggest thing we need to do there is just plan ahead look at that data and make sure that we're taking the steps needed to accommodate those kids thank you yes and I I believe that this continues
027to be a struggle across many districts um locally I think making sure that we're supporting our Educators um providing highquality professional development time for planning and support adequate salary and benefits Etc is critical in making sure that teachers feel supported um in their classes continuing to evaluate the usage of our buildings uh our enrollment acoss our large District um agree with using a data driven approach to understand when we have students coming into the district what will the district look like in five years and 10 years Etc um and you know continuing to uh make some tough decisions um when necessary to make sure that we're using our resources appropriately across the district uh so obviously you know it's a it's a good thing when we have Rising class sizes that means more more kids
028are coming to Parkway um but that does present challenges um I know that our board policies uh have minimums or excuse me maximums that are below what the state requires for the class sizes and I know that our HR and administration is looking every single day at our class sizes um they are making daily shifts to how we would determine if a teacher's aid is needed if we need to open up a new classroom um there are certain schools that have C different challenges um certain parts of the the district have maybe a more transient um area where kids are in and out and so those classes are going to change dramatically at my child child School the classes don't change that much so it's a little easier to manage but looking at each school
029on a school level not as a district level is what we will need to do to ensure that the classrooms and the teachers and the resources are there to meet the needs of those students um since I was recently um in buildings I did not return to a school building this year but as I had mentioned the past seven as school counselor um I know very well the the issue with class sizes it is a big concern to me because with larger class sizes um it is harder for students to learn and it is harder for teachers to meet individual needs um just being that there are more children in the room so I would like I would advocate for um looking at um Staffing looking at enrollment Trends looking at the numbers across Ross
030the district and seeing if there's some disparity between um buildings and areas of the district um because we do want the best learning environment for our students and often that does lead to lower class sizes where they're able to um have more individualized attention from from the teachers and the Educators in the building right Miss cut we're going to start with you what is something you would add to teach and support staff compensation to make sure that we have the best Educators in the state you know I I really credit parkway's efforts on this thus far and continue to believe that um it is a a reflection on the profession and a requirement to pay teachers um the salary and benefits that they deserve in addition I think that there are some in school and
031in District supports in terms of high quality professional development support for continuing education um opportunities for support making sure that they have the resources in the buildings um that they need in order to do their jobs I think that that plays into a lot of teacher satisfaction as well as um teacher retention uh as a child of a public school educator you know I would love to say that we could pay every teacher 100,000 plus and and have unlimited benefits unfortunately it's just not where a part where we we are at as much as we all would like that um what we can do is support our teachers and especially with our collaboration with u the Teachers Association and our Administration during the collective bargaining process is really making sure that we're listening to them
032um understanding their needs um giving as much as we can obviously we we do have Financial constraints that we potentially could have um one of the go go back to the first question there are some challenges moving forward with finances um from a local tax amount that we are going to receive here at Parkway so there are things that need to come into play when um when determining overall compensation benefits and retirement those are two things that really attract the teachers to Parkway and again as I mentioned earlier keep here at Parkway um we've got a step program that helps teachers get to a point where they uh feel comfortable and I will stop there thank you M Robinson um I think staying competitive with pay um in the St Louis County area is very
033important but it's not just pay that keeps teachers um satisfied and keep the teachers in a district you also have to look at the their work environment and their work life balance so I think making sure teachers feel respected making sure they have access to relevant and beneficial professional development so asking Educators what what they're in need of um I think giving them some autonomy so we hire them because we trust them and if we trust them we need to allow them to do their job um and then looking at workload and and this is where class sizes come back into play making sure they're not um filled to the brim and making sure they're not inundated with a ton of extra duties I know that detracted a lot from from my work as a
034school counselor I just had so many different duties that were indirect to working with students that I was responsible for um and that can lead to to burnout a lot quicker than when you get to do your job thank you yeah and I I would Echo a lot I think um from a from a salary standpoint we need to make sure that we're being competitive um you know that means looking at the market make sure we're PID top rate um in terms of benefits and retirement we need to make sure that those are you know Top Notch as well that goes a long way to keep teachers here but I agree that if you don't have a good working environment uh eventually you're going to get burned out um and you can pay somebody a
035lot of money but if they hate coming to work every day they're not going to stick around and so I think that's where it's important that we are making sure that we're supporting our teachers in the classroom make sure they have those opportunities for professional development that they are interested in also opportunities for professional advancement kind of like what uh Jeffrey was talking about with the ability to move up in the pace scale and know what they have to do to do that and I think building out support teams um you know so that they can get their work done in the classroom and do that teaching so that they feel feel supported and know how to address situations that maybe they're not comfortable addressing so that when they go to work they feel comfortable
036at work they feel glad to be there um and can do a good job thanks thank you is everyone able to hear okay yeah okay just checking um all right we're going to start back over here and um I'm sorry a little bit of a softball jok um to build off of some of the things that y'all just talked about what do you you think are the most pressing issues facing Parkway in the next five years so I I was alluded alluding to this in my previous question but I think one of the biggest things is going to be Financial um issues and I don't when I when I say issues I don't mean necessarily because of Parkways um there is a senior tax free that is going into effect for St Louis County that
037is going to directly impact Parkway um for those of you that don't know what that is um if you're 65 or older you can uh apply to have your tax taxes Frozen to the rate of the 2024 tax rate um and as long as you keep doing that every single year your taxes will stay at the 2024 tax rate um because of that we will not be getting that increased Revenue that we would expect to get year after year um so I think that's going to be one of our biggest things and it's an unknown impact right now um we've been told by the county that we will be impacted the most out of any public school in the area um so it is something that is on our minds and something that we have
038to worry about um going forward and especially from a planning perspective um beyond that I mean we I'm going to stop um Jeffrey talked a lot about the financial issues um that are potentially going to be faced with with Parkway and that is a big concern I also think some of the legislation and um bills that are coming up could be detrimental to to Parkway we just have to to be really mindful of how some of them will impact the the budget but also how they might impact our work with the students because we want to ensure that we're still able to meet the needs of all of our students support all of our students regardless kind of what what is out there um and then enrollment decline this is an older aging um area
039and we're just not seeing the enrollment um that we that we once were um until people start kind of moving out and new families moving in I think that that might continue um so those are the three areas I think will lead to potential issues in the future um but certainly I think we would be able to to navigate through them um as a strong collaborative Community yeah um I I agree that the uh the senior property tax freeze is is certainly something that we need to pay attention to um I had an opportunity to meet with our CFO the district CFO to get an understanding of how it'll impact us and in the short term and and already there's um you know the district's having to take a conservative approach with next year's budget
040because the taxing districts like Parkway are not going to get an idea of how that tax will impact their bottom line until late October early November and that's tough to budget when you have a fiscal year that starts on July 1 I mentioned it uh earlier but I I do think facilities is something that we uh need to be looking at um our buildings are just going to keep getting older um age systems are going to break and that sort of thing I think the prop s uh Bond campaign is go going to go a long way um to bringing our buildings up but long term uh I think we need to think about when does it come time to start uh building new perhaps or uh or consolidating some of our buildings um and
041so I think those are kind of the two issues that come to mind I Echo what many of my fellow candidates have said thus far um I I believe that Parkway is potentially of the most affected districts in St Louis County by the senior tax free or has the potential to be one of the most impacted um I also agree that I'm one of the things I admire about Parkway is our Forward Thinking approach our sort of keeping the eye um on what could be coming so that we're making wise decisions in the current reality and then I think in addition um this is not an issue that's unique to Parkway but I think mental health and socio emotional well-being for students um is an increasing uh difficulty and something that has continued to be
042on the rise as a challenge um especially in the wake of the co9 pandemic and I'm I'm grateful to the work that the district has already done in supporting mental health and wellbeing and I think that um it's something that we need to keep our you all right we're going to start with Miss Robinson and we have a number of iterations of this question so it's clearly a Hot Topic and it has to do with suspensions so suspending students in kindergarten through third grade um why is this continuing to happen or are you aware of it and how would you take action to eliminate this or address it in general um I I was aware of that and I personally and professionally am not a proponent of suspension um as an effective means for discipline
043at all um I I would advocate for removing it from for K through three um and I would advocate for developing other strategies for all age levels um as a school counselor I would see kids get suspended um they go home for several days they do I don't know what play on their computers and then they come back to school and they just return to the classroom it's not effective um I prefer the use of restorative practices um as a means to address behaviors you're actually uh promoting accountability you're talking through um how what to do in the future how to avoid making those same decisions um it's a learning opportunity and it helps kids develop lifelong skills so they're not making those mistakes as adults where the consequences are much more significant so um
044those are my feelings on suspension thank you and I think uh you know as far as suspensions go I mean it it really should be the last resort um and if we're considering doing suspension for somebody who's k through3 um there's going to have to be a really big reason um for somebody to justify to me why that's going to be an appropriate disciplinary action versus uh you know intervening or some other alternate uh discipline I I agree that um as far as uh trying to prevent it from the first place right so we need to do better about building our teams um using the multi-tiered approach that some of you may heard at the the city of the district to be able to build teams around our students and to hopefully intervene early where
045we see or where our staff sees that there might be an issue that a students having that might result in he or she acting out and leading to discipline the earlier that we intervene the more likely we have to do those uh restor of Justice practices about holding them accountable but but really getting to the heart of what's going on with them and then hopefully addressing those issues so that they don't act out again thank you I think what all teachers want is students in the classroom able to learn and able to have a safe um and high quality learning environment so I don't think suspensions are are ever the goal especially um you know in our younger grades as well um I would advocate for using a data driven approach um both in you
046know inside the district and looking at Trends what's happening in our buildings what's happening um across our district and what trends are we seeing that we might to sure taking some action on um in addition I think you know promoting our socio emotional learning and our our mental health um supports for students and teachers is critical in making sure that students come to the classroom able and ready to learn so obviously our students are only going to be successful if they're in the classroom um suspensions are as as John had alluded to really should be a last resort um but at the same time we do want to ensure that the other students and the teachers and staff also feel safe they're you know if there is something that that puts that at Jeopardy or
047danger obviously we may need to do something a little more drastic than than restorative justice um but however restorative practices should still be a part of it um when that student is back and you know find to get to the root of what is going on most times that there is somebody acting out it's not just out of a a random nature there's something going on um there was reference to multi-tiered system systems of support it's being able to learn about that student on an individual level every student is different um and finding out what is going on in their mind that would cause them to do what they did that may have caused the suspension um or any type of discipline and so really getting to the root of that uh getting to understand
048and being a safe place is is the goal thank you um we're going to start with Mr kilper and the next sets of questions there are several break them up all have to do with Dei as we all aware aware the current political climate is very much targeting diversity Equity inclusion policies and is looking to seek um is seeking to eliminate jobs positions and efforts in order to strengthen these areas so the first question would be what is your stance on supporting diversity Equity inclusion within the parkway district and should the district continue to support programs like Spirit of Excellence start with Mr kilper on this one so uh the short answer is yes I'm in favor of uh diversity Equity inclusion initiatives I think they play an important role in making sure again going
049to the point of having all kids feel included and welcome uh when they're at school um and you know I think that uh you know our diversity we we are a diverse district and I think our diversity should be celebrated um I know from my professional experience that when you have a group of people with diverse ideas uh you tend to get a better work product right you tend to get a better outcome or or a better decision- making so I think that's important I think the concept of equity is really important and should uh always be considered when you're making uh you know policy decisions or or strategic decisions um and you know in terms of the district itself continuing to uh support those roles obviously we the district has to stay uh you
050know in compliance with Federal and St law um but you know at this point I I don't think that there's been a a direct directive that says we can't do it and so until then I think we we proceed thank you yeah similarly to Mr kilper I strongly support um Dei initiatives within Parkway I think Parkway is a diverse district and it's part of what makes us great it's also a reflection of our community and diversity in a myriad of ways and um I am not in of eliminating jobs or programs or or things like that um and I do think that all kids uh deserve a high quality education and Parkway continues to strive um to ensure that that's possible um for all of our kids that step into our buildings every single day
051and that they feel supported and safe um and welcome here in the district um I'm certainly an advocate for the spirit of excellence awards andate that that continues as I alluded to in my opening I'm very committed to diversity equity and inclusion I I'm I don't know why Dei become a four-letter word um you know diversity Equity inclusion it's minorities kids with disabilities women it's this rhetoric that has come out bothers me I'm not going to get into that um but I can tell you that I support parkway's efforts for diversity equity and inclusion um our goal is to ensure that every student has the what they need to be successful here at Parkway um Spirit of Excellence um is something I had a conversation this morning about Spirit of excellence and uh I'm going
052to soften it a little bit but um if we take that away I'm going to have some issues um that is something that that needs to stay in Parkway uh it is a celebration that has been around for 30 years um this isn't something that has just started because Dei is more of a hot button um it is something that Parkway is part of its tradition and part of why we are such an amazing district and why people want to come here here I stop there thank you M Robinson um like all my fellow candidates I am um in support of continuing Dei initiatives um and policies I think all students deserve to have representation um in their learning environment through through the staff through their curriculum through the books I think all students deserve
053to be celebrated and that might include celebrating populations that um aren't always recognized and continuing those efforts um I think talking about learning about celebrating um diversity can build empathy in in children and that's a skill that they're going to need as adults they're going to always work live with people that have different backgrounds within them different experiences than them and it's important that they know how to um live in a community with others that might be different um it also these policies and um initiatives also allow for opportunities for all students regardless of their background regardless of race gender identity sexual orientation ability um so it gives all students opportunities that they may not have otherwise had thank you Miss seot we're going to start with you for this next part of the question
054what are your opinions on integrating students with special needs into the classroom versus having them in individual instruction I think I think that all students um deserve to have an educational environment that allows them to be successful um I think that there's a long body of research about when that makes sense um in a whole group setting when that makes most sense in an individualized smaller group instruction um and I'm grateful to The Experts um in our district and nationally who help us um determine what each student needs um through individualized education plans 504 plans to ensure that um students have what they need in order to be successful I also think that um students of all abilities are a reflection of our community and ensuring that our students um are able to work together
055make friendships with one another learn from one another um is crucially important for the success of all of our kids thank you so obviously as I mentioned before obviously we want to give every student the tools they need so it's it's hard to just give a blanket answer on this one because you want to it's individualized if it if it's right for a particular student to be more in the in the general classroom versus a separate classroom then I think that that's that's where it would need to go um but beyond that we need to ensure that our our gen Ed teachers have the um you know development that they need to help with these students as well um SSD is having their own issues currently financially and so it's it's something that's going to
056be on our minds right now um with Staffing shortages from an SSD perspective um how do we get our teachers more education and more development in order to fit the needs of these students that's something that we're going to have to look at sooner rather than later um and again it's going to be in very individualized for those students um and and that's the only way we're going to be able to actually make it work um I agree it it comes down to First making sure you are meeting the individual students needs um but integration into General Ed settings whether that's um a math class or art class you are helping the students build relationships with the other students in the building um you're helping them feel more a part of the community if they're
057always in a classro um separate from the gened classes then they may not feel fully integrated into the school culture um so you offer opportunities where that makes sense um based on the needs of that individual student and like Mr Spectre had said you're making sure you can support the staff so whether that's um an SSD PA professional goes into the classroom with them additional training for the gened teachers or just resources they may might need in the classroom um there are lots of computer um Tool uh programs that will read the text aloud just making sure they have the resources they need to participate as much as they are able um and feel comfortable in that classroom okay yeah and and I think uh it does go it is individualized based on the child
058and I think it you know really gets needs to be determined based on you know the the support teams that they have with that child but but I agree to the extent that you can get that child integrated into the classroom that's when they're going to feel welcome that's when they're going to have that sense of community when they start building those friendships I mean going to school and being isolated for six hours a day you know you may be learning you know skills but we're social creatures right we like to have friends we like to hang out we like to play the games uh have the art class classes and that sort of thing so you know again I think it does need to be driven by the the individualized circumstances of that child
059what that child needs but you know to the extent that we can you know integrate that child and I agree that we need to make sure that the Jed teachers understand how to uh you know interact with that child have the support that they need um so that you know that the whole classroom is really uh engaged and um and doing well good thank you start back up at side um so building on that how would you support Advanced students as well as students who may need more support So IEP is gifted and 504 those those were the examples provided for the category yeah so obviously it's it's making sure we have the resources one um obviously you know there are some some legislation out there to get rid of 504 to get rid of
060the Department of Education in general um but again it it boils down to that individual student um and making sure that we have have the the things in place that can support those students um my daughter early on had a uh 504 because she had a hearing problem so they the teacher had a earpiece or a microphone my daughter sat in the front of the class it was something that was worked on individually with my family to get my daughter you know the the help she needed to be able to hear the class um so it's really you know it's been a history of Parkway to do those things to be individualized to really work with the parents work with the uh professionals the par professionals SSD to find out what is best for that
061student um and that really ties into the last question we had as well uh and really that individualized approach um with so with IEPs and 504s you have um written written plans that the educators are asked to to follow and Implement I think it's more challenging with um gifted or hired achieving students because they may not have a a standardized written plan um and if they don't if they qualified for the gifted program then they're going to be challenged you know in that specific setting but not all students qualify for that so making sure that there's ways to challenge them in the classroom um with addition like um not just additional work but higher level work um and also offering advanced classes whether you offer advanced math or Advanced English classes having ways for them
062to be challenged in the classroom um that they need without you know a formalized plan or guide yeah and I mostly agree I mean with the the IEP and 504 plans those are those are important um there are certainly some concerning uh talk and legislation out there that is potentially uh attacking 504 but regardless of whether it's on the books or not I think it's important that we are taking care of all of our kids including those kids um with those those special needs um I like Jeffrey we we are familiar with the IEP program because my youngest um had issues with speech early on and from that experience I learned it's it's really important that we build collaborative relationships between teachers staff and the Imp and the parents to talk about that particular child
063and the needs of that particular child and I think if you build that team around them uh you you you will be successful in terms of our you know exceptional students Advanced students um I agree let's let's find ways to challenge them more and and look for ways like um you know I'm a big advocate of the spark program in the district right that exper experiential learning take that knowledge and and put it to real life test um and and go from there thanks at Parkway we have a a mandate to serve all children well and that includes um you know no child is the same here that comes into Parkway um we have more than you know we have 10% of our students in the district that qualifi for the gifted program and over
06415% of students who qualify um with some form of special needs I'm also an advocate for personalized learning programs in Parkway and exploring ways that we can continue to offer learning that suits the needs of of all of our kids here in the district making sure that our policies and procedures for identification intervention and supports are strong so that we're ensuring that we're identifying students who need both gifted supports as well as students who might need some additional supports um as well thank you um M Robinson we'll start with you how will you support the lgbtq IIA plus students at Parkway and do they have your full support uh absolutely they do um I think that's another group that deserves representation so making sure there's representation um in curriculum in the books and it's not
065just lgbtq IIA plus students but many of students may have lgbtqia plus family members and they deserve to see families represented um that that look like theirs um I think it's also making sure there is trained mental health professionals um available to them um that it I worked at a middle school that can be a really challenging time um and making sure that they know who they can go to when they can go um and also giving gened teachers support for working with with those students um not everybody may have experience with with uh sexual orientation and gender identity and just giving them the resources to to do that and allowing people to feel comfortable to ask questions and where who can they ask the question to um I know as a school counselor that
066was something that that I did in my work was support the students and support the staff in supporting those students yeah I mean it to me lgbtq kids are kids I mean just like any other kid and so they have just as much of the right as any other child to feel you know welcomed and valued and respected when they're at school um I think it's important that they uh you know feel that acceptance and I think it's important that we are uh you know giving the teachers the training that they need to to how to handle that situation when a a child is going through that or maybe has questions and that sort of thing just to have that structure in place so that those teachers feel supported um I also think it's important
067that we uh we have the district has anti bullying policies and uh and teaching for our kids and I think it's important that that be continued to be part of the curriculum uh both in terms of teaching and then also in terms of enforcing those policies on the back end to the extent that that they're not being followed I Echo what my fellow candidates have said and um and support the lgbtqia plus Community well I don't personally identify as a member of that Community I think that it's um important that we have clear for voice and input and hearing um what supports they need how they need to feel supported and feel um safe here in our schools I also think it's critically important for our buildings to continue to Foster safe supportive learning environments
068where all children feel welcome to come into our buildings agree with um ensuring that our polling policies and um no tolerance for things like that exist to make sure that students feel safe and welcome in our buildings and um professional developments for teachers and staff to make sure um that those Educators in our buildings are responding um in the right way uh you know as I mentioned previously you know we are to support all students it doesn't matter if you are if lgbtqia Plus or not um I'm a personal supporter of of of them um you school should be a safe place um for everyone if it's not then we're not doing our jobs um there needs to be a trusted adult and that doesn't always have to be their teacher it can be a
069custodian it can be a guidance counselor it can be a secretary but sometimes school is the only safe place for certain students so we need to make sure that any student that walks into our building feels safe um my daughter is a part of a thing a group called no no place for hate it's something that green Trails does I believe other schools do it as well and that's exactly what Parkway is there is no place for hate in our schools um you know and and I think you know learning about differences of others is a way that we get better as Citizens for the everchanging World As We like to say here at Parkway um it really um we are able to celebrate our differences learn about our differences to really uh make ourselves
070better thank you Mr kilper we'll start with you and we're going to shift gears a little bit here how do you feel about the concept of Shifting School boundaries specifically how do you feel about the mckin McKinley McKinley split elementary schools that split into different Middle School M Melby thank you sorry I apologize yeah apparently that PhD didn't help me read so uh so melie is my kid school um and and it I I wouldn't say it was rough but it was certainly I mean we had kids when when we opened primary um we had one child in primary and we had one child in melie and in terms of logistics and bus rides and all that sort of thing um you know it's it's a lot and I know with my wife being PTO
071president she's PTO president of two schools and so you know there's a lot there to uh keep track of um now the benefit of melie kids is you know they do will all filter into Northeast eventually and they will go to high school together I am familiar with some of the other areas of the district we have you know crossing over um you know some kids end up going to South middle and then back to West and then vice versa um that's not ideal um ideally you know you have kids growing up together and going to high school together but on the other hand I also know that you know sometimes you can't help it you know people decide to live and move in where they where they want to and there does come a
072time when schools get overcrowded thank you I think part of the responsibility of a district is to make sure that we're making fiscally responsible wise decisions with our Resources with our buildings with our staffing and ensuring that we're responding in some ways to the everchanging world for our students but also the everchanging world of our district and so making sure that we're making um some wise decisions about where students are going what building capacities look like those decisions are not easy um I didn't go to park to Parkway growing up but I did go to an elementary school where half of the students went to one middle school and half of the students went to a different middle school and I will say at the end of the day I hope that we're all Parkway
073proud and I hope that we're also evaluating our course offerings and our opportunities across the district to ensure that there's equal opportunity no matter what building you're in so you know changing boundary lines is obviously a very tough decision for parents for students um but I can tell you they're researched heavily it's a very hard decision to make however with enrollment changes with Dem graphic changes it sometimes is needed um but as as Ally alluded to we are Parkway so you are getting an amazing Parkway education no matter where you are at um you know but right before I got on the board I know there was a change in pymont um which was one of the biggest and and that we had recently um I will say I I I haven't heard much of
074an issue uh since it happened um it's been a few years now and and students are starting to go from the Middle School to the high school um and to be honest it's worked um it's allowed for enrollment changes um and when going to Parkway Central a lot of the students that we knew went to Parkway West because of some changes in schools I will say it fostered some great rivalries when it came to sports when it came to um fundraising so there really is for every time someone says it's a negative there are plenty of positives that also come out of that thank you yeah I would agree with um my fellow candidates I think that that is a a hard decision for the district um I'm sure there was a lot of time
075um and research put into that probably a lot of community feedback and reasons can be due to enrollment changes um building structurally changes um which you know with enrollment changes right now and the Aging of the district you know you never know what could happen in the future um I think the decisions are not taken lightly and although um some people it's it's probably difficult for a lot of people I do think that there are positives in just allowing children to interact with with other kids I don't I don't know that it's always great for kids to have the exact same kids in their class um K through 12 I think getting to know other people um which they get through extracurriculars and sports they're going to interact with kids from other buildings from other
076districts so um I think that's a good opportunity to get to know other people and I think that you have to see positive sometimes when perhaps a decision is not something you agree with thank youa will start with you do you feel that the current School Board the future School Board needs more lawyers if so why or why not uh okay um well I certainly respect the existing school board and respect lawyers in general so no hate anybody else who is up here um running for school board I think you know I'll answer this in a slightly different way that I think one of the things that I bring to the poent to the table as a potential School Board member is a background as a classroom educator um and understanding what it feels like
077to stand up in front of a group of 25 fiveyear olds and feel responsible for their educational Excellence um over the course of the school year and so I think diverse perspectives in the same way that we value diversity in Community is important on our school board as well thank you this is an interesting question um I am an attorney um I am on the board um I know there there is at least one other attorney on the board um so I don't think I could say too many bad things about that um personally I think being an attorney gives you a lot of diverse perspective on things we are taught to look at all sides of an issue um not just be you know one-sided with blinders on um um you know it's I
078gu I I don't know how much more to say about that particular question given I am an attorney um but like I said I do think our education and being able to really research things uh and and really take into account all aspects of what's going on would is is an asset to a board thank you um I think having diversity on the board of education is important I think you want uh diverse backgrounds diverse experiences is um people from different places and from Parkway um but I think you want I think you want Variety in diversity everyone's going to look at a situation in a different way depending on their background depending on their experience um people are going to look at something maybe in a way you hadn't thought of and so I
079think having um a variety of professions um is a is beneficial to the board I I think everybody is is wonderful so it's nothing against anyone at all but I I do think Variety in um the people that you elect is important thank you yeah so so as a lawyer um I think my uh uh I think from a professional standpoint you know I bring a a certain set of skills that are helpful and make me kind of ready to go as far as a board member goes analytical thinking uh I know how to ask questions to get to the bottom of things I know how to do research get myself up to speed I mean I I take on tasks that I don't know much about from the beginning and it expected to to
080know a lot about them um when it comes time to advise my clients um also I think uh you know it's taught me how to be a collaborator um with my teams but also with you know opposing counsel or folks who may not necessarily agree with me I can get along with them and I can I can uh you know solve problems but also I I want to point out that I'm out running for the board because I'm a lawyer I'm running for the board because I'm an Alum a parent and a longtime volunteer and I'm committed to making sure this District uh remains excellent so I happen to be a lawyer that have skills that I can put to good use but uh you know that's not the reason I'm running for the board
081so thank you thank you okay I'm gonna read this for maum so I think it's it's worth reading out I know there has been learning loss and attendance issues in high school since covid I'm now hearing about high high achieving students not doing assignments and being burned out do we have an engagement problem in high school and how do we help out help our students care about their learning we'll start here yes so you know how to get students to care about their learning is to is to develop a a way of teaching that students will understand and like um teaching and and learning is not like it was when I was in school 20 years ago it wasn't like it was a hundred years ago before that um we are doing strides with more
082personalized learning uh Parkway Central Middle has the academy Parkway Northeast Middle is starting their sort of Academy personalized learning but we need to find new ways to get kids interested involved and wanting to learn um opening up a book doing some math problems isn't necessarily going to be the best thing for every student um we do have standards that we need to meet that every student needs to meet in order to to graduate and and move on to the next level um but we need to figure out different ways to do those teachings um and working with teachers and working with with um professional collaboration uh and different Avenues whether it's virtual going off campus the spark program there are many different Avenues to get kids involved and ready to learn thank you um I
083I have seen um an engagement problem as a school counselor at a middle school for sure and I know that it also continues into high school I think one piece to it is relationships um it seems that the students that feel connected to the school and feel connected to the Educators tend to be more engaged in their learning um you also have to make lessons relatable um so you're constantly changing being creative um finding new ways to you're not entertaining them but you know they're connected to their devices quite a bit so you have to kind of gather their attention in a way that is um fun um gearing to their interests so kids are way more engaged to things that they're interested in so allowing them to explore their interests bringing that into the
084classroom and I know I started in middle school and it's especially important in high school talking about the future sometimes they'll hook on to something because they really want to achieve this um After High School and so helping them understand how what they're doing right now impacts what maybe they want to do in the future how it can help them get there um they might take more of an interest in what they're doing thank you yeah and I I think um it is important to to be able to get those kids interested in what they what they want to do and I think it's um I I'm a big I mentioned it before I'm an advocate of the spark program and the reason I like that program is because it allows students in all the
085different strands to have connection with mentors and other community members in a field that they have an interest in so they can see what it's like um you know seeing the kids I primarily involved on the the incubator strand seen these kids build these businesses and come up with these ideas and then have to pitch them in front of a group of people uh it's amazing to see are they using the skills that they learn in the classroom absolutely right Finance math reading and all that um I also think the academies that that Jeffrey mentioned provide an opportunity for kids to do something a little bit different maybe the traditional classroom is not uh keeping them engaged they have opportunities to try something else um and allow that to use what they're learning from the
086books and all that put it to good use to actually solve a problem uh with a team and so those are my ideas thank you I think we're continuing to better understand the impact of the covid-19 pandemic and and its impact on students in not only our district but also Nationwide um whether that's through learning loss um attendance engagement Etc um I would also add in addition to the things that my other candidates have mentioned if you haven't had a chance to read the cell phone survey report recently I also think evaluating you know um the use of phones in the high school environment in classrooms um I think if you look at the teacher and parent perspectives as opposed to the student perspectives that um you know that could be an opportunity to look
087at as well certainly advocating for per personalized learning things like the spark program and the academies connecting it to real world applications and finding ways to make it relevant for our young people thank you M Robinson we'll start with you and this is again shifting gears a little bit and we've talked a little bit of you'all have talked a little bit about this in um some of your previous answers but how would you approach the challenges faced by parkway's aging physical facilities over the next five years um I think that is a big a big challenge I know part of the Strategic plan and the finan or the uh facility upgrades is already in the works um so I think the next step is looking at at the buildings overall and possibly I think Mr
088kilber had mentioned there might be an a time or consolidation might take place where maybe a building is just too old or in um a condition that is not worth doing these upgrades and maybe you talk about making um some shifts with that um I know with possible budget um issues that that can really affect what you're able to do with your facilities so I think you'll have to be um creative and although I know Parkway is is very proud and um probably loves all of their buildings and W want to see any of them any of them go it is important that that the buildings are safe for students and that it's a good environment for both staff and the students to to be in to learn thank you yeah as I mentioned uh
089aging facilities is certainly something that we need to look at long term um I mentioned the facilities 2050 project that is um something I'm familiar with with working the steering committee and essentially it is looking long-term well it's kind of a few parts one it is looking shortterm in terms of what buildings uh need attention immediately the Leaky roofs that sort of thing making sure that the district is uh budgeting and planning appropriately to get those immediate needs done and then the long term looking and asking ourselves what do we want schools to look like in the future what do our students want what are they going to uh need um you know in 2050 um and our schools may not look like uh big boxes right they may have collabor collaborative spaces and you
090know colors on the wall wall perhaps a little bit um so uh I can tell you that we are on the sering committee side we are just starting to dig into that work we've had some really good discussions and as a board member I would look forward to caring that um to make sure that we are taking care of our facilities in the future yes I Echo what my fellow candidates have said I think making some um those immediate updates that make students and teachers feel safe in the buildings is important as long as well as having wise financial decision in the long term um your environment has an impact on your learning on your engagement on your excitement and your pride about coming to your school building and I also think it's important to
091ask questions about how does the environment serve the the way that we're teaching students not only today but the way that we'll teach students um in 20 years and when we ask students to be ready to respond to a never changing world how do we make sure that we continue to advocate for the changes that are necessary in our physical spaces to meet those needs for as well thank you so I'm not going to just reiterate what they said but you know there's not a lot of land left in Parkway area there just isn't um and if we get to a point where we are needing to shut down a school to redo it it's going to be a challenge um where are we going to put these kids do we need to consolidate two
092high schools to accommodate building a new high school um obviously facility 2050 has is really brought to light recently especially with the bond program um that we passed and and we're doing a lot of retrofitting I mean we are um updating locker rooms we are doing some additions but a lot of retrofitting and how long will that be sustainable um but it goes beyond just the four walls I mean the furniture that these kids are going to be in is is it fostering learning um my daughter has a wiggle chair at school because she uh she fidgets um it's not the standard uh you know chair and desk there's going to be needs for every student and so uh looking at facilities is not just going to be looking at buildings it's going to be
093looking at the whole um of everything thank you all right I'm going to ask a couple more questions and then we'll go in they'll give you a minute to breathe and then we'll do closing remarks um but we'll start with Mr kper and this is this is a fun one okay how will Parkway respond to the use of AI by both teachers and students all right and no no you can't use AI to answer I will I will put my chat GPT away um so um so AI is uh it's here um I use it uh in my job um you know I wouldn't say quite a bit but it's certainly a tool um that that is very useful uh but I think in the school setting we need to approach it in two ways
094one it's a tool it's not going anywhere so we need to teach our kids how it works um the flaws in it right how it learns and we need to teach appropriate ways to use it as a tool uh while also teaching inappropriate ways for example not using chat GPT to write your you know final thesis or take the test for you um and so I think it's really important just like every other tool that comes out you know laptops come out and Chromebooks and all that stuff uh we need to make sure our kids know how to use it but we need to make sure they know how to use it responsibly um from the standpoint you know that's a tough one um I am not a big techsavvy person but we do need
095to look into are there ways to be able to figure out if somebody's using Ai and to to check them on that I think part of preparing students to respond to an never changing world is to be realistic about the prevalence and use of AI in society and making sure that we are increasing our efforts on digital literacy teaching students how to responsibly use the tools that are available to them um what these tools can and cannot do and also making sure that we're continuing to teach critical thinking problem solving skills ultimately they're still a human behind the use of these tools and making sure that students um Can leverage the tools that will exist now and in the future and I think that there could be opportunities for the district to look at um
096other software and tools to analyze data to find efficiencies to maximize our resources in the future yeah AI is here um we need to embrace it uh but again as as my uh as my fellow candidates have said we need to figure out a way to control it in a sense um and make sure it's being used responsibly uh we're doing this right now at my work um Gemini is something that's in Google that now we have access to but there are guidelines we have um you know I us it for my speech this no I'm kidding um you know there are there are there are places and times to use it and there are places and times to not use it um you know AI has been around I mean spell check in word
097is considered Ai and was considered AI when we were uh you know when I was in school so it's been here it's it's developed it's changed uh we just need to make sure that we are ensuring that we're using it responsibly both from a student perspective but also from a teacher and staff perspective it definitely can be a tool to help us analyze data to uh predict certain things that may help us in the future from a district perspective so again it needs to be embraced but also uh you know locked down in a sense thank you I think there um AI can be great supplemental tools um like they all have already stated I think it's about teaching the kids how to use it effectively and how to use it safely likely they'll use
098it in their future and we're helping prepare them for their future so um providing them with the tools they'll need to navigate a world with AI um and it can also enhance teaching so I think it's important for the district to support the Educators um in using AI to to make hopefully their lives a little easier when they're working with the students um it's also important to bring in of course like the tech department to work out um protections and and safety with using AI in the school setting um and make sure that we have solidified policies on what that looks like um just so consistent across the district and being used in the same manner um everywhere um it can also be really helpful for students that learn differently I I think I think
099it could be advantageous um for students with different needs I'd already mentioned um they have like text to speech and there's a million other tools that can be really helpful for students that that might need that thank you I think we all just need to get on board with the fact that the machines are going to take over uh this will be our last question of the night and then we'll do closing uh remarks and I will give you some pieces of the questions we may not have gotten to that you can maybe weave into your final responses and again if anything didn't get asked tonight please feel free to contact the candidates um we will start with Miss secot and work our way back around um what is your take on recent complaints about
100materials in school libraries and curriculums how would you handle these challenges I think that the books and curriculum that are provided to our students should reflect the incredible diversity of our world and making sure that we are exposing kids to high quality learning materials that allow themselves to be seen in the materials that are presented to them that are on um their right level that are um engaging culturally relevant is critically important I don't believe in in um hiding those things away from students and um or removing certain materials from classrooms and and libraries um and I'm I'm proud of our um ability to make sure that we are offering high quality materials that reflect um the diverse Community here at Park okay I'll Echo what Ally just said and also you know being on
101the board I I haven't really seen too many of those um complaints so I think the complaints that are quote unquote being heard I wouldn't say or a lot of them um but you know looking at the libraries um something that Parkway does very well is um we allow parents to limit what their student their particular student could potentially check out um that gives us the ability to give the rest of the students the opportunity to read what they deem they want to read um we should never be limiting what our students can read what our students can learn um there was legislation within the past three years years however that made it potentially criminal uh for teachers and Librarians to have certain material um so at that point there were some books that were
102taken out of the library solely to protect our teachers and our Librarians from potentially getting um criminal actions brought against them by parents um it's not something we wanted to do and it's not something we ever want to do um okay thank you Robinson I think as as Ali had mentioned that representation um is important for all of our students and that is what I would like to see in the buildings however I do think that some of this comes from a lack of trust in schools um and so transparency is really important um in my work as a school counselor there there are sometimes topics that are challenging for some families or they may not want their particular student to participate in and I was always very transparent about what lessons we were covering
103what topics they were and parents always had the option for opt out so I do think that giving um parents and families options is important and I think hearing voices of whe whether we personally agree with with the voice or not it's important that people feel heard and that will hopefully encourage and build um a sense of trust that that seems to be lacking at times um so having those conversations which can be difficult and um in inves tigating complaints too people do want to feel that you took action and if there is something that needs to be done then then we do that yeah then I would Echo a lot what's already been said I know that Parkway does I think it is important to make sure that you have that open communication that
104you're being forthcoming about what's going on I know that Parkway does do a pretty good job of uh allowing parents to figure out what the curriculum is at G given uh grade levels um there is the process um that Jeffrey mentioned where if you have concerns about certain Library Brooks you know you can you can bring those uh to the attention and and your child doesn't have to have access to those but I mean kind of stepping back from that um it is important that we have solid curriculum and in that regard I would defer to you know our teachers and experts and the research in terms of developing that curriculum to make sure that our kids are you know hitting all the standards they need to um in an effective way and I trust
105our Librarians to uh stock our libraries with you know books that reflect our students that uh you know teach them things and uh that they're interested in reading so um yeah that's what I have on that all right thank you awesome questions everyone appreciate that and um a couple things to consider as you're putting you're thinking about your F unless you and if you want to pull out your phones and use your AI with this this might be a good time for that already done um couple questions we didn't get to is more about your connection to Parkway which I know uh many of you touched on in your opening um statements but things that you would do for or have done for the district um considerations for sustainable and environmentally friendly Solutions when updating
106buildings and what that would look like um and then the question that would probably take I don't know hours of discussion but the impact of the possibility of the elimination of the Department of Education and what that would do for the parkway District you can choose to put any of that on your you can choose to talk about any of that or choose to talk about none of it and just go with whatever you have and just by process of of of how we got through today we're going to start where we began Mr Spectre and you have two minutes um to wow us with your final words Wonder so I'll start with that dismantling of the Department of Education um I don't understand it I'll be honest with you I don't understand why anybody
107would think this is a good idea um having a Department of Education provides students with protections provides parents with protections um and provide schools with certain funding now I will say we don't get a lot of federal funding here at Parkway but you know as an advocate for public education it is just an attack um I'm not going to go into more of it but it is it is it is horrible to see what's going on and hopefully it doesn't happen um I mean that's that's a you know a dream of mine that it doesn't happen um but in closing um I know I kind of went over my connection to Parkway I have been a resident for 40 years I did turn 40 last month um I've been a resident for 40 years um
108I love Parkway um I have lived in a I think three square mile radius of where I grew up my entire life um it's never a place I wanted to not be um and something that I will say hasn't been brought up is unfortunately we are losing a super intendent after this year uh we have a new superintendent coming in next year um and it is going to be an adjustment um and as being on the board for three years I can tell you it is an adjustment to join a board it is not something you come in day one and think you know what you're doing there is a lot that I am still learning as a new as a newer board member um but having some sort of stability for a new superintendent
109I think will be a great for that superintendent to have um this this might not be the best thing to say but I think no matter who you vote for Parkway is going to be in great hands okay um whether it's me whether it's not me Parkway is going to be in great hands with the candidates that are here we are very fortunate in Parkway compared to some of these other districts around um if you look at the research out there there's a lot of D um of of um kind of you went you went for the Department of Education I believe he just said go look at the research Miss Robinson um I'll start with my connection to Parkway since it's I'm the newest one to to the district um like IID said in
110my opening we chose to live in this area because of the school district I am an advocate for public education um I want good Public Schools I want every family to feel comfortable sending their child to to the public schools I think it's important for the community I think it's important for society these children grow up to become adults that you will eventually live by work with um work for and so those are products of public schools and it's really important that we invest in them and develop um well-rounded empathetic adults um as I had mentioned in my opening as well I will be a future parent of Parkway so it's now doubly important that Parkway maintains um its status as a destination District um I want to feel comfortable sending my child to the
111district I don't want to pay money for expensive private schools I want to go to the public school um I'm also an advocate for supporting Educators I spent 13 years in education and I I did decide to leave I did not go back this school year um I was honestly feeling burnt out like many educators are I think it's a an industry that people are leaving too early and not as many people are entering into and that is a concern of mine so I think it's really important we support the Educators we make it an an occupation that people want to stay in long term and that people want to enter into um and the impact of the elimination of Department of Ed very concerning all of this legislation that's taking place it can impact
112um public schools and I want to be a part of Parkway to ensure that it that it doesn't have a negative effect on Parkway that we advocate for the students we advocate for what they need and regardless of what the legislation is we do whatever we can um to ensure we maintain that in the district thank you all right and I will go ahead and start there and hit the the points because I know everybody submitted their questions so Department of Education I just I Echo what's already been said I think if that I don't think that's I think it's a horrible idea I think I don't think it's well planned at all um you know if it does go through I agree that we need to do everything we can to you know stay
113Parkway right stay true to Parkway keep doing what we can here um you know we'll we'll get through it if we have to I know we will because we are uh we are that kind of District but it you know it's it's not not something I want to happen um Sustainable Solutions for facilities I think that's definitely something that needs to be considered as we think about uh facilities in the future uh it's great for the environment also potentially saves money so win-win there uh connection to Parkway I kind of hit it on the top but I have I have deep connections to this District um graduated from North as I said uh parent um a um active volunteer um through the Alumni Association through my work with the steering committee worked on the last
114two Bond campaigns um through that experience you know over the last 15 years I have seen what makes this District amazing we have amazing students um you know just last week I was at the all District Strings concert and was Blown Away by the talent that we saw there uh we have excellent dedicated teachers that I know work tirelessly to make sure that our kids are getting what they need in the classroom that our facility staff is doing what they need to do to make sure our lights stay on and our buses are running and we have community support and that really you know I saw that firsthand in working on the bond uh campaign and and the overwhelming support that that got and those are just amazing things uh that make this this District
115great in all those roles I committed to making sure that Parkway remains an excellent district and as Jeffrey mentioned you all know we are going to be saying congratulations to Dr Marty here soon and we're going to be welcoming Dr Schneider as our new superintendent I've had a few opportunities to hear her talk about her leadership and I very much look forward to the opportunity to work with her on the board thank you thank you events like this are really important and unique opportunities for us to share our perspectives and and to hear from the concerns of the community what I hope that you heard tonight was four people who deeply care about the Parkway School District and care about it success now and in the future um I opened by telling you a little
116bit about myself and I'll close just by reinforcing some of the things that I care about which is making sure that we're serving all students across our district well we are a large geographic area racially and socioeconomically divers district with students of many individual needs in addition I want to promote academic Excellence alongside socio emotional well-being until all kids in Parkway have exactly what they need in order to thrive both now and in the future our work is not done and we have opportunities for growth and continuous Improvement um in those areas maintaining our financial stability among uh Ever Changing sometimes daily uh reality is critically important and I'm grateful to the work of the current school board and current District staff to ensure that we remain financially stable and able to serve the students
117who come into our buildings every day do I have all of the answers no but I'm a curious uh listener and learner and I am excited of the opportunity to have um the chance to serve on the board of education um while there are many of you here tonight there are also many community members who are not here so I would encourage you to make sure that you encourage your neighbors and friends to come out to vote to use their voice um through our our election process to ensure that we are choosing um school board members who reflect the needs and desires of our community thank you thank you we give our candidates a [Applause] hand want thank you all for coming out tonight and I very much want to thank the candidates for coming
118tonight and for standing for office I know it is not easy to be up there and have all of Rapid Fire questions um so very much appreciated and to Echo what was just said please get out and vote tell your friends to vote tell your enemies to vote just get out and vote um election day is April 8th and if anything was not answered for you tonight to your liking feel free to come talk to the candidates I'm sure they will love to chat with you but have a wonderful rest of your evening and please be safe going home