My Platform
- Communication - The biggest thing I have heard from parents is that they feel like what they say does not matter so many of them do not bother anymore. Parents elect the board members, which mean the board members work for the parents. I will discuss any topic with any parent, so long as it is not protected information (i.e. personnel issues). There should be regular "town hall" type meetings where the board not only listens to the parents, but discusses the issues with them away from the regular board meetings. I also feel there should be a parent response policy within the district. This policy would require all teachers, administrators and board members to respond to parent inquiries within 48 hours. Even if the question or comment needs further research, there would need to at least be a response acknowledging the inquiry. The best way to improve the district is to get the parents involved. Also, the website needs to be updated. Where are test scores, budget, etc? This should be a vital tool in communicating to the parents. When compared to other district websites, ours seems to be lacking.
- Test Scores - In Waukesha County our combined test scores place us 17th among the 18 districts reporting test scores for 2006 in both reading and math. Some will say that we are better than the state average, but to me that is just lowering our standards. Waukesha County's test scores are higher than the state, so that is who we should be comparing ourselves to. Menomonee Falls was once one of the best districts in the county from a testing perspective; we are now one of the worst. It is time to find a solution to the poor test scores and start holding people accountable for the performance of our students.
- Finances - We need to take a close look at how money is being spent. I know budgets are tight due to less federal funding, but we need to be sure we are eliminating all wasteful spending. It is not fair to continually put the burden on the MF taxpayers. We also need to take advantage of the reconfiguration the district will be undergoing. There should be some natural savings that occur from this reconfiguration. We need to make sure we maximize these savings and don't just shift those dollars elsewhere.
