The primary strength of District 49 is its emphasis on parental rights and targeted focus on academic achievement. We passed our Parents’ Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in October 2023. Parents have the right to know everything that is taught in the classroom and how their child is doing academically, behaviorally, and socially. Our math scores have gone up every year since 2021, and we have seen an increase in ELA scores, however, we are not where we want to be yet. We have identified that our students are weak in writing, so we have made targeting writing as a strategic goal for the district. We have also made it a goal to become Accredited with Distinction.

I believe we spend way too much money on unnecessary programs such as Social/Emotional programs which cost the district a significant amount of money. I would identify one character building program/curriculum that is low cost and effective and use in across the district. We also have way too much technology in our schools with almost every child having a one-on-one device. I would limit the amount of technology use in favor of more pencil/paper tasks so computer and devices can be shared among students to lower the cost. I would continue to do what we are doing already and eliminate admin and personnel positions that may be unnecessary and do not directly influence the achievement of students in the classrooms.

We recently passed our Cell Phone Policy in July to limit the use of cell phones on campus. According to our policy, cell phones are not allowed during the whole school day for elementary and middle school students. For our high school students, they are not allowed during any instructional time. Artificial intelligence is a touchy subject, and as much as I wish I could eliminate its use entirely, I am not naïve enough to think that teachers and students would not use it. There must be safeguards and a policy in place to define how to safely and effectively use it without letting students check out of their own learning and depend on AI to do their work.

Parents should have full direction of their children’s education. They should be able to choose what, how, when, and where their children learn. Parents should have the ability to review all curriculum and know exactly what is being taught in the classroom. Parents should also be able to choose the right school for their children. This includes choosing traditional schools, trades schools, charter schools, etc. Nothing should ever be withheld from the parents, even if state laws allow for things to be hidden from parents such as sexual orientation or mental health issues. Every parent must be notified immediately if their child is struggling with these things, for it is their God-given responsibility to raise their children.

D49’s greatest strength lies in its dedicated principals and teachers. Yet, our district faces an academic crisis, which demands a complete systemic overhaul.

D49 has yet to recover from pre-COVID academic levels, even as other districts have caught up or surpassed 2019 scores. Nearly 70% of D49 students aren’t proficient in math, and 54% fall short in language. Only 30% of graduates meet Colorado’s Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness standards, compared to 80–90% in local districts.

Sending generations of unequipped students into adulthood is negligence on a systemic scale.

We must break the cycles of “insanity.” Every expenditure must be scrutinized and redirected toward academic improvement. Our students are in crisis. Bold, decisive crisis management is long overdue.

The maximum feasible percentage of district funds should go directly to teaching tools that enhance the best education for our children. We must return to traditional, teacher-led instruction instead of relying on technology rooted in Pavlovian conditioning while collecting excessive personal data.

I support strong teacher salaries, along with rewards and incentives for educators who accomplish the highest student achievement and academic growth in their respective classrooms or buildings.

The district has a responsibility to review discretionary spending regularly and redirect every available dollar toward learning. Until our students make significant progress towards excellence, discretionary spending should be minimized.

Financial transparency must be absolute and easily accessible to the public, without barriers or violations of the FOIA.

Computer-based learning should be limited to no more than 10–15% of instructional time, with. exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis. We must return to teacher-led instruction, where genuine interpersonal interaction fosters meaningful and accelerated learning. Given D49’s ongoing academic crisis, I support implementing a no-phone policy until student performance improves to acceptable levels—based on input from teachers who see the challenges firsthand. A clear and efficient protocol for emergency parent contact can easily be established.

Artificial Intelligence must never be used to complete homework or assignments. Its use should be strictly limited to occasional, supervised research purposes to ensure integrity in learning and genuine skill development.

No information about a student should ever be withheld from their parents. Parents bear the ultimate responsibility and authority over their children and must be free to exercise these God-given rights without interference.

Parental authority must never be superseded by government policies, local mandates, or school regulations.

Furthermore, the district must not promote political or ideological agendas or foster groupthink and pseudo-families that undermine parental influence. Classrooms should focus on academic achievement and genuine character development.

The strengths of our schools include the wide variety of school choice options, from traditional schools, classical education, direct instruction, home school support, a school designed specifically for younger students with dyslexia and so much more. The primary weakness I can see is that a few schools are not always applying, with fidelity, the coaching opportunities with the teams we have to improve literacy and math scores. I would like to see more increases with our CMAS scores.

By focusing on competitive teacher pay, monitoring student/teacher ratios, hiring and retaining paraprofessionals and purchasing high quality curriculum. As our district has limited east/west transportation routes, we do not attract manufacturing, which is a revenue generator for school districts. We do a lot with less.

Within our policy, we do not allow cell phones in K-8. High school students may not use cell phones during instructional time. We have assistive devices for special education needs, as well as tablets used within our schools. Artificial intelligence is an issue where we have been discussing policy development. Like any new technology, there is potential for both good and bad uses. Many new work opportunities and careers are opening up with AI as the cornerstone, so judicious use should be looked at. There is also the possibility for cheating, bullying and abuse of the technology. It will be challenging to hit the right policy balance.

The Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. We were the 1st district to pass a Parents Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in the state of Colorado. We do not participate in the Healthy Kids survey put out by the state. When the state mandated we develop a policy for non-legal name changes, we were the first district to pass a policy that required parental notification and consent for any non-legal name changes. I am proud to share that our policy was adopted by other conservative boards across the state. NO INFORMATION should ever be withheld from parents!