Our primary strength is our teachers. They do not make as much money as their counterparts in El Paso County, and our teachers stay here in Teller County, because they love their students and our community. I will seek other ways to recognize them when we cannot financially compensate their merit and dedication. Another strength we have right now is our current conservative school board; I intend to carry-on their legacy and help to improve, such as a program for increasing training into the trades. The trades are as important as college prep, if not more important in my opinion.

As an entrepreneur, and business owner, I am used to doing more with less. I also spent twenty years in the U.S. Army commanding two large organizations with operational missions, budgets, logistics, facility and fleet maintenance. In addition, I was employed another twenty years as a Principal Engineer with the Department of Defense focused on design and acquisition responsibilities that were always limited in budget.

The answer isn’t more taxes or bureaucracy; it’s smarter priorities. Teachers are our front line, and every other expense must support them. We have to protect classrooms first, trim waste, and stop letting lawsuits and politics drain money from kids. Our challenge is priorities, and I know how to prioritize. I can do this.

Cell phones are banned from classrooms in many school districts around the nation, and I support the idea of keeping them out of classrooms. Cell phones may prevent actual learning by the student with the temptation to have an AI Chat Bot do the work, let alone the distraction and lure of social media. Chatbots aren’t inherently good or bad; however, in interviews with the Associated Press and a new study, teenagers say “they are increasingly interacting with AI as if it were a companion, capable of providing advice and friendship”. I intend to make this unhealthy emotional attachment a priority. I will gather teachers, counselors, and parents to plan a way to help our young ones in this area.

I stand for parents as the primary educators, period. There is no reason that the parents should be denied any information pertinent to their child or their welfare. This will not be allowed on my watch. I include children’s vaccinations as part of parental choice.

The biggest weaknesses are the political divide, lack of accountability and lack of transparency in our district. The strengths of our district are parent choice, the quality of our students and families and community voice/involvement. I would keep the listed positives and change the negatives to bring the community together and have a transparent, diplomatic relationship between the community and the school board.

I would prioritize good facility maintenance and competitive salaries for teachers. If we want excellent education for our students, it is critical to have high quality educators.

I do not believe that cell phones need to be in the classroom as it is a distraction from learning. I think artificial intelligence is a good tool but should not be the primary focus. I want children to learn to think for themselves and to know how to critical think and reason when technology is not available.

I strongly believe that parents are the primary educator. I think our district should focus on empowering our parents and maximize involvement. The parents have the right to know everything that is happening with their child’s education and it is unethical to withhold information from them. The children are not property of the school or district.