Endorsed by Loudoun County Republican Committee
School Board elections are non-partisan. However, political parties may choose to endorse School Board candidates. In this regard, I thank the Loudoun County Republican Committee for endorsing my candidacy for re-election.
Endorsed by Loudoun Education Association
I thank the Loudoun Education Association for its endorsement of my qualifications for re-election to the Loudoun County School Board. I stand confidently on my record of the past three and one half years as the Catoctin District member of the Loudoun County School Board. During that time I believe that I have demonstrated my deep personal commitment to honor and faithfully fulfill the important public stewardship placed in me by the citizens of the Catoctin District to advance excellent public education in Loudoun County. If re-elected I look forward to faithfully continuing this public service.My responses to the LEA questionnaire follow:
1. As a school board member, you will likely face cuts to the school budget. What is your opinion of the least harmful areas for the school budget to be reduced?
Answer: I continue to believe that the greatest challenge facing Loudoun County Public Schools is to continue improving educational opportunities for Loudoun’s student, while avoiding overwhelming its taxpayers. In developing the initial School Board school budget, I have worked to meet the increased demands of growth in student population, provide appropriate and competitive salaries and benefits, and make measured incremental improvements to the school system in the areas of curriculum, services and facilities. When faced with budget cuts during what has been an annual budget reconciliation process with the Board of Supervisors, I have tried to at least maintain the status quo, and looked to areas like new programs, delays in acquiring materials and/or implementing programs for needed reductions.
2. The Northern Virginia region has become quite competitive in the area of employee salaries and benefits. What priority do you give salaries and benefits in the budgeting process?
Answer: I believe that students’ positive attitudes, combined with highly qualified and motivated faculties, are the foundation of educational excellence. Therefore, Loudoun must continue to be competitive in attracting and retaining the highest quality teachers and administrators. In this regard, during the past four budget cycles I have consistently supported appropriate and competitive salaries and benefits for teachers, administrators, and other LCPS personnel as the top priority in the school budget.
Specifically, I have supported Step and COLA increases commensurate with the need to remain competitive in recruiting and retaining the highest quality educators and support staff, and which also recognize the need for education professionals to keep pace with the increasing costs of working and hopefully living in Loudoun County. In addition, I have supported increases to the stipends received by National Board Certified teachers, longevity steps for teachers and administrators, and the incremental addition of paid holidays for staff. And, I have also tried to the extent possible to avoid salary and benefit reductions during what has become the annual budget reconciliation process with the Board of Supervisors.
Going forward, I believe it is necessary for the School Board to better quantify the metrics of measuring appropriate step and COLA increases by using more Loudoun County specific economic benchmarks, and I would welcome a working partnership with the LEA in this endeavor.
3. Do you favor school voucher programs? Tuition tax credits?
Answer: I strongly believe that public education is the cornerstone of individual liberty and the keystone that brings Americans together as one people. At the same time, I also support a family’s right to select different options for educating its children, including a means of helping a family offset some portion of the extra cost of financing an alternate education program. While I think vouchers are problematic, I could support tuition tax credits if structured properly. Although not relevant to Loudoun County, tuition tax credits may be especially useful in areas where schools are failing to provide quality education.
4. Do you believe that school employees should receive per diem pay for any assigned duties beyond the school day?
Answer: As with other professionals, teachers and administrator’s work often extends beyond the “8-to-5” workday. “Extra” hours should be compensated by salaries that are commensurate with the important responsibilities of educating our children, and competitive with surrounding similarly situated school systems. Salaries should also cover additional duties that are expected as part of the educational team at a school and shared by teachers and administrators. If there are other assigned duties that go beyond the scope of normal instructional and organizational duties, those performing them should be compensated for their additional work in some fashion. I also think that the next School Board should inquire into what seems to be the commonly felt need by many teachers to provide supplemental classroom materials purchased with their own funds. If these materials are truly needed they should be part of the school budget. If they are actually enhancements beyond the program requirements, hen they remain optional.
5. Would you support a school board policy change that would set a finite time for the teacher’s average workday?
Answer: The current system is based on contract hours. Beyond that I understand the desire for system-wide uniformity of working hours. However, a policy change of this nature would require a very careful and comprehensive discussion of the pros and cons of the flexibility now given to principals in the LCPS system. I would be open-minded to such a discussion, but would want to reserve a position until a after such an analysis.
6. Do you believe that if the school year or school day is lengthened that school employees’ salaries should be increased proportionately?
Answer: In general, I do not favor extending the school year nor do I favor extending the school day. However, I do think that struggling and at-risk students do need more instructional time. As I indicated in an earlier response, to some extent as a professional a teacher’s work is never done. However, it would seem fair to increase compensation for more actual instructional hours.
7. Do you believe that LEA should be an active voice in School Board Committee meetings?
Answer: Yes. As Chairman of the School Board Legislative/Policy Committee for the past three years I have always welcomed input to the committee from LEA or any other teachers, administrators or other interested parties. However, I do not believe that any group beyond school board members should be standing members of school board committees.
8. Do you agree with LEA’s assertion that all elementary teachers should have at least 45 minutes of planning time?
Answer: Adequate planning time is essential to proficient instructional performance. It would be shortsighted to think otherwise. This issue is directly related to the earlier discussion of the professional responsibilities of a teacher and the scope of a workday. I would consider supporting some additional planning time for elementary teachers, provided it could be organized and structured so as not to reduce actual instructional time for students. This subject would seem to require a careful analysis and discussion by both the Curriculum and Personnel Committees of the School Board.
9. What is your opinion of the Virginia Standards of Learning? Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), aka No Child Left Behind?
Answer: I fully support uniform, rigorous and well-defined standards of learning, thus helping to insure that all Virginia students receive competent instruction in the basic core curriculum. I also support the goal of No Child Left Behind, which is to insure that every child receives competent basic educational instruction, and to hold those responsible for that instruction accountable for the proficiency of their students. However, as the School Board has discussed in recent days, I believe that NCLB needs to be revised to address some of the unrealistic standards of measuring compliance, especially in the area of students with limited English proficiency. I would also be cautious to avoid the possibility that SOL preparation might detract from other less quantifiable educational experiences and opportunities.
10. Do you believe a “meet and confer” process between LCPS and LEA is important to maintain?
Answer: I believe that it is very important to maintain clear channels of communication between all Loudoun County Public School employees and the division administration and School Board on all issues, and especially on matters affecting personnel policy. LEA would naturally be a key partner in maintaining this flow of information. LEA’s input, along with that of the many other thousands of LCPS employees and county residents needs to be carefully weighed by both the division administration and School Board in developing policy for the system.
11. Do you believe that support personnel with LCPS should be given contracts?
Answer: I agree that efforts should be made to provide stability of employment to all Loudoun County Public School employees, but would need much more information and discussion before considering extending contracts to support personnel.
12. The relationship between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors can sometimes become strained. How important do you believe it is to keep the relationship positive, and how would you work to do so?
Answer: The governance and management of the Loudoun County Public Schools is a complex and vital inter-governmental process, with the School Board and the Board of Supervisors having different and distinct responsibilities that must be correlated to achieve the goal of excellent public education in Loudoun County.
School boards have a broad and important charge to provide quality education for the citizens of Virginia. Article VIII, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia establishes the legal basis for local school boards, and this mandate is implemented by numerous statutes and case law. The county board of supervisors on the other hand has the responsibility of overall management of the county government, a large an important component of which is the school division.These two key governmental bodies must work together closely to achieve success for the students and residents of the county. Specifically, the members of each board should be people of good will who work hard at maintaining a personally cordial relationship, even in the face of policy disagreements. The individual members of each board should strive to attain the qualities set forth on page 14 of Virginia School Boards, The Virginia School Boards Association, Charlottesville, VA, 1993.
Additionally, members of both the school board and the county board of supervisors must work together in establishing a school budget that meets the educational needs of the students of the county without overwhelming its taxpayers. Each board should refrain from setting the other up for undue criticism, by understanding and respecting the duties and priorities of each other’s responsibilities, and working together for mutual success.
I believe that I have met the standards mentioned above, and that I have had a very respectful, cordial and cooperative relationship with my Supervisor counterpart on the Board of Supervisors the past four years.
13. Who would you turn to for advice and counsel on issues impacting the employees in LCPS? Do you feel LEA should be a partner in program development and Implementation?
Answer: My response to this question is essentially the same as that to question seven above. I would seek and invite input from all sources, taking into consideration their interests and expertise relative to the matters under consideration. As I noted in question seven above, LEA would be one obvious and important source of input.
14. Do you believe linking teacher pay with test scores is appropriate?
Answer: As I noted in my response to question nine above, I believe in and support standardized tests as one important means of insuring a solid basic level of competency in core curriculum, and as a method of measuring the attainment of proficiency in these subject areas. However, I do not agree that student’s success or failure on these tests should be the sole criteria by which a teacher is evaluated for the proficiency of their performance.
My top priorities for Loudoun County Public Schools are:
To continue to provide superior educational instruction and facilities, appropriate and competitive salaries and benefits by effective and prudent use of taxpayers’ money.To work with the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to reform the current land use approval process so as to improve the ability to acquire land, site schools and put them into operation in a more timely manner.
To promote in Loudoun schools to a greater degree intellectual growth, individual initiative, mutual respect, personal responsibility, civility and manners, patriotism and the ethical development necessary to be productive citizens.
To improve the ability of LCPS to provide for the needs of special education students here in Loudoun County.
To maintain the heritage and traditions of Catoctin District schools while adapting to growth – including that renovations of older schools keep pace with construction of new schools.
To bring to fruition as soon as possible an expanded and improved Monroe Technical Education Academy.
To continue to explore the possibility of developing a Fine Arts “Academy” program within LCPS.
To use school facilities fully and creatively for the betterment of the entire community.
My involvement with the Loudoun County Public Schools includes:
For the past three and one half years I have had the honor and responsibility of serving as the Catoctin District member of the Loudoun County School Board. During that time I have served at one time or another on all of the School Board standing committees. In addition, I have served as the Chairman of the School Board Legislative/Policy Committee for three years, one of the School Board liaisons to the Loudoun County Technical Education Foundation Board of Directors, and as a member of the Discipline Committee for four years.
My history prior to my School Board service includes the following. My wife Diane and I have been residents of Loudoun County since 1980. We have six children and over twenty-four years of experience in the Loudoun County Public Schools. Our daughter and three oldest sons are graduates of Loudoun County High School. Our fourth son is a graduate of Stone Bridge High School and our youngest son will be in tenth grade at Heritage High School this coming school year. Loudoun County has been a wonderful place to raise and educate our family.
The Loudoun County Public School division has many strengths that commend it as an outstanding public education system. These include:
· Highly qualified faculties and employees who are a combination of natives of the area, along with others who bring diversity from other areas of the country and the world;
· A very supportive and appreciative community that has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to high quality public education;
· A very highly educated community;
· A diverse student population that brings cultural richness to the educational experiences of Loudoun’s students;
· A tradition and heritage of neighborhood schools amidst a large cosmopolitan greater Washington, DC metropolitan area;
The Loudoun County Public School division’s greatest “weakness” is the greatest “challenge” I have identified, which is continuing to improve educational opportunities for Loudoun’s students without overwhelming its taxpayers. While the CIP continues to move along at a rapid pace, I believe LCPS needs to do more to add new programs and improve existing ones.
As a school board member, what impact do you want to make in Loudoun County Public School?
Answer: I have had an impact on maintaining continuity for Loudoun students amidst very great growth and change. Specifically, I have succeeded in implementing policies that provide to the greatest degree possible that every Loudoun County high school student has the opportunity to complete at least their last three years of high school in one high school if they so choose. If re-elected my goals as a School Board member would also include the items set forth above as priorities for LCPS.
Finally, I believe that one of my best attributes is my desire and ability to work to achieve a consensus among people who hold differing points of view. I believe that this skill will be very useful during the tenure of the next Loudoun County School Board.