I believe the board needs to reexamine its stance on the complaints against it. The board and district need to make amends for destroying the “Love is Universal” mural. Open public comment needs to be restored to the monthly board meetings and added to the board committee meetings. All meetings of the board, monthly and committee, need to be live-streamed. All board members should have the right to add items to board meeting agendas. The board and district need to resume their regular meetings with the Cedarburg Education Association. ALL curriculum needs to be reviewed to make sure we are covering required content in an up-to-date and fiscally responsible format. Compensation packages for all employees of the district need to be reviewed to bring us in line with other districts and allow us to obtain and retain quality staff.

Teachers, Tools, and Trust. We must work to bring in and retain top notch educators. We need to make sure we are using our “Tools” appropriately. Where is our money going? Are we providing the right compensation packages? Are we making smart decisions when investing in our facilities? Are we updating our curriculum using the latest technologies in a fiscally responsible way? As for Trust, we need a board that is open and transparent in their decisions. Increased communication will go far to help rebuild trust. I want to restore the collaborative spirit that once defined our wonderful community.

To restore trust and confidence in the school board. We need a highly functioning and collaborative board that advocates for all students to ensure they are receiving the type of education to prepare them for a 21st century world.

I love the idea of enhanced pay for our best teachers, yet I struggle with how it would work in practical application. What would be the definition of “high performing?” As an educator at the college level, should I be held accountable for my students' exam scores should they choose not to study? Or should I be rewarded for engaging my students in the subject matter to motivate them to study harder? I believe that an attractive compensation package would help to bring in high quality educators.

Equality means that every child is given the same cookie cutter educational experience. Unfortunately, not all children learn the same way, nor do they make progress in learning skills at the same speed. We hire staff to work with our children who may be struggling in reading or math, or perhaps they need help with speech. Some students may need more assistance through Individualized Education Programs. We provide for students who are excelling in order to help push them to their full potential. Equity in education means we work to ensure that all of our students are equipped to succeed.

I have said publicly several times, Critical Race Theory is meant for graduate level law school curriculum. I am a history professor, I do not use it in my classes, as they are not graduate level courses in law. It would not be appropriate to implement that type of curriculum for k-12. While our students are very talented, they aren’t ready for graduate school. I am for a truthful, unbiased Social Studies curriculum. We do our students no favors by hiding or glossing over unpleasant historical facts.

As an educator and a historian, I am never in favor of banning books. Of course, some subject matter is age inappropriate. But generally speaking, if children are old enough to experience something, they are old enough to learn about it.

Open public comment should be reinstated at the monthly meetings. Open public comment should also be allowed during school board committee meetings. Every effort should be made to include items/topics brought by the community on the monthly meeting agendas. Many issues that have been brought to the board are purposefully ignored. The school board must listen to the entirety of the community, not just those who share the same ideology. I also believe that every monthly and committee meeting needs to be live-streamed, and the public watching the stream should have the option to speak and or ask questions.

AP courses aren't college courses. What I am advocating for are dual enrollment college courses where students are guaranteed to earn transfer credits when they pass a course. CSD already offers several courses in this way. Offering all of the AP topics as dual enrollment courses is the goal.

As a college professor, part of my job is academically advising students. Time and time again I see new students who have taken an impressive amount of AP courses in high school, but their credits don't often count towards their degree programs, outside of possibly being used as elective credit. That is because AP courses are not college courses and their credits are not guaranteed to transfer or count. So we often have students and parents wasting time and money on courses that may not count towards their college degrees. Students may also need to repeat topics because the AP course they took doesn't meet their college's requirements. A good example is how I earned all of my college English credits when I was in high school. The credit was offered through UW-Green Bay, but the course, like AP courses, was taught by the high school staff. Because I passed the course, I earned credits from an accredited institution that has articulation agreements with the UW System, the technical college system, and the majority of private colleges in our state and beyond. There was no special test or paper that had to be completed for the AP "College Board" to decide if you would earn credit. If you passed the class, you would earn credit, just like in college. So not only do you have solid credit that you know will count, but you also have experience taking an actual college-level course.

AP course textbooks are very limited in what teachers can choose from. They are also very expensive. The AP Environmental Studies book the district is looking at is over $17,000.00, which I believe is enough for around 100-150 students. Dual enrollment courses usually offer books for rent or are now using accredited Open Educational Resource textbooks which would be free for the district and the student.

What I'm advocating for are dual enrollment courses that ensure credits count and can transfer, while giving students an actual college-level experience, and hopefully saving the district money in the process.