I’ve been getting asked about my thoughts re: the Board of Education election. I wanted to offer two insights that matter to me from a funding and advocacy perspective. Take it or leave it; every vote is sacrosanct and reflects myriad personal considerations. These are two factors that matter most to me and I'm sharing them on Civic Parent in case it's helpful.
1-Will the candidates commit to investing in the school levy? Our schools remain underfunded at the local level while the city consumes nearly 50% of every $1 in property tax. We will need another school levy investment this year; not because there is excessive “wasteful” spending by our public schools but because the coffers have been run so low that we are now playing “catch up” as a district. Yes, there's likely always room for administrative and managerial improvement; but no, we are not awash in cash that is being spent wastefully.
2-Will the candidates commit to working productively with Superintendent Walker who (a) led this district to its largest-ever local investment ($52.7M) in public schools last April and (b) is currently leading this district through an unprecedented health crisis? The ability for him to manage with appropriate but not overzealous oversight from the board seems critical at this juncture.
Below are articles related to both (a) the COVID19 health crisis as it relates to our district and (b) JCPS underfunding in case it's helpful.
