Office sought: School Board, Sugarland Run District
Party Affiliation: Republican
Previous offices held; please include dates: First
time running for office
Incumbents: when elected to this position:
Occupation: Economist
Current employment: RAND, 1200 Hayes St., Arlington, VA 22202
Previous employment:
Visiting Assistant Professor, Georgetown University;
Research Assistant, Stanford University;
Engineer, Hughes Aircraft; Engineer, Westinghouse Hanford
Education:
University School/Dept Degree, Date
Stanford University Graduate School of Business Ph.D., 2000
Graduate School of Business M.A., 2000
Department of Economics M.A., 1999
Department of Statistics M.S., 1997
Univ. of Arizona Eller School of Business MBA, 1991
Department of Mechanical Engineering B.S., 1978
COMMUNITY TIES:
Here in my district, I am an active member of the Knights of Columbus and a supporter of our new Church construction project.
ENDORSEMENTS:
I am the Republican-endorsed candidate in my district. I have not actively sought the endorsement of any special interest group. The endorsement I value most is that of the families, parents and residents of my district.
1. What is your top public-service accomplishment?
I have always believed in service through positive participation and contribution. At Hughes, I was part of the first High School Mentoring group and a member of the corporate community outreach team. While at Stanford, I was a volunteer tutor in several settings, including the local county’s Inmate Literacy Program. I also served as Co President of the Doctoral Students Association at the business school. I am active in
several professional organizations and co-founder of an economics society with a national membership. In my view, service is its own reward.
2. Incumbents: Describe the top accomplishment of your last term.
N/A
3. What are the top five problems facing your constituents and what approaches will you use to solve them? Describe one challenge (or more) in your district that is different than other parts of the county.
The challenges we face are to maintain teaching quality, to expand wisely, to strengthen our neighborhood schools, to provide levels of service and enrichment that are commensurate with our budgets, and to adapt to the future.
In order to meet these challenges we must do three things:
1. We must plan for bright futures for our children. Undesirable outcomes can always arise, but good outcomes will only come to us if we plan for them. In order for our children to enjoy the bright futures that we all hope for, we must plan optimistically.
2. We must invest to bring out the gifted in every child. This means quality teaching, sound and consistent curricula, and a welcoming, encouraging environment in our schools.
3. We must be willing to take bold and fresh approaches, using every means at our disposal to make the next generation tops in education.
My district was hit particularly hard by the latest iteration of the boundaries. We have non-contiguous boundaries more than any other district in the county. Some families have been redirected to different elementary schools four and five times. And what is perhaps most painful to the children, we have an elementary school that violates the feeder system – needlessly ripping apart childhood friendship bonds that might otherwise grow for a lifetime. Neighborhood schools are an important part of keeping our communities strong. I will do everything within my power to support our neighborhood schools.
4. What qualities, qualifications and characteristic will you bring to this office?
Education is at the center of everything I do. I have taught at the university level, I have performed significant research on language training in grade school and I have knowledge of several fields of study. More important than any of the above is the fact that I love education and that I have three children in our schools. My goal is for all of our children to receive wonderful, enriching educations that leave them well prepared for the future.
5. How will voters best distinguish between you and your opponent?
I present a clear choice to the voters in my district. My priorities are neighborhood schools, student enrichment and accountability. It is extremely important to maintain close connections between our neighborhoods and our schools.
I’ll work to enhance our educational offerings and maintain teaching quality, so that we can bring out the gifted in every child. I believe in accountability and parental participation as important means of maintaining and improving our schools.
6. Is there "waste" in the school budget? If so, where and how much? If you can't pinpoint precisely, in what specific area would you be looking?
The budget is large and complex, but my priorities for the budget are very simple – I will focus on the education, content and quality that are delivered to our students in the classroom. We must be ever mindful of the fact that children are the reason our schools
exist. My single priority will be delivering a quality education to our children in the classroom.
7. What have been the advantages and disadvantages of SOLs?
SOLs, though highly imperfect, are the best objective measures of educational progress available to us. The problem comes when test scores are given too much emphasis in assessing the quality of our education. Our schools must always seek to teach beyond the
standardized tests. We must seek to enrich and inspire our students.
8. If you had an extra $1 million to spend on the school system any way you would like, how would you spend it?
I would put all of our advanced curricula, from FUTURA to AP courses, online as a district-wide resource for all our children, parents and homeschool families.
9. What are the hallmarks of a well-run school? Include measurable characteristics.
A well-run school is one with a purpose, a mission and theme that translate into a level of consistency among the teachers, administration and staff.
10. What are the hallmarks of an excellent teacher? Include measurable characteristics.
Anyone who has ever taught at any level knows that the best teachers are those who view teaching as their calling. For these special people, teaching is more than a profession or a vocation. They have a love of learning and an enthusiasm for teaching. Great teachers also have the ability to instill confidence in their students. It is my experience that excellent teachers usually aren’t born that way. Dedication and hard work make great teachers.
11. If you were to create your own core curriculum, what subjects would you include? Place in priority order.
It would be impossible to redesign a thirteen-year core curriculum in 100 words or less and, frankly, I do not see anything fundamentally wrong with our core curriculum. I will say that in addition to the core, all of our students, beginning in elementary school, should have access to early enrichment opportunities – in-depth exposure to music, art, literature and math/science. We should consider after-school and summer school programs that allow children to select special areas of enrichment.
12. How would you increase involvement of the general public in the public schools?
SEE QUESTION 13 BELOW
13. How would you increase parental involvement in the public schools?
We have many talented, interested parents and other residents in my district and we enjoy a high level of involvement from them. The challenge is to make this involvement as meaningful as possible. I believe parents and others should participate directly in helping our schools face future challenges.
14. What additional public safety steps would you recommend in addressing gangs and violent activities on or near school property? Has the rate of violent acts increased, decreased or stayed the same in the last four years?
We have an excellent School Resource Officer Program through our County Sheriff. I believe this program should be maintained and expanded at both the junior and senior high school levels.