Please note that the following responses were sent in by Jane Puszkar on behalf of  Lauren Greenwood and David Jaworski as well.

• What encouraged you to run for the school board? 

Children are the most important gifts to our society.  We believe protecting them and educating them properly is our duty to the world in which we live, and is a very satisfying task in life.

• What are some recent decisions by the Board that you would like to change or that you disagree with?
  •      Hiring Michael Dominguez without a proper background investigation.

• •     Not passing the student safety policy that would prohibit boys in girls’ bathrooms and in girls’ locker rooms.
  •     Not removing age-inappropriate books containing anti-moral, sexually obscene, racially demeaning, and anti-cultural literature and curriculum.
  •     Making Policy 6341, Challenging Learning Commons Materials, very difficult for parents to remove age-inappropriate books containing anti-moral, sexually obscene, racially demeaning, and anti-cultural literature and curriculum.
  •     Not enforcing policy 6116, Human Sexuality.

• How will you ensure greater fiscal responsibility in light of the Dominguez scandal?

• •     Require a proper employee background investigation of any new hire.
  •     Employ a professional hiring contract negotiator.

• Do you support the book challenges being made in the district? Also, what is your reaction to the current board’s change to the book challenge protocol? Please explain your answers. 

• •     Yes, I support all current FHSD policies.
  •     The revised Policy 6341, Challenging Learning Commons Materials, makes it very difficult for parents to remove age-inappropriate books.  A review committee of 7 reviewers allows 21 weeks to formulate a decision that the School Board can overrule at will. 

• With Senate Bill 3 in action, cutting down public school funding, how do you plan to improvise with our district’s budget?

• •     There is no definitive school funding impact by the County Assessor’s office at this time. 
  •     The school district needs to prepare for any negative revenue impact by reviewing all major spending budgets and programs in order to understand what expenses should be protected and what expenses could be reduced without directly impacting the learning and safety of our children.

• What are your top budgetary priorities, and what would you cut if funding fell short?

• •     Top budget priorities include providing excellent student learning and providing a safe environment for all children.
  •     Programs not directly impacting learning and safety need to be identified by our school’s professional administration and teaching staff.

• How do you plan to help lower-income students?

By supporting Francis Howell School District programs that provide nutrition benefits, learning assistance, and by listening to parents.

• How do you plan to address the educational gap and income inequalities among students?

• •     By identifying and promoting where improvements can be made in our current curriculum programs to fill educational gaps.
  •     If I understand the question properly, Income inequality can apply to all students to different degrees.  Local and state programs exist to help families with financial aid.

• How do you make sure that all community members feel heard and trusted in the district?

         Continue to encourage all community members to participate in our public meetings and ensure appropriate responses to their communications to the District.

• If you lost the election, what would you want the winner to prioritize?

All of the above.

• Why should students trust you to make decisions that affect them?

         The same way they trust their elders to make decisions when they vote for school board representatives.