Priorities
Why I’m Running
Over the last twenty-five years of teaching, coaching, and leading in this district, I have developed a deep understanding of what it takes to make it work and what it needs to keep getting better. Running for the board is how I continue to put that understanding to work for the students and community I have spent my career serving.
My Priorities
My first priority is to understand the diverse opinions in our district, express disagreement without being divisive, and work well with the board to represent our entire community. I want to continue the steady and balanced leadership that currently exists.
I also want to ensure our spending prioritizes programming for students. We can’t become a district with a large administrative team and require teachers to lead core classes with 30 to 35 students and cut extracurriculars.
Finally, I want to strengthen the connection between the board and the needs of our support personnel, teachers, and building admin. Employee retention is a significant issue in schools, including Saline, and I want the board to better understand the root cause of the issue here so that we can attract and retain the best staff.
The Budget
The budget published in late June shows $5.6 million in deficit spending, but that number will change. Since publication, we have learned more about staffing, state funding, and student enrollment, and those factors alone will likely resolve much of the projected deficit.
In addition, Saline publishes conservative budgets. In the 2024-25 school year, the last year with audited numbers, the difference from the initial budget to the final audited budget was over $6.5 million to the positive.
If an updated budget still shows a significant deficit, I would start by looking at spending that has grown substantially in recent years but is not directly tied to students.
Budget cuts that do not reach students are always the right place to look.
Staff Retention
Educators are mission-driven, but they measure job satisfaction the same way most professionals do: compensation, advancement, facilities, and whether leadership treats them like the experts they are.
Saline’s salary and benefits are quantifiable. The harder issues to understand are how the district is managing the intangibles of professionalism, administrative support, and whether staff‘s expertise is recognized. Those things drive retention too.
I would encourage the board to gather feedback directly from staff. In every organization, what leadership understands and what employees experience are not always the same thing. Closing that gap is a goal of mine.
After twenty-five years working alongside Saline’s educators, I know what it is like to work in an environment with great employee morale and poor morale. The difference matters to our district.
Technology in the Classroom
I support clear boundaries with reasonable exceptions on cell phones in school. Experience in the classroom has shown me these policies work when teachers know they will be backed up when enforcing them.
For other forms of classroom technology, the research on best practices exists. Teachers need the time and support to apply them. I would encourage district leadership to allow departments and grade levels to set their own expectations, working collaboratively and grounding the guidelines in research, rather than mandating a one-size-fits-all policy.
AI deserves specific attention. Students need to understand its potential and risks before they leave our schools. That conversation needs to be part of the curriculum.
Declining Enrollment
Families choose Saline for outstanding academics, a wide range of extracurricular programming, and quality facilities. Protecting those things is the most important strategy available to us.
We can also look at data to understand where students are going and why. In 2024, the district reported detailed data on why some families were not returning. The state also tracks in-district students who have opted to attend other nearby public schools. Examining both sets of data would provide insight and direction.
Declining birth rates explain much of the enrollment drop, but the district has a responsibility to fully understand other issues and manage the factors it can.