On Spending

It’s true most of our spending is on salaries and pensions, but that is no reason to fritter away the rest of the budget on things that do not directly affect students in the classrooms. The budget is so big, most Board members act like a million dollars here or there is no big deal. It is a big deal. Every dollar needs to be accounted for and used for the purpose for which it was intended; educating students.

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On Technology

It is great that our students have access to the technology they need to compete in today’s world. Every year I have been on the Board there have been more enhancements. I have heard, however, that some parents and students, are frustrated by the lack of textbooks. As a parent myself, I understand this concern. There is a place for pens and pencils and books you can hold and read. We need to have a balance.

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On Teachers

I support teachers. That’s the bottom line. I want FCPS teachers to be paid a salary that is commensurate with the other salaries in our area. We need to retain good and experienced teachers. I think it is also possible that we may need to look our shortage areas, such as special education, and see what we can do financially to attract these professionals. We need to listen to our teachers. They know what is happening in their school communities and what support they need. The people sitting in administrative offices don’t always get it.

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On School Safety

No one wants any of our students harmed. Ever. Therefore, we can’t play politics with this issue. We can hire psychologists and provide security cameras. We can consider arming some of our school security officers and work on preventing bullying. This is not a question of either/or. It is a both/and. We need to do everything we can to keep our students safe and have honest discussions with experts to figure out what “everything” entails. We have started having these discussions and should continue them.

On Board Meetings

Board meeting are too long and too inefficient. The public should be considered first and foremost. We need public engagement. Right now, we are keeping the public at arm’s length. There are too few spots for the public to speak. The public is given too little time. We spend too much time talking about things the public does not care about and too little time having the conversations they want to hear. Too many sensitive and controversial topics are hidden behind closed doors. Too much time is spent thanking the leadership team members of FCPS and too little time is spent asking tough questions. These are all aspects of Board meetings I would change if I could.

On the Environment

We are working on making our buildings more energy efficient. This not only helps the earth, it helps the budget. Wasting paper and burning more fuel than we need is not a political issue. It benefits everyone if we conserve. Busing is always an issue in our county. There are so many buses on the road. This is one reason why I am concerned that there is talk by the Board of creating new boundaries based on something other than proximity. We cannot make the commutes and lives of our students and families more difficult, not to mention the general public.

On Family Life Education

The bottom line is this: Some aspects of the Family Life Education program as it now stands are in direct conflict with some of our families’ and students’ cultural and religious values. I think it is also fair to say that the program is not doing everything it could be doing to help our students live healthy lives, both physically and mentally. I say this not based on faith but on science. The science is clear that we have an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases among our young people today. We also have an epidemic of mental health issues. We need an “Opt in” process. This allows parents to decide to include their child. Right now, many children are in these lessons by default. It is a relatively easy fix to a perennially difficult issue.

On Immigration

School Board members do not make immigration policy. We educate every child in Fairfax County, regardless of immigration status. We are proud of our immigrant families and our diverse community. I say “we” because I believe this is the way all members of our current School Board feel. I think the public would benefit from learning more about some of the immigrants who are currently running for the school board, including Vincent Xaivier Palathingal, Priscilla DeStefano, and Laura Hernandez Drain. They will bring new ideas to our school system and will help represent our whole community.

On Academic Rigor

Some members of the community feel that the school system is not providing the kind of academic rigor that the students need to compete. Therefore, there are a lot of parents spending money on outside academic tutoring. Other parents are worried that their kids are spending too much time hitting the books, particularly in high school, and they are overextended with too many AP classes. I can understand both points of view. The kids I am most worried about is the kids who are living in situations where everyone around them has low expectations of what they can achieve. This leads to missed opportunities. As a school system we need to look at what expectations we have of ALL our students because an “okay” education is not good enough.

On Special Education

We talk about Special Education issues non-stop at my home. My wife has worked with children with special needs for over 20 years as a Speech Language Pathologist. I also have a mother who is physically disabled, and we have several family members who have various learning disabilities such as ADHD and dyslexia. I’ve learned that such challenges do not have to be major roadblocks to a person’s best life! I am proud of the special education services and programs we offer in Fairfax County Public Schools. However, there is always room for improvement. Helping teachers handle students with challenging behavioral issues is one area I’ve been focused on. I have suggested we have a mobile, quick response team of behavior experts who can go to any FCPS school and embed themselves in a classroom to help staff with challenging situations. I also believe we need to look more creatively at teacher/student ratios. We can’t have a one-size fits all approach. Some students need more attention than others. I hope these ideas can soon be put into practice so parents are assured their child’s behavior challenges can be managed effectively at all our schools.

On School Board Politics

I’ve maintained from the beginning that the School Board is no place for politics. Serving on the Board for the past three and a half years has only reinforced my belief in this core value. Why do I think this? It is simple. The kids come first. What your political party believes you should say or do is not always what is best for kids, parents, teachers, and community members. There is a reason there are no R’s or D’s next to the names of the candidates running for School Board. The Board is, by law, a non-partisan body. If that is the law, then Board members should approach the job with an open and independent mind on every issue. Frankly, the current Board has been very political. Even minor issues or procedural questions are dealt with in such a way that politics always plays a part in decision making. The mission of the school system is educating kids. What is best for kids is my North Star.