EDUCATION - TRANSPARENCY - ACCOUNTABILITY
The education of one's child is high on the priority list of almost any parent. The education of the next generation of leaders is high on the priority list of any citizen. And the value of "getting what you pay for" is high on the priority list of any taxpayer.
Education
There's little doubt in anyone's mind that the number one priority of any education system ought to be education. Classical, traditional, rigorous education is focused on academics and personal responsibility.
A dramatic paradigm shift in our public education system has occurred in the past 50 years. While many improvements have been made in teaching techniques (fewer knuckles being rapped with rulers nowadays), the focus must remain on teaching students how to think, not what to think. The goal is not to supply the job market with assets but rather to supply society with educated, responsible citizens who think critically, evaluate thoroughly, and communicate and interact with other humans effectively.
Transparency
One critical component of any public service is transparency to the taxpayers paying the bills. Where is the money going? Is the entity fulfilling its mission? Who is in control? If there is a problem, how do we address and fix it?
In too many cases, although the majority of money funding public education comes from the local community, those funding that education have the least control. The locally elected School Board (Missouri statute designates it the "Board of Directors") was established to ensure that control of education is held by those who foot the bill. Thus, insight and oversight into the decisions about the operation of the school district must be easily accessed by voters - via their elected representatives on the "Board of Directors".
Accountability
In too many places, modern public education has become a tail-wag-dog scenario. School boards are not supposed to rubber-stamp administrators' directives. Citizens and taxpayers are not supposed to beg school boards for audience.
Your local school board needs to work for you, to listen and speak for you, and to represent your voice in the decision-making processes. Further, your school district should be held accountable to your elected representatives on that Board of Directors for the district. Accountability provides the checks and balances that refine processes and ideas, that ensures integrity, and that produce the best results for our students, our District employees, and our community.
There is no escaping the fact that elected officials at all levels need to be more transparent and be held more accountable than the standards we have set to date. From Presidents to State Legislatures to the smallest local representative governing boards, the people paying the bills should retain the control. My solemn promise to you is that I will never lose sight of the fact that the school board works for you; that I owe you an accounting of everything we say, do, and spend; and that I am ultimately accountable to you.
I humbly thank you for your vote. I am proud to represent you
If you want to be involved in helping me continue representing you, please consider donating your time or your finances.
Both are essential for re-election. Thank you!
**Please note that all thoughts and opinions expressed by me are my own. I speak solely for myself and do not intend to
represent the Board to you in any way in anything I say. (I do, however, intend to do my job representing YOU to the board! 
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