my vision
A strategic roadmap built on accountability, transparency, and student-centered results.
A strategic roadmap built on accountability, transparency, and student-centered results.
MPS has faced a number of scandals recently including the laying off of the entire Finance Department, allegations of financial negligence or worse, however the School Board has not communicated at all with the public on this topic. It is critical that the School Board be transparent with the public.
It is critical to return MPS to a long term strategic planning framework instead of short term financial maenouvers. MPS has had a chaotic environment with yearly layoffs and large changes to the student experience yearly due to the short term planning of the current administration. Clear and transparent strategic goals and a framework to achieve year over year improvements in student performance and student enrollment for the district are needed. The School Board and administration should be held accountable to hitting these targets.
Ask the hard questions to the School Board that are not currently being asked. Audit all program changes, districts capital investments, and strategic planning projections to ensure administrations has the right staff and culture for long term success. The current School Board rarely asks questions of the MPS Administration during any decision making process and never provides details when to the public when it makes the district look bad. This prevents true accountability and improving the culture within the district. Examples include financial studies that were promised but never completed or provided to the public on the effects of running 30-40% more schools than the district student count requires.
MPS financial problems will only be solved with a School Board that demands more transparency and follows through on its obligations to provide oversight to the district. Every few years the District has a deficit so large that they do mass layoffs and often request tax millages to cover the costs. This is even as the School Board has never completed cost savings analysis related to excess school building capacity and other proposed savings opportunities. This is even as the district leaves over 10 million dollars of state funds on the table due to negligence of the Administrative staff. Let’s be clear: New taxes on our local parents should be a last resort. Laying off teachers should be a last resort. The entire financial department was laid off in the last year but the School Board has not told the community why. The secrecy around MPS financial dealings needs to end.
All students deserve coursework and instruction that is tailored to their needs. That includes English as a Second language students, Special Needs Students, and High Performing students. MPS students deserve opportunities in both their core and elective coursework that is tailored to their educational needs. Having these options that suit your child are what retains students in our district and keeps MPS from further losing students to charter or suburban.
Ensure that MPS Schools are neighborhood hubs for after school activities, including arts and sports. Ensure that MPS provides competitive after school activities as compared with our Suburban peers and invest in these programs to retain students. Further these resources should be utilized by the broader neighborhood and community where appropriate to make the Schools hubs for community engagement.