Vision

Our students deserve a world class education. There is no quick-fix or reading curriculum that can solve the crisis we are in. Some of the issues we face in MPS are due to government’s failures and society’s inequities. Others are things we can control. As the most qualified candidate in District 6, I will continue to work with our families, educators, and leaders to create the schools our students deserve.

Students First, Always

Our budget, strategic plan, and strategy around the future of MPS, must center on what is best for our students. At present,  MPS is not spending money on par with districts of similar size and demographics. We must re-prioritize our spending to maximize the students’ experience. We fought (and won) tens of millions of dollars in new money from the legislature. These are dollars that should be invested directly into our students and into making MPS a destination where people want to send their children. This also means creating a more straightforward and transparent process for co-creating district strategic plans. Additionally, the School Board must direct district leadership to create a comprehensive recruitment plan for new and returning students that includes partnering with local elected officials, school staff, and neighborhood organizations.

Stability

We need stabilization across MPS. I was, and still am against the Comprehensive District Design (CDD), which broke trust with our families. Building back trust is essential to making changes in MPS and is one of my top priorities.

42% of eligible MPS students are enrolled outside of the MPS system. The CDD was a prime contributor to this. It’s time that we make a plan for safe, stable, and thriving schools so that our families trust this institution again. This isn’t rocket science. As parents, we want to know that we can enroll our children at excellent schools, trust that they will have relationships with the people in the building, have individualized attention, be safe, and continue on the path through middle and high school that we had planned on. We want to trust in the system. We want our children to learn, make friends, be happy, and grow up to be contributors to society. It all starts with stability, and I’m running to be a part of the solution.

Meaningful Support Services

As a former kindergarten teacher, I know first-hand that all students need access to mental and clinical health support - access to nurses, clinicians, mental health workers and social workers. The proven model of Full Service Community Schools meets many of these needs. I want to continue the work we’ve started at Green Central, Cityview, and Bethune to create Full Service Community Schools’ pathways, while partnering with the city. With a growing housing crisis and more students facing homelessness I see supporting the Stable Homes, Stable Schools work as critical to providing stability to housing-insecure families. In our 2022 strike,  we started the hard work of creating safe and sustainable staff-to-student ratios. On the School Board, I will champion those efforts so that special education, English language learners, all of our new-to-country students, and those needing special medical or emotional care get the one-to-one services they need.

Continue the Momentum We Have at the Legislature

Fully funding our schools is essential for ensuring that we have the schools our students deserve. As a board member, I will build on my existing relationships with legislators to secure additional funding for Minneapolis Public Schools and work to finally close the gap between state and local special education funding, removing the extra burden on local districts. We must also remember that charter schools drain money and take taxable land from public schools. To further support fully funded schools, I will work with City Councilmembers to stop new charter schools from being created in the city.

Focus on Educating Students, Not Fighting at the Table

Educators with MFT59 Teacher and ESP Chapters teach our kids, SEIU 284 members make sure our kids have nutritious food and clean buildings, members of Teamsters 320 transport our kids to and from school, and AFSCME members run the front office and keep our schools moving. These union members are the people who make our students’ education possible. We should be co-creating the future of MPS with those that make schools happen.

As a taxpayer, I am livid that MPS decision-makers do not sit at the negotiating table with union leaders. Instead we pay middle management to run negotiations with some of the largest contracts in the city. This is dangerous and a disservice to our students and city.

As a Board member, I will be present at negotiations so that we can work closely to settle contracts in a timely fashion. The 2022 strike was hard on all of us and the best way to avoid that from happening in the future is for the real decision-makers to be present throughout the negotiations process. We must put our bargaining units in a position where they can focus the majority of time on educating, feeding, and supporting our students.