Decision 2024

This week’s question:
What do you think should be a top priority for the District in 2025?
Word limit: 200 words
K-M School Board
Pat Walsh
I would say one of, if not the, top priority for our district is the rebuilding of trust and teamwork between the school board and our educators. In the past few years we’ve gone through some struggle and now that leadership changes have been made it’s a great time to work on the team mentality. This will require open communication to establish issues that may have been suppressed previously due to people’s fears of reactions etc.
Elizabeth Armstrong
In my opinion, a top priority for the district in 2025 should be to focus on teacher retention and attraction. In order for our district to offer the best education for our children, we need to have the best teachers and keep them. In general, fewer people are going into the teaching profession. How do we make our district attract and retain staff? What can we do to make our district a premier district that experienced teachers want to be a part of? If I am elected on to the school board, this will be a priority to me so that we can offer the best education to our community.
Amy Olson
The top priority for the KM School District in 2025 is two-fold, we need to create a strategic plan that allows our district to be successful not just in the next 2-4 years, but for the future as well. Along with that strategic plan, we need to focus on the district’s financial stability in the future. We have seen many surrounding districts fall into unfavorable economic situations that largely could have been avoided and as a school board, we need to be aware of these situations and collaborate with the community to ensure that we are being as fiscally responsible as we can be, while also making sure that our staff and students have everything they need to be successful-it’s a delicate balance but one the board must hold in high regard.
Eric Mesa
The Value of Financial Literacy for all students is very important:
Improved personal finance management skills — Financially literate individuals have the skills to manage their finances effectively. It includes creating and sticking to a budget, managing debt, understanding credit scores and how best to use money.
Better decision-making skills — Becoming financially literate will allow more people to understand the risks and rewards of different financial products, evaluate investment options and assess the long-term impact of financial decisions.
Reduced risk of financial scams and fraud — Financial literacy will help people recognize the warning signs of fraudulent activities.
Preparation for live events like emergencies and retirement — With adequate financial education, people can plan for expected or unexpected incidents by saving and investing money wisely.
Contribution to the economy — Financially literate individuals can make informed decisions that enrich the economy through growth and development.
Aaron Stockard
As someone who has substituted and has children currently in school, class sizes are a top priority and concern for me. In every class that I have substituted in there are always 2-4 students who have significant behavioral issues and/or are significantly behind their peers academically. Even with amazing teachers this is a monumental task for one teacher to address the needs of these student, while still addressing the academic needs of the other students. My daughters class sizes were 24 in 3rd grade and 25 in 4th. Most studies have suggested that the average elementary class size should be no larger than 19. I would like to see smaller class sizes and/or more paraprofessionals in the classrooms to ensure we are not leaving any students behind and are challenging all student to their full academic abilities. This is an area of concern I feel deeply about. However, addressing the fiscal commitments of the district and ensuring we have the committed funds and revenue to support competitive compensation packages for the employees of the district will be a top priority also. We cannot be a top tier school providing our children the best without competitive wages and compensation.
Looking Ahead
Next week will feature Byron School Board candidates. The question is: do you support the levy ballot measure, why or why not?
Limit of 200 words.
State Rep
What if anything do you think the state legislature can do to help make schools more safe, particularly when it comes to violence?
Word limit: 200 words
Heather Holmes
It is so important that our students are safe in their schools. There are a few ways I see the legislature supporting safety. First, the legislature can support common sense gun legislation like safe storage laws, banning straw purchases, universal background checks, and red flag laws. Another important thing the legislature can do is ensure our schools are adequately funded and are able to provide mental health support for their students. Expanding access to mental health services so people are able to access the help they need when they need it is so important. There isn’t a one size fits all solution to this problem, but these are a few ways I believe the legislature can help address it and work to keep our students safe.
Duan Quam
I’ve pushed for having the live situational training that many police departments use. It improves response time and quality. I have also pushed for staging equipment at the school, agreed upon by local schools and law enforcement. This could be bulletproof shields, ect., and allow the first on scene to respond quickly.
I believe in adding more teamwork, group interact, and actives aimed at decreasing isolation and building interconnections. Empowering and offering options to those that know the names, faces, and hearts of the students will bring better solutions.
 
Next week’s question:
Do you think there should be any reforms made to the data practices laws in the state, and if so what changes would you propose?
Word Limit 200