I was elected to the WLCSC school board in November 2022 and before that I was one of 15 candidates for the WLCSC school board in 2020. Participating in the 2020 election helped me to better articulate my beliefs about how school board campaigns in a small community like ours ought to run. These areContinue reading “Small Town School Board Campaigns”
Category Archives: Transparency
Responses (March 2021)
I sent a follow-up email to school board members. I received a response from Alan Karpick, School Board President. The questions I emailed to the school board members are given in bold, the responses are in italics, and my thoughts are in regular text. 1. At the December and January school board meetings, there wasContinue reading “Responses (March 2021)”
March 1, 2021 Summary
HIGHLIGHTS: Dr. Killion’s “State of the Schools” Address (5:35), Class Size and Teacher Retention (6:22), Higher Spending on Construction because of Cost Increases (6:42), Recent School District Borrowing was not Illegal (6:48), No Ability to Borrow for 18 Years (6:59), Killion wants Happy Hollow remodeled into an Early Childhood Education Center (7:47), Working Together withContinue reading “March 1, 2021 Summary”
Responses (February 2021)
I asked the school board questions about niche.com school rankings and school board work sessions in an email. I received a response on behalf of the school board from Alan Karpick. I then responded with a follow-up question on work sessions and Karen Springer responded. High School Rankings: I have been surprised at how oftenContinue reading “Responses (February 2021)”
February 1, 2021 Summary
HIGHLIGHTS: Offering Online HS Social Studies Summer Courses (6:45), Revisions to Unspecified School Policies (6:49), $300,000 Boiler Replacement at Happy Hollow (6:50), Number of Students (7:03), Resolution Calling for Vaccinations for Teachers (7:13) Location: Happy Hollow Building, LGI Room; At the end of December 2020 SB meeting, Superintendent Killion said that he was looking forContinue reading “February 1, 2021 Summary”
Our Community Needs Representation
One of the great insights of Nobel laureate George Stigler is that regulatory bodies, like school boards, tend to end up serving the interests of those they are supposed to regulate at the expense of the public. He called this “regulatory capture.” It is common for elected school boards to favor the priorities of schoolContinue reading “Our Community Needs Representation”
Debt Payments
In 2023, the school corporation will make debt payments of $6.15 million. This is about $800,000 more than the projected tax revenue to the debt service fund. This means that funds that had been intended for other purposes will be diverted to pay the debt on the recent construction. The school board already transferred $1.4Continue reading “Debt Payments”
Access to Information
What is the single most important thing I want to change about our school board? I want to bring community input back into school decisions. This cannot happen if the school board “gag order” is left in place. Current school board policy is to not release any information until after the school board has votedContinue reading “Access to Information”
Community Engagement
Years ago, when I first attended a WL school board meeting, I found it uninviting. The unwelcoming tone started right at the top of the agenda which said that the school board “will not entertain questions during a board meeting.” The school board also seemed to be intentionally obscuring what was being done. Items onContinue reading “Community Engagement”
School Rankings
Our school district paid niche.com $9,900 in 2020 to promote their rankings of our schools. My opinion is that Niche is not a particularly reputable ranking site (facebook scandal, company renaming and rebranding, pushing schools to pay for a “premium profile”) and I think that whatever benefit is gained from the online advertising is likelyContinue reading “School Rankings”
Dacia Mumford 