ALLISON BRIGHAM-Bossier Parish School Board District 3

Q. How long have you served on the BPSB, and what made you decide to run?
A. I decided to run when somebody & I were having a conversation…why don’t they do this and
that…and I decided to run. There were some things with my child and others, just some things I’d
like to see changed. I found out though that being one of 12, it seems like things would be so easy
to change, but they aren’t.

Q. Why do you think you’re qualified to serve on the BPSB?

A. I went to Parochial Schools in Baton Rouge, 1 year to a public high school when I had back
surgery, my sophomore yr in H. S. had to have a home-bound teacher and they didn’t have those
in parochial schools. My education, schooling has always been something that I’ve enjoyed.
While my child was young here, all I knew was private schools until I had enough people tell me
to send my child to middle school and it was a good decision. I did, and I was very pleased with
the education he got from there. I like to be at the school with him. I enjoyed learning and I care
about the community and what happens. So those are the qualifications and desires. I do have a
doctorate I went to school for what seems like most of my life. This is the only time I will do this
and then I won’t be on the school board again. It will be time for someone else to do this. Life
experience and dedication.

Q. The BPSB recently considered a tax increase to help cushion against cuts in state funding.
Do you support a tax increase, cutting spending, or a combination of the two to cushion against
these funding cuts?
A. Bill Kostelka and I have discussed this. There are going to be state and federal cuts and their
concerns with retirement, the added amount they’re making us put aside for our retirement. We
have to put aside an extra $5 million dollars for retirement. I did not support the tax increase
because I’ve talked to enough people and they are not for it in my district. One of the things we
found out when Bill and I were talking is that Frank Rogeau, The School Board accountant, likes
to put some cushion in there so if there are any shortfalls, there not so many problems later. In
some of the areas with the millage amounts, we do have some cushion; I think we’ll be fine. We
do have that reserve money but we have dedicated it to repayment of certain funds. But, I think we
are going to have to do something with salaries. All the Haynesville Shale money in DeSoto, they
are paying teachers higher and we don’t want to lose our teachers to DeSoto. I do support cutting
spending where it can be cut, but you have to go department by department to see where the cuts
can be made, and I just don’t think there is a lot of room to cut. It’s also a matter of getting
individuals to sit down with you and discuss where can we cut. One person can’t do it, there are 12
people on the Board. But I don’t have a problem cutting spending.

Q. What is your position on the addition of Graduation Coaches, Behavior Coaches, Response
for Intervention Coaches?
A. Those are actually teacher positions from the Butler Education Complex of over-age 8th
graders, so those employees were going to have to be found a place anyway. With the high school
re-design, the new career diploma plan, from the state, we have to have Graduation Coaches for
these individuals in our parish that were the best qualified teachers. Then they held interviews and
hired four new Graduation coaches to help guide the individuals in the Career Diploma path. The
Graduation Coaches fall under the Teacher slots. The Academic and Instruction Coaches came
from Title 1 and Idea funds, Idea funds are Special Ed funds. Behavior Coaches are in the
elementary and middle schools. Sometimes when you have children that are repeat behavioral
problems, you have to come out with a game plan to get accountability. Counselors are so focused
on testing, unfortunately, and some children need more counseling than others. The Counselors
have to be there to help them and the Behavior Coaches help children with a game plan and
sometimes even brings in the family to help. The Behavior Coaches help children learn how to
change certain behaviors. It really works pretty well at the elementary level. Before, the
counselors were trying to handle everything with the principals and assistant principals.

Q. What do you believe is the role of a School Board member?

A. Policy and procedure. Hire the superintendent and be objective. Do your homework before the
meetings.

Q. What are your plans to increase openness and transparency in the operations of the BPSB?
A. We try to have everything as open as we can. I like to have meetings out in the public because
good, bad or indifferent, we all have a right to know what is going on with our money. I think if
there are any questions, I am open. Each individual has to be open themselves. Transparency –
with all that went on with the maintenance department in Haughton and all, I’ve been as
transparent as I can be because that had been happening and that was one of the things we walked
into. Good, but not good. Not good that it happened, but good that it was caught and stopped. So
as far as transparency for me, I see transparency. If someone comes to me with something, then I
am going to dig into it and see what I can find out and get to the bottom of it.

Q. What are the biggest challenges facing the BPSS?

A. I think the growth. Because with accountability, until the different governmental bodies
decide what they are doing and BESE board decides I don’t know what we can do. We need to sit
down and decide where we are going and how to get there.

Q. If re-elected, what will be your top priority in your next term?

A. I think addressing the growth. Because with accountability, until the different governmental
bodies decide what they are doing and BESE board decides I don’t know what we can do. We
need to sit down and decide where we are going and how to get there.

Q. Are there areas in the BPSS which you believe could be better served by privatization?
A. We had looked at privatization of the school buses and it went over like a wet rag. There are
many things you have to look at. I haven’t looked at it since then. It was not a good deal. It was
more of the individuals working. They get you in here now, and at first it’s fine, then after a
while, they don’t keep you on and you lose everything. People who have been loyal to us, I want
our employees to stay in our parish and to work here if we can at all help it.
Q. What specific measures have you taken as a School Board member to provide greater
protection for BP school children?
A. One of the most recent things is adding the shop-front doors, so you have to be buzzed in at
some of the schools. We’re getting that done in the elementary schools. In a lot of the older
designed schools, you can walk in anywhere and it’s not safe, especially with our babies. We’ve
been real pro-active with cameras on the buses and at the schools. With the new law on cyber-
bullying, I’m sure that will help a whole lot with kids being tough on other kids on MySpace and
texting.

Q. What areas of wasteful spending in the School Board budget have you observed, and what
measures have you taken to address waste?
A. One of the areas that has bothered me is when we built the schools, we have an architect that
handles everything but we ended up having an engineer that consult on the project as well, and I
know sometimes an engineer is needed, but we were using him more as a construction manager,
per se. And that may not be the correct terminology. It seemed a duplication of jobs. On these
wings that were being built, Ms. Smith and I worked to see that we didn’t have consulting
engineers on that. Any time I see something on building and grounds that we can do something
about it, we address it. I drive them crazy asking “Why do we have a change order?” If we have a
problem in a school and it’s a warranty issue, I want that warranty issue handled immediately. If
you constantly monitor and watch things, then you can do something about it. There was a little
problem with the Benton track and I called to see have we reported it and done this, this and this
and Ms. Rash of course did everything correctly. Randy Rhodes at maintenance said we’ve
already called and it’s being taken care of. That’s overstepping my bounds a little bit, but I want
to make sure that we pay for a product, we have a warranty and we get what we pay for. Tammy
Smith and I go around to all the schools and ask, is there anything we need to look into, anything
wrong? Anything you need? Now there is need and want. If there is a safety issue, that needs to
be handled immediately.

Q. What additional areas of concern in the budget you would like to see addressed?
A. Any area where we can save, we should look at that.

Q. What is your political party affiliation?

A. I’m Republican.

Q. With what part of your party’s platform do you most agree?

A. I’m very conservative. I believe in minimal governmental involvement. I think we do better
when we all work to better ourselves, to be the best that we can be, then as a family, community.
We’ve lost a lot of our way, as I’ve aged, we’ve become so “me” oriented. How many of us know
our neighbors? When I grew up, we all knew our neighbors. We’ve gotten consumed with
things. I’m a back to basics person.
Q. With what part of your party’s platform do you most disagree?

A. Honestly, I think anybody that is over 2 terms needs to go home. I don’t think we need career
politicians. We need people to step up. I thought it would be a breeze, but it isn’t. When you are
in a position too long you become entrenched. You forget what you believed when you first got in
there. That passion and fire – all that gets skewed. Either move on or go home.

Q. What is the primary source of funding for your campaign?

A. My husband and myself.

Q. Would your current job allow you the time to attend SB meetings?
A. Last term, I had two surgeries, so I did miss some meetings. I am doing so much better now,
and I am able to attend meetings.

Q. What is the extent of your knowledge of the LA Open Meetings Law and the LA Public
Records Act?
A. We abide by those laws, we take minutes of meetings even of “retreats.” Everything that we
have is open to the public.

Q. Do you agree of disagree with concerns that the School System transfer policy is
inconsistent and inequitable?
A. I have talked to the individuals that have called me and told them about the Administrative
Committee. There is always protocol to follow. The Board can tell you what steps you need to
follow. I have done that to help people.

Q. Were you aware of the controversy surrounding the appointment of D.C. Machen to
Superintendent of Schools, and for whom did you vote to replace the former superintendent and
why?
A. I was aware of the controversy. I received calls on both sides. The best qualified person got
the job. Do I always agree with Mr. Machen, no? I can guarantee he doesn’t agree with me all the
time. But if I have a question for him, I get an answer. If he doesn’t know the answer, he calls me
back when he gets an answer. I respect that. I respect that we can agree to disagree and
everything is still fine.

Q: For whom did you vote for Superintendent and why?

A: D.C. Machen. After listening to all of the interviews, in fact, we had a group of community
individuals, we all chose at least one person to be on the community board. In the beginning, only
a few voted for Mr. Machen. After the interview process, everyone voted for Mr. Machen. It was
either unanimous or one off. We narrowed it down to the top three. They were Debbie Hays,
Scott Smith and D.C. Machen. And then out of those, we chose our final one. We voted for the
one that we wanted to be superintendent. Those three had questions that they answered. One
would go first the first round; the second one would go first the second round and so on. I have to
say, people have talked to me and said that that time was one of the most stressful times in our
lives. I believe strongly in prayer and I was in prayer a whole lot during that time. It was the only
way to make it through. To do the right thing.