Editor’s note: Below are Sioux Falls school board candidate
Sarah Anderson’s answers to the Argus Leader’s Q&A on Friday,
May 10, 2019, as submitted. Are you a registered voter? Yes What political party are you affiliated with? Democrat Have you ever run for an elected position before? If so, what position and when? No, but I have enjoyed the process and am grateful to have the opportunity to potentially serve and play a role in the education and social well-being of the children in our school district. Have you ever held an elected position or served on a governing board before? If so, what position and for how long? No What made you decide to run for the Sioux Falls school board this May? The learning climate has become intolerable for many of our children and I believe our school board can be more proactive in meeting challenges and more creative in finding solutions to problems we face. I am running to affect change and implement new policies to mitigate bullying, to increase pubic, parent and student participation in the decision making processes, to establish and advance more public-private partnerships and to bring more innovation to the way the school board works. What makes you the best-qualified person to represent Sioux Falls taxpayers in this capacity? I am the newcomer to the political process, but this is exactly what is needed now. Not being influenced by the local governing experiences of those now serving and running to serve is an asset. I will bring a needed new perspective along with a positive, proactive agenda to improve the education and learning experiences of our young people here in the Sioux Falls School District. I stand apart because I have a specific agenda and an action plan to carry out that agenda. I’m not running to reiterate what Sioux Falls schools need; I’m running to make things happen. What do you want to accomplish if you’re elected? I have published a straightforward, common sense agenda on my Sarah Anderson for Sioux Falls School Board Facebook page, and I provide the specific actions I will take to mitigate bullying, to increase pubic, parent and student participation in the decision making processes, to establish and advance more public-private partnerships and to bring more innovation to the way the school board works. My plan of action includes adopting best practices working elsewhere, being more innovative and better utilizing the technology we have to find and implement those best practices as well as proposing policy changes to that which now limits public, parent and student participation. What would you say are the most important issues facing the largest school district in the state today? The most important issue I am hearing from parents is the day-to-day social and mental health of our kids, and specifically, the problem of bullying, which is why this is a primary focus of my platform and the inspiration behind the cool2bkind hashtag on my campaign signs. My platform is focused on what I believe are the most important issues facing the Sioux Falls school district. In addition to bullying, the lack of public input and participation is a problem we can fix. We can solve many problems by increasing the number of public-private partnerships between our school system and private businesses invested in our future; and by using modern tools like social media, virtual meeting technologies and accessing resources online, we can accomplish more for less, saving money in the process, and we can achieve success more efficiently. How do you plan on advocating for the district’s most vulnerable if you’re elected? More direct, hands-on engagement by policymakers will make a big difference, and if I am elected, I will lead by example and be hands-on. By building relationships with parents, teachers and other stakeholders in our future, we can find and implement best practices in utilization of special education services, such as EIP and 504 plans. I support a more proactive approach to securing federal funding for those who need it; this will empower us to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable, to include students with special needs and home-schooled children — all can benefit from more federal funding, which is more likely to increase if we get more proactive, as I propose. But in addition to the straightforward platform I am advancing, I intend to carry the initiative farther. For example, I would like to see telemedicine brought to all of our Title 1 schools. My background in the healthcare industry positions me quite well to help navigate the way. We currently have three Title 1 schools with clinics on site that could potentially be the base for these services to other lower income schools.
How do you plan to help maintain the fiscal responsibility of the
school district in your role as a school board member? By doing more work in-house and by increasing efficiencies, both of which are part of my platform. We don’t need to expend our monies and limited resources on consultants who will use the Internet and Facetime to engage experts and find what works elsewhere. We can do this; we have the tools; we can find and implement best practices ourselves if we are willing to use the technologies we have, to roll up our sleeves and to do the work. Looking for efficiencies, educational innovation opportunities, seeking cooperative purchase agreements with other school districts. Investigate other cost sharing with neighboring school districts and thinking outside the box. We will have to be diligent with the large bonds we hold and hope to keep the interest down and refinance if possible down the road.
As a health care professional working in a virtual environment
and electronic office space, it is clear to me we can do more with a more innovative approach to finding solutions for our growing challenges. This can be achieved by being more proactive and less reactive, such as has been the case with diversifying our specialty schools. Bottom line, a proactive, hands-on approach is more efficient and results in a cost savings by consequence.
What experience do you have handling bond issues? Zero. And
that may not be such a bad thing. Again, we need a fresh, new perspective to how we are doing business. I am doing my bond issue homework now. I will continue and study hard to learn the best ways bond issues are handled by school administrations across the country; and then I’ll advocate for the handling of bond issues in that way. If elected, how do you plan to help the district oversee the rest of the $190 million bond projects, outside of the new middle school and new high school? By being fiscally conservative and responsible, as I am at home as a single mom with two children in our public schools. The bonds should cover all aspects of the proposed plan and minimize the interest paid by completing the projects on time and on budget. I will advocate for more due diligence when it comes to whom we entrust with these tax dollars, and this includes increasing transparency in the bid process and shedding more daylight upon those who are awarded construction contracts. In the length of a Tweet -- 280 characters or less-- give readers your hot take on the following school district issues parents are concerned about the most (I’ve attached our most comprehensive articles on each topic to help, if needed): Arts are the fuel of innovation, which is the success of our future. These proposed scheduling changes would negatively affect the social, mental health and education of our students. Trimming fine arts class time to make elementary schedules less chaotic (https://bit.ly/2DCxKOs) - Creating haves and have-nots when attendance boundaries are redrawn within the next couple of years to accommodate schools built under the $190 million bond (https://bit.ly/2LbpfAs ) - Having to make budget cuts for things that are “nice to have,” but not necessary because the state hasn’t held up to its side of education funding reform (https://bit.ly/2Lbko24 ) Is there anything you would like to acknowledge about your past that might affect your ability to do the job? Is there anything you feel the public needs to know about you that they may not?