We must level-set and create a collaborative, supportive BOE environment.

Recent years have been unusual and chaotic for our district. Under the previous administration, issues such as cuts to the arts, bussing mismanagement, and delays in critical recommendations, among others, have led to dissatisfaction and disenfranchisement among students, parents, and teachers. 

Nevertheless, we are optimistic about the future as we welcome Superintendent Bing, who is committed to restoring our district to its full potential. 

We commit to:

• Support our new Superintendent with collaborative oversight.  Mr. Bing aims to develop standard operating procedures, transparent goals, and tracking mechanisms for the District and community. This will take time, patience, and support, which we will provide, but also firm oversight to ensure progress.

• Get back to basics, and ensure accountability and progress. This includes, re-focusing our district to get the basics right, such as Columbia High School scheduling, elementary placements, parent communications, and ensuring high-quality academics. We will also ensure accountability and progress towards implementing critical recommendations, such as those made by Dr. Fergus and in audits of our Special Education Department.

• Recenter the BOE as a collaborative entity, leading by example. In recent years, we have witnessed a combative environment between the administration and the board, infighting amongst the board, and even between the public and the board. We are committed to fostering collaboration within the BOE, modeling respect and dignity in all interactions. We value healthy debate and believe a respectful and collaborative environment will lead to better outcomes for the District.

We want a District that supports students’ diverse needs, including a well staffed special education department, a gifted and talented program, and expansion of Career and Technical Education through CHS. 

Addressing the achievement gap and maintaining academic rigor remain essential, especially as deleveling policies threaten to reduce academic opportunities for students. 

Raising our academic standards will require an educational model that is flexible and provides all learners the scaffolding they need no matter where they are on their educational journey. 

We commit to:

• Bringing rigor back into the classroom. All students, regardless of course level, should be taught the necessary skills and challenged academically. This growth mindset and philosophy is supported by Dr. Fergus’s findings.

• Re-building the special education program. With a new Assistant Superintendent of Special Services, this is an exciting opportunity to rebuild a program that has frustrated many families. We support the District's recent audit of the Special Education Department, which should be used to guide the way for much needed improvements.

• Revitalizing the gifted and talented program. Gifted and talented education in the district has been marginalized. We need a well-planned program with a developed curriculum, opportunities for students to work together, and clear enrollment criteria to ensure no selection bias and to help close achievement gaps.

• Reinvesting in Career and Technical Education at Columbia High School. Expanding Career and Technical Education is vital for meeting the diverse interests of our students. By taking advantage of grant opportunities and partnerships, we can expand programs without impacting the budget and create post-high school pathways.

We want a District that regularly collects and uses data to inform and monitor policy decisions.

We have four major initiatives simultaneously occurring in our district: (1) the recommendations made by Dr. Fergus, (2) the Intentional Integration Initiative of rebalancing our schools, (3) Special Education audits, and (4) the Long Range Facilities Plan. 

Each of these initiatives requires careful monitoring to ensure progress and that the efforts are effecting positive change. Routinely collecting and analyzing data is essential.  

We commit to:

• Monitoring the progress of major initiatives. Prioritize actions and track progress to hold ourselves accountable; especially paramount in a budget-constrained environment. For example, we will finally have academic data in the spring 2025 that will allow us to begin to assess the effect of our Intentional Integration Initiative on reducing the achievement gap.

• Public accessibility to data. Introduce systems that simplify data collection, analysis, and public sharing to promote transparency and accountability.

• Base future decisions on data: Ensure that new programs or policies are backed by solid data and the experiences of other districts. We have a history of jumping into new programs or policies without proper planning and engagement of teachers and other district staff. We saw this acutely with Freshman Academy at CHS, which ended less than 6 months after launch.

Teachers are the backbone of our District and must be engaged and supported. 

Teachers are feeling undervalued and unheard, and attrition is a serious concern. Great teachers have already left the district, and we risk losing more if we do not take action. We must prioritize teachers' well-being and support, recognizing their critical role in student success.

We commit to:

• Teacher engagement. Teachers must have a voice when creating, implementing, and monitoring policies. Rebuilding teacher trust is paramount to decreasing attrition. This includes more direct BOE-teacher communication and the use of surveys to understand how teachers feel about SOMSD policy changes. 

• Professional development. Teachers must be consulted on the professional development that best meets their needs and enhances their skills and effectiveness.

• Paying competitive salaries. The SOMSD is in salary competition against many other districts. We must monitor our own budget so that our salaries are equal to or better what peer districts pay.

We want a District that strategically analyzes the budget, ensuring we plan for current and future years.

The 2024 campaign follows a terrible budget year that saw a Reduction in Force of 28 positions and cuts across various programs. We were perplexed to learn that the District’s Central Office was exempt from reductions.

As we face budget constraints in 2025, it is essential to take a pragmatic and strategic approach. 

We commit to: 

• Prioritize classroom investment. Analyze the budget to identify areas where the educational payoff is weak relative to the spend, and channel as much of the budget as possible into the classroom.

• Avoid disproportionate cuts. Urge the administration to avoid blanket programming reductions, such as the 20 percent cuts across the board, which disproportionately impact certain departments.

• Invest in Special Education for long-term savings. Improving our Special Education Department not only benefits students but can also reduce costs. More than half of our transportation budget goes to sending students to outside districts and specialized schools. Redirecting this money to strengthen in-district services will provide better outcomes for students and save money in the long run. We should see the Long Range Facilities Plan as an opportunity to bring more students in-district.

Equity and inclusion is paramount to our District’s success.

Our community thrives on its diversity and acceptance of all individuals, making it a wonderful place to live. These core values must be reflected and taught within our school district. Open, inclusive communication that ensures all voices are heard is fundamental to fostering an equitable environment. 

We commit to:

• Celebrate every student; hate is not tolerated. We must create school environments and initiatives that support and celebrate all students, including LBGTQ+ students and students with diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. We will work to ensure timely enforcement of the Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying policy and keep divisive politics out of schools.

• Include the community and local talent. We have a vibrant, creative, and engaged community–including parents and local businesses that are currently undervalued and underutilized. We should consider partnerships with private businesses and local educational institutions to offer advanced programming, apprenticeships, and expansion of Career and Technical Education through Columbia High School.

• Design inclusive feedback loops.  We must ensure that parent surveys and focus groups engage all voices, not just those with the most “power,” and that they are properly designed. For example, surveys, such as the Intentional Integration Initiative’s “Experience Survey,” should gather relevant information on transportation, school hours, and social connections.

• Improve communication to parents. We must address the ongoing frustration over lack of communication from the Administration. We need to set clear expectations for school administrators’ responsiveness to emails, so that issues are resolved promptly and trust is rebuilt between parents and school leadership.

We want a District that embraces athletics and promotes a robust arts education program. 

Academics, sports, and the arts should never be an either/or proposition. To create a well-rounded educational experience, we must invest in both our sports facilities and arts programs so that students have access to high-quality opportunities in all areas of their development.

We commit to: 

• Support student athletes, facilities and fields. The lack of usable fields for students, particularly female athletes, is unacceptable - they deserve better.  We need equitable access to all-weather sports fields for all athletes. We must invest in functioning, respectable sports facilities that reinvigorate pride and strengthen the sense of community among Columbia High School students and athletes.

• Invest in the arts. The arts play a critical role in fostering creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and joy. They are linked to improved proficiency in literacy and math, yet our District spends only $6-$12 per student on arts and music supplies. These programs are disproportionately affected by budget cuts. Rather than stunting arts programs, we should leverage them to position SOMSD as a model of creativity and inspiration for other districts, aligning arts funding with the values of our diverse and vibrant community.

We want a District that makes common-sense school placement decisions, recognizing families have different needs and preferences.

Our current approach to school placements and transportation requires ongoing monitoring and refinement to prioritize family needs, reduce hardships, and minimize costs and transport times.

We can improve transparency and family engagement while maintaining the objectives of the Intentional Integration Initiative. In fact, such improvements are essential to the initiative’s long-term success. 

We commit to:

• Consider family needs and circumstances. Work schedules and other family dynamics can affect the feasibility of assigned school start times. For instance, a 8:53 start time may not suit some working parents, even with bus options.

• Improve transportation efficiency. Current routes often involve meandering paths, leading to some students spending up to an hour on the bus—this is unacceptable and needs addressing.

• Address student social-emotional needs. Avoid isolated placements that separate students from any neighborhood peers.

• Increase transparency in placement decisions. Support and promote the transfer and waitlist policies approved by the BOE in December 2023, ensuring all families have equal access to these options.