"Interviewing" the 2014 AAPS Board Candidates

A few weeks ago, I asked the Ann Arbor school board candidates to answer several questions. Most of them have responded, and their responses are being posted today. I call this an "interview" because the questions were all sent and received via email.

Here are the questions I asked--thank you to the many people who contributed suggestions via my earlier post and survey.

Thanks also to the school board candidates. Most of them are working very hard at what promises to be an interesting election--even though if they win, they will be working 15-20 hours/week for almost no money at all.

1. Staff morale has been an issue in the school district. How do you think the board should monitor and respond to staff morale issues, if at all? Given that the majority of district staff are teachers, should teachers be treated differently (better OR worse) than other staff people in the district?

2. What is your position on the amount of standardized testing currently conducted by AAPS (Too much, just right, too little)? What is your attitude toward parents opting out their students from standardized tests that are not state-mandated? What is your attitude toward parents opting out their students from standardized tests that are state-mandated?

3. Aside from the budget, what are your two top priorities for the Ann Arbor schools?

4. What is your opinion regarding the annexation by AAPS of the Whitmore Lake school system? If you had to vote today, how would you vote? What's good about the annexation and what challenges do you anticipate if the annexation is approved?

5. Hindsight is perfect, but whether you are an incumbent, or not: Name one decision that the school board made in the last six months that you think was a very good decision; and name one decision that the school board made in the last six months that you wish had been decided differently. (Incumbents may wish to say how they voted on that issue. It's ok if you changed your mind after the fact...)

6. Assuming that you are elected, name one or two other board candidates that you would like to see serve beside you, and explain why.

Consider subscribing to Ann Arbor Schools Musings by Email!