Coming Soon: School Board Questionnaire

I've sent the following questionnaire to the AAPS school board candidates, and I am hoping to post their answers over the next few weeks. I will keep you posted.

Questions for School Board Candidates

1. To parents who are wavering between sending their child to the Ann Arbor Public Schools and a charter or private school, what would you say to convince them to try the Ann Arbor Public Schools (besides that they would save money if they are considering private school)?

2. What specific ideas do you have for engaging parents and taxpayers in AAPS decision-making and governance beyond the individual child/school level?

3. What ideas do you have for making the AAPS web site more user friendly for parents, staff, students, and taxpayers?

4. Describe your personal approach to district-union negotiations, not just for teachers but also for administrators, custodial staff, etc.. What is your primary goal?

5. Do you generally support Rick Snyder's approach to education and education reform? (This is a yes/no question.) Do you support any of the listed reforms that he and the legislature have made/have proposed? (These are also yes/no questions, and the specific reforms are listed below--add a note as to why you do or don't support that reform if you would like.)
a. Emergency Manager legislation
b. Changes to the School Aid Fund, including funding colleges as well as K-12 education from the SAF
c. Changes to the rules around charter schools, including removal of caps on number of charter schools
d. State-driven teacher evaluation system that relies on standardized testing

6. At this point, would you call the privatization of transportation services a success or a failure? [NOTE: This refers to the decision to give transportation services to the WISD, not to the level of service chosen last spring.] If faced with the same question today (should transportation be privatized, and if so to whom), what kind of a decision would you make, and based on what information?

6. What was your most influential K-12 school experience (good or bad)? How does it influence your approach to the school board? (Please choose only one experience!)