LESLEY Smith Candidate for Boulder Valley School Board Excellence for Every School, Success for Every Student
About Lesley Goals On The Issues Community Support Endorsements Volunteer! Donate! Lesley Smith is a candidate for the Boulder Valley Board of Education, District B. All School Board candidates are voted at-large. Election Date: Nov 3, 2009 For more information about this election, please see the BVSD Website. Contact Lesley lesley@lesleysmith.org	Lesley on the Issues Why are you running for school board? I am passionate about all levels of public education, and I feel that my job is not yet complete on the board. I believe I have the experience and leadership skills to navigate our district through the rough times we face in the near future. What do you believe is the role of a school board member in the management of our district? If re-elected, my role as a school board member will be to engage with the community-at-large and set policy that reflects the community's values. A school board member is also accountable for the fiscal viability and stability of the district. The board must balance sound fiscal judgment with the values of its constituents. In addition, a board member must be the district's advocate by working with our elected officials to improve the level of state funding for public education. Finally, the board is responsible for hiring and overseeing the district's superintendent. What are the three most pressing problems facing our school district? First and foremost the financial stability of the district; second, the relationship between the board and teachers and how to continue attracting and retaining high quality educators; finally, reducing the achievement gap while still maintaining a quality education for our talented and gifted students. School districts across the state have significant budget concerns next year and beyond. What should be the district's top budget priorities, and how would you engage the community in making tough decisions? I think the cores values are funding for teachers, a viable curriculum reduce any necessary expenditures and look for new ways to stretch our shrinking funds. Last year the district's budget was cut by $1M mid-year, and the district received a $3.8M rescission in the current budget. Forecasts suggest that the district might be cut another $5M next school year, and for the first time in recent history the per student funding the district receives from the state may be less than this years (negative growth). Rather than taking a head-in-the-sand approach, I want to be proactive and get the input and decision making as close to the individual members of the community as possible. I would like each school to have a stake in these decisions, and I will elicit input from each school community about the cuts they are willing to make. What do you have to say about teacher compensation? BVSD is one of the highest achieving districts in the state because we can attract and retain quality teachers, and to continue to attract the brightest and most talented teachers the district needs to compensate teachers commensurate with their valuable contribution to our community. However, with state cuts from BVSD's budget it's been difficult to balance the budget this year while maintaining class sizes. I believe the board was fiscally responsible in developing the budget in June. It turns out the number of students attending district schools is higher than expected, resulting in a small up-tick in revenue, and the board has been able to offer the teachers a 1% Cost of Living Adjustment in the latest round of negotiations (this is on top of full health insurance benefits for the teachers, retirement benefits and raises through the salary schedule). I am all in favor of allowing a non-partisan person to come in and look closely at the "facts" that the BVEA and BVSD have presented so far in the negotiations and help us find middle ground. As soon as this current impasse is resolved, I want to start looking at productive ways in which we can achieve a professional pay schedule for teachers. What do you believe is the role of the school board in the collective bargaining process? Do you support interest-based bargaining or the traditional style of bargaining, and why? I support interest-based bargaining. During my tenure on the board of education, we have had good working relations with BVEA during contract negotiations with the exception of this past school year. I like the Relationships by Objective (RBO) meetings that school board members attend at the schools because it gives the board first hand knowledge of the issues teachers face (each school is very different). I would like to see a re-commitment to RBO and interest-based bargaining in the upcoming year. Closing the achievement gap has been a high priority for school boards in recent years. How would you work to continue the effort? The district has aggressive goals to close the achievement gap for low income and special education students, and each school's goals are focused on closing the gap. I would like to glean best practices from schools that are making progress and try to replicate these successes at struggling schools. I am excited about the ways the district can use the new growth model developed by the Colorado Department of Education. I would like to see more than a year's growth for low income and special education students, and I expect to see at least a year's growth for the rest of the students. How do you view the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP)? I am not a strong proponent of CSAP's because in many cases teachers spend too much time teaching to the test (this is especially true in our more diverse schools), which takes away from a teacher's craftsmanship. The district, however, needs to be accountable for its academic programs, and the CSAP scores can be used as a diagnostic tool (I myself use them for this purpose to see how I can help my children achieve at a higher level). I would like to see critical thinking skills fostered more strongly and uniformly across the district and less of an emphasis on CSAP preparation. What issue would you take up, if elected, that you think hasn't been addressed by previous school boards? Community engagement is not a new issue, but it is something that each board has struggled with. I would like to see the development of a sustainable community engagement process so the board can learn the views of BVSDÕs diverse constituency in order to make sound policy. Please provide any other information you believe voters should know when making their choice. Over the past four years, I have met with classroom teachers, administrators, parents, student leaders, state legislators and community members to discuss issues facing Boulder Valley School District. I have found these meetings incredibly informative, and they have helped me to develop priorities and formulate policies. I am happy to talk to anybody about issues that are of concern to them. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve my community for another four years. Balance · Innovation · Leadership photo credit: © 2005 distinctively d'Layne photography

LESLEY Smith

Candidate for Boulder Valley School Board

Excellence for Every School, Success for Every Student

Lesley Smith is a candidate for the Boulder Valley Board of Education, District B. All School Board candidates are voted at-large.

Election Date: Nov 3, 2009

For more information about this election, please see the BVSD Website.

Contact Lesley
lesley@lesleysmith.org

Lesley on the Issues

Why are you running for school board? I am passionate about all levels of public education, and I feel that my job is not yet complete on the board. I believe I have the experience and leadership skills to navigate our district through the rough times we face in the near future.

What do you believe is the role of a school board member in the management of our district? If re-elected, my role as a school board member will be to engage with the community-at-large and set policy that reflects the community's values. A school board member is also accountable for the fiscal viability and stability of the district. The board must balance sound fiscal judgment with the values of its constituents. In addition, a board member must be the district's advocate by working with our elected officials to improve the level of state funding for public education. Finally, the board is responsible for hiring and overseeing the district's superintendent.

What are the three most pressing problems facing our school district? First and foremost the financial stability of the district; second, the relationship between the board and teachers and how to continue attracting and retaining high quality educators; finally, reducing the achievement gap while still maintaining a quality education for our talented and gifted students.

School districts across the state have significant budget concerns next year and beyond. What should be the district's top budget priorities, and how would you engage the community in making tough decisions? I think the cores values are funding for teachers, a viable curriculum reduce any necessary expenditures and look for new ways to stretch our shrinking funds. Last year the district's budget was cut by $1M mid-year, and the district received a $3.8M rescission in the current budget. Forecasts suggest that the district might be cut another $5M next school year, and for the first time in recent history the per student funding the district receives from the state may be less than this years (negative growth). Rather than taking a head-in-the-sand approach, I want to be proactive and get the input and decision making as close to the individual members of the community as possible. I would like each school to have a stake in these decisions, and I will elicit input from each school community about the cuts they are willing to make.

What do you have to say about teacher compensation? BVSD is one of the highest achieving districts in the state because we can attract and retain quality teachers, and to continue to attract the brightest and most talented teachers the district needs to compensate teachers commensurate with their valuable contribution to our community. However, with state cuts from BVSD's budget it's been difficult to balance the budget this year while maintaining class sizes. I believe the board was fiscally responsible in developing the budget in June. It turns out the number of students attending district schools is higher than expected, resulting in a small up-tick in revenue, and the board has been able to offer the teachers a 1% Cost of Living Adjustment in the latest round of negotiations (this is on top of full health insurance benefits for the teachers, retirement benefits and raises through the salary schedule). I am all in favor of allowing a non-partisan person to come in and look closely at the "facts" that the BVEA and BVSD have presented so far in the negotiations and help us find middle ground. As soon as this current impasse is resolved, I want to start looking at productive ways in which we can achieve a professional pay schedule for teachers.

What do you believe is the role of the school board in the collective bargaining process? Do you support interest-based bargaining or the traditional style of bargaining, and why? I support interest-based bargaining. During my tenure on the board of education, we have had good working relations with BVEA during contract negotiations with the exception of this past school year. I like the Relationships by Objective (RBO) meetings that school board members attend at the schools because it gives the board first hand knowledge of the issues teachers face (each school is very different). I would like to see a re-commitment to RBO and interest-based bargaining in the upcoming year.

Closing the achievement gap has been a high priority for school boards in recent years. How would you work to continue the effort? The district has aggressive goals to close the achievement gap for low income and special education students, and each school's goals are focused on closing the gap. I would like to glean best practices from schools that are making progress and try to replicate these successes at struggling schools. I am excited about the ways the district can use the new growth model developed by the Colorado Department of Education. I would like to see more than a year's growth for low income and special education students, and I expect to see at least a year's growth for the rest of the students.

How do you view the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP)? I am not a strong proponent of CSAP's because in many cases teachers spend too much time teaching to the test (this is especially true in our more diverse schools), which takes away from a teacher's craftsmanship. The district, however, needs to be accountable for its academic programs, and the CSAP scores can be used as a diagnostic tool (I myself use them for this purpose to see how I can help my children achieve at a higher level). I would like to see critical thinking skills fostered more strongly and uniformly across the district and less of an emphasis on CSAP preparation.

What issue would you take up, if elected, that you think hasn't been addressed by previous school boards? Community engagement is not a new issue, but it is something that each board has struggled with. I would like to see the development of a sustainable community engagement process so the board can learn the views of BVSDÕs diverse constituency in order to make sound policy.

Please provide any other information you believe voters should know when making their choice. Over the past four years, I have met with classroom teachers, administrators, parents, student leaders, state legislators and community members to discuss issues facing Boulder Valley School District. I have found these meetings incredibly informative, and they have helped me to develop priorities and formulate policies. I am happy to talk to anybody about issues that are of concern to them. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve my community for another four years.

Balance · Innovation · Leadership