If you are personal Facebook friends or Twitter followers of mine, you know that I am running for school board in the West Des Moines School District. (My school board specific Twitter profile is here. I put many general education-related things there to provoke your thoughts.You won’t find them through my personal profile.) You might ask why, and I’ll tell you now.
I’ve saved my school district many thousands of dollars during my twelve years of homeschooling. Homeschool Iowa‘s columnist agrees (they don’t publish online, but trust me). I’ve watched my district spend an ungodly amount of money to move a barn, move utility lines, and replace turf, when it could have used that money for something else more valuable. I’ve also seen more money approved for a high school expansion that costs more than the Ankeny School District’s brand new high school, for a similar sized facility. The architect stated that there is only one other high school in the country with an auditorium on par with the one designed and planned for Valley High; in his research, similar auditoria are mostly found at colleges. My in-laws read the newspaper online daily and they had no idea that the high school was expanding. So yeah, my district has some issues.
I’m running for school board because THIS IS MY MONEY they are spending. School districts are spending your money, too, and unless you tell them so, they do not know that you approve or disapprove of their purchases. They will assume that you are happy if they do not hear from you. This is the same idea behind statewide legislation — constituents need to tell their elected their opinions. So I’m running for school board to put some common sense into district spending and to fuel more communication with the community.
All school board elections occur on Sept. 13. To find your polling place, visit the Secretary of State. If you have a valid drivers license, you can register to vote on-site. People have died for the right to vote. Put it in your calendar now.