Daily News Candidate Questionnaire

The Galveston County Daily News has offered questions for GISD school board candidates to answer on-line. Apparently the answers will be published in full in the paper’s on-line version and edited by the newpaper staff for the print edition. Here are the questions and my answers in full as well as the link to the Daily News.

http://galvestondailynews.com/candidate-results.lasso?da


Question 1: Are you a legal resident of the district you’re seeking to represent?

Yes, and I will live in this district and city full time.


Question 2: Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain.

No


Question 3: Have you ever sued a public entity or been sued by one? If yes, please explain.

No


Question 4: Do you have any other debts to a public entity?

No


Question 5: Will you have your home pone number listed in the phone book or your mobile number listed for the public to contact you directly?

Yes

409-621-4796, kellychambers420@yahoo.com


Question 6: Why should voters choose you? What are your specific qualifications for this position?

My qualifications cover three basic areas.

Extensive GISD Experience: With my own three children in GISD for the past ten years, my school volunteer work, and one term as a GISD Trustee I have extensive firsthand insight into both the positive and negative aspects of the district. My volunteer service in GISD includes having served as: President, Rosenberg PTO; member GISD District Council, Citywide PTO, Attendance Zone & Facility Usage Committee, Gifted & Talented Parent Advisory Committee, & Rosenberg Site-Base Committee; Recipient, 2008 Communities in Schools Parent of the Year Award; and currently, Member, Austin PTO; Member, Ball High Booster Club; Vice President GISD Board of Trustees; Chairman, Finance Committee.

Professional and Educational Background: My work in corporate banking marketing for 11 years as well as graduate business and law degrees give me a good perspective on the financial and business operations of the district

Motivation: Galveston is where my husband and I have chosen to live, work, and raise our children. As a parent, taxpayer, and homeowner I am devoted to helping make the school district a place where every child can get an excellent education, which then enhances Galveston’s appeal as a place to live and work.



Question 7: What are the issues in this campaign? What is your platform on these issues?

I seek reelection because I want to help the district meet the key challenges of: Student Achievement -- raising the achievement level of all students; Drop-outs -- addressing the drop-out problem by retaining and attracting back students at risk of or already dropping out; Facilities -- making informed decisions regarding damaged, crowded, or unused facilities; Financial Management -- managing cash flow as the district repairs facilities while waiting for FEMA and insurance payments, efficiently budgeting lower revenues as the post-storm grace period for ends after this year, and seeking alternative funding for the district to enhance the school offerings.

A board member’s role is to gather and consider as much information as possible before every decision. Then one can make informed decisions with the primary goal of providing excellent educational opportunities for all Galveston children. We also must create a positive work environment while prudently managing the taxpayers’ money.



Question 8: What would you do to help the district attract students back from private, charter, and public schools on the mainland and the island? What do you think of Galveston ISD as a smaller, possibly 4A district.

To educate and retain our students we need, at a basic level, qualified and caring teachers, solid curriculum, safe and clean facilities, manageable class sizes, and effective discipline.

We need more than the basics to actually attract students. Our district must offer families excellent educational choices based on what they think is the best learning environment for their children. That’s where special programs can come in – science, technology, fine arts, career training, and college preparation for example. These programs often require money above the basics of what the state will fund. And that’s where an ability to write and win government and private grants is key. GISD has received over $12mm in grant funding for special programs such as tutoring, after school and summer enrichment activities, the new Ball High Prep STEM Academy and Early College High School. The Austin Magnet School’s focus on science, technology, and math already has proven itself as a way to attract students back to GISD.

I would love for all of our pre-storm students to return to GISD. However there is nothing inherently better or worse about being a 4-A district. GISD already has downsized staffing and will monitor and adjust accordingly as enrollment changes.


Question 9: How would you rate the school district’s top administrator? Do you think Lynne Cleveland deserves more support or do you think a change is in order?

Lynne Cleveland has done a very good job in a very difficult, demanding environment. There was a lot to fix in the district when she started and then there was disruption caused by Hurricane Ike last year. No one wants to see the children of our district succeed more than she does.

I see a positive momentum in GISD and I believe that a change at the top right now would be detrimental to this forward advancement of the district as evidenced by: the highest academic ratings ever, including the first exemplary schools since 2001; Ball High’s strong AP program; responsible financial management as demonstrated by clean audits, top state financial ratings, and strong bond ratings; and special offerings made possible by grant money won by the district.


Question 10: What do you think of Superintendent’s vision to create more “schools of choice” in the district, such as the Austin Magnet School and the Knowledge is Power Porgram (KIPP) Coastal Village School.?

If the charter, private, and magnet schools tell us anything it is that parents want a choice in where their children attend school and they will go out of their neighborhoods to get it.

With choice parents decide why their child attends a school and not a zoning committee. It would be advantageous for Galveston to have families able to live wherever they choose and have equal access in terms of schools. GISD already is moving in that direction. Austin Magnet, the bilingual programs, the Spanish immersion program, KIPP School, the STEM program at Ball High – all of these are based on subject and choice, not real estate decisions.

The financial reality is that there are countless interesting educational opportunities and programs for students such as robotics, stringed instruments, visual arts, etc. GISD cannot afford to offer them all at every campus. Special programs expand opportunities for our children.

Themes can make for more interesting professional environments for our teachers. They still are covering general knowledge but within a theme that unifies the curriculum and adds to cooperation among the disciplines and more interaction between the teachers. That can result in challenged teachers who have more input into what they are teaching and how.


Question 11: What do you think the district should do with its empty school buildings, including hurricane damaged Burnet and Scott elementary schools?

Burnet is probably unneeded as a school campus now with our post-storm enrollment drop and its damage. Scott’s proximity to Ball High offers potential for use again as a school and/or administration building.


Question 12: What should the district do with the historic hurricane-damaged Central Middle School?

The board already has authorized Central’s renovation. Central is a great building with recently renovated science labs, large classrooms, a beautiful auditorium, large library, central location, swimming pool, and rich history. It should be used to house a middle school program.


Question 13: Do you think the district’s unacceptable rating is fair? How would you rate the district as a place to get an education?

The rating is not just unfair, it’s ridiculous. The state labeled the entire district “unacceptable” because of one rating -- GISD did not meet the required completion (drop-out) rate at a time when a major hurricane hit the city and displaced the vast majority of our students. If displacement of most of your student population is not a reason for a waiver I don’t know what is.

In general, I think it is absurd to label entire districts based on the lowest rating of just one sub-population or subject area either. Yes, the individual ratings are very important and should be used to help districts focus on deficient areas. But instead of warning flags, the ratings have become punitive labels that do not reflect the overall reality of a district like Galveston.

I don’t believe in labeling the district overall. Personal experience with my children as well as my interaction in the schools over the years shows me that the opportunity to get an exemplary education is here in GISD right now. Ultimately it is up to students and their families to take advantage of those opportunities.



Question 14: As property values rebound after Hurricane Ike, the effective tax rate will drop. At the same time, enrollment has been down since the storm. What do you think the district’s financial strategy ought to be?

The district must: very carefully budget money with the goal of focusing on student learning; build up the savings account again; work on improving the attendance rate, which affects funding as well as learning; and continue to seek outside sources of money such as government and private grants and private partnerships to enhance the educational offerings.



Question 15: What do you think should be done about the football stadium?

As a board member I would listen to the report and recommendations by the stadium committee in November and December, as scheduled. Then it will be the board’s decision by Feb. whether or not to put the final decision in the hands of the voters in May 2010. I have never been on a district stadium committee so I do not have any preconceived notions about what is right for the district now. Like most people in our community I’m waiting to learn the details including the bottom line before making a decision.