1) Oversight that asks questions.

The most important work a school board does happens before the vote, not after it. It's asking the uncomfortable question while there's still time for the answer to matter. It's reading the whole contract. It's not assuming someone else already checked.

That's the seat I'm running for. Not to relitigate anything, and not to point fingers — but because a board of five is stronger when at least one member's whole reason for being there is to ask.

What that looks like in practice:

• Real questions asked in open session, before a vote, not in a hallway afterward

• Contracts, hires, and major spending decisions explained publicly before they're approved

• A board that treats "we'll look into it" as the start of a process, not the end of one

2) Communication parents can count on.

This is where I'd start, because it's the thing I hear about most and the thing that would change fastest.

Parents shouldn't find out about a schedule change from a 6 a.m. robocall with no explanation. And nobody should have to attend a meeting in person to find out what their school board decided.

What I'd push for:

• A published standard for NTI days and weather closures. What triggers the call, who makes it, and when families get told. Written down, where anyone can read it.

• A notification commitment with an actual time attached. Not "as soon as possible" — a time.

• Board meeting recordings, posted and searchable. I ran on this in 2024. It still hasn't happened. I'll keep asking.

• Plain-language summaries after every meeting. What the board voted on, and why, in language that doesn't require a policy manual to decode.

• Standing office hours. A published time and place where you can find me. Not a promise to be "accessible" — an actual appointment on an actual calendar.

3) Results, honestly measured.

The board's real job isn't glamorous. It's budgets, test scores, and buildings. I'll do that work — and I'll tell you what I find, which is the part that's currently missing.

What I'd push for:

• Public timelines and checkpoints for schools flagged for improvement: not a single annual update, but progress you can actually follow.

• Real attention to chronic absenteeism and academic recovery. Kids missing school and kids still catching up from the pandemic are two of the most consequential things happening in our district, and they're barely discussed publicly.

• Budget and tax votes explained. What the money is buying, and what it's supposed to change. Every time.

4) Safe schools, supported students.

Physical safety. Entry control, staffing, and clear response protocols. Concrete measures, reviewed regularly — not a policy someone wrote once and filed.

Student mental health. Counselor ratios, crisis response, and clear referral pathways. This is a real, measurable, operational issue in every district in the country, and it deserves more attention here than it gets.

Teachers and staff. Recruiting and keeping good teachers is a genuine challenge across Kentucky, and it directly determines what happens in every classroom. A board that isn't paying close attention to why people leave — and what it would take to keep them — isn't doing its job.

5) Preparing students for what comes next

I've spent my career in business, and I can tell you what employers are actually looking for. A lot of it isn't what's on the test.

It truly is a global economy, and it's less about facts and figures than about soft skills — being able to solve problems and think critically. Our kids should graduate ready for that.

What that means:

• Education isn't one-size-fits-all. Personalized pathways, career and technical education, and dual credit, so students can build toward the future they actually want.

• Problem-solving and critical thinking treated as core outcomes, not byproducts.

• Arts, athletics, and extracurriculars as part of the offering and not an add-on to be cut when budgets tighten. They're where a lot of kids find the reason to show up.