What I stand for

Safety:
My main goal is that we never have another situation like what happened with Tyler Zanella.

I promise to support:

-A district culture that promotes respect of staff, students, and diversity

-A district culture that respects the legal protections of whistleblowers and the legal requirements of mandated reporters

-Staff wages that allow us to hire and retain compassionate staff

-Training programs and support departments that help staff help students

Compassion for families:

Following the arrest of Tyler Zanella, my family and the others felt abandoned, ignored, and swept under the rug. We developed a deep distrust of the Board, which was only encouraged by statements from district leadership.

Unfortunately, other families in the district have since come forward with new stories of child abuse by other staff, and report similar feelings of abandonment and distrust.

I promise to:

-Show compassion to families who suspect their children have been mistreated

-Ensure a district policy that protects children from abuse

-Ensure a district policy that balances a parent’s need for closure with confidentiality requirements

Advocacy:

I am a loud and proud advocate for equity who isn’t afraid to speak out in the face of injustice.

While living in Fort Collins, I have attended and helped organize protests for:

-LGBTQ+ rights (including a drag queen story hour in Old Town Square to protest anti trans and anti drag laws- yes, I am that kind of sassy!)

-Disability rights

-BIPOC rights

-Our unhoused neighbors’ rights

-Women’s rights

I promise to continue to advocate for the human rights of staff, students, and parents.

Helping staff Help students:

A school district’s primary job is to educate children. We can’t do that without its staff.

We must help staff help students.

I promise to:

-Advocate for increased state and federal funding of schools

-Support competitive pay for staff

-Support competitive benefits programs for staff

-Support proper on the job training of staff

-Support programs that prevent staff burnout

-Support new technologies that will assist staff and students

-Seek out and advocate for novel solutions

-Support staff who advocate for their own needs

Transparency:

The 2023 board passed a resolution asking CASB to lobby for increased timeframes and fees for CORA requests.

When directly asked about it, our current board president (then VP) claimed they needed to keep “homophobes” from causing problems.

Transparency that excludes those we disagree with is not transparency.

Transparency behind a paywall is not transparency

I promise to:

-Advocate for respect and equal treatment of those who disagree with me

-Advocate for solutions that provide paywall free information to the public

Equal Education Opportunity:

The current political climate has many people questioning what is going to happen to public education.

In some other states, parents report their districts are forcing them to choose between their child’s IEP or expulsion.

I promise to support Free Appropriate Public Education for all students whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act remains in place or not.