Budget

In education circles, often we use the term "alignment" to describe how our resources should be best allocated. This means that as a district, we set our vision, write our Mission Statement, and then allocate funds based on legal requirements, the physical needs of the school (ex: maintenance costs) and above all else, programs that strive to move us towards realizing our mission.

While we cannot divorce "Budget" from "School Funding" let's evaluate how our budget process ought to look. Once funds are allocated towards legal requirements (for example, bringing in an outside presenter to ensure that our faculty is trained on bullying, suicide, or the I&RS process), and we have ensured that our facilities are providing students with a safe learning environment, from this point onward, our decisions about how and where to allocate funds must rest with the needs of the student.

Broadly defined, this includes anything and everything that is aligned with our vision and shown through research to have a positive impact on student achievement. For example:

• Research based programs in math, English, and STEM
• Resources to support the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards
• Technology to facilitate 21st century learning
• Responsive Classroom training for teachers
• Social-Emotional centered Character Education
• Access to varied content areas such as music and the arts
• Valuable professional development offerings for teachers that encourage them to take risks and implement student centered instruction
• A competitive teacher contract that encourages the most highly sought after educators to come to Chesterfield, and the most highly effective to stay in Chesterfield.

If elected, I will always ask two questions: How does this help us achieve our vision? and How does this benefit the children of Chesterfield Elementary School?