Additional Information

Candidate Survey Responses

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RESPONSES TO THE 2024 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

1. If elected, what are your top priorities for public education?

We need to restore accurate and efficient curriculum while taking our focus on attendance and standardized testing. Teachers and school staff deserve a raise for all of the non0billable hours they work, and we need to offer another, more impactful COLA to retired teachers. Lastly, we need to keep our kids safe from gun violence. That could mean many things, and to be honest, I don't have an immediate solution on this one, but this is absolutely necessary imediately.

2. Voucher programs take many forms (tax credits, scholarships, education savings accounts, etc.) and are either universal or aimed at specific subpopulations (special education students, low-income students, students attending schools with poor A-F accountability ratings, etc.). Would you vote to create a voucher program of any type to pay for students to attend non-public K-12 schools, such as private or home schools?

I am absolutely against a voucher system.

3. In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 3 requiring a number of new school safety measures. However, many believe the Legislature did not adequately increase funding to cover the cost of the mandates in HB 3 or other locally adopted school safety measures. How would you work to make schools safer and ensure such initiatives are properly funded?

Look at Uvalde and ask the parents that question. We need to start being able to identify people likely to commit such crimes and train our police forces on how to deal with multiple scenarios involving gun violence at schools.

4. Despite a record-breaking surplus of $38 billion during the 2023 legislative session, school funding formulas were not increased to keep pace with inflation since they were last adjusted in 2019. Do you believe Texas public schools should receive additional funding? If so, how should the state pay for it?

Absolutely! There are many ways to fund it, but there is other legislation, not related to schools, that need to be passed first.

5. Texas has faced growing teacher shortages in recent years, with many schools hiring uncertified teachers to fill the gaps. How would you work to ensure Texas public schools have an adequate number of trained and certified teachers?

Higher Pay and better treatment. These are the ways to create a happy and productive workforce. Maybe even have students participate in lesson plans to make it more exciting for them, as well.

6. Inadequate compensation hampers the recruitment and retention of high-quality educators. Do you support a state-funded across-the-board pay raise for all Texas educators?

The only correct answer is "YES".

7. The high cost of health insurance available to educators is a significant factor decreasing their take-home pay. How would you address the challenge of rising health care costs facing Texas educators and ensure access to affordable health care?

I think that Universal Healthcare is the correct answer, but I do believe that there should be more sliding scale payment clinics in rural areas of the state.

8. What do you feel is the proper role of standardized testing in the Texas public education system? For instance, should student test scores be used as a metric in determining teacher pay, school accountability ratings, evaluating teachers, measuring student progress, etc.?

Firstly, we spend way too much time teaching students how to pass tests. This is a complete waste of teacher resources. Secondly, some students are straight A students, but don't test well due to the stress put on them by school administrations.

9. In your opinion, what is the proper balance between accommodating an individual parent’s or student’s wishes and the taxpaying community’s interest in directing and maintaining an optimal educational environment for the student population as a whole?

I believe that if you are paying taxes in any given school district, that those taxes be equally shared to all Elementary Schools per their budget, Middle Schools per their budget, and High Schools per their budget.

10. Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) should be maintained as a traditional defined-benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators, or do you support converting TRS to a defined-contribution structure that is more like a 401(k) plan, in which future benefits are not guaranteed?

I think that depending on the teacher's tenure or expected tenure, both should be offered to allow retired teachers to have some control in their retirement instead of relying on government red tape.

11. State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily choose to join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose letting all public employees continue to exercise this right?

Absolutely!
 

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RESPONSES TO THE 2022 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

1. If elected, what will be your top priorities for public education?

Raising teacher wages, adding qualified teacher's aides to overcrowded classrooms, and enacting a Pre=K program for ESL students so that no one is left behind due to socio-economic status.

2. What are your recommendations for funding public education, including securing the necessary revenue to sustain the improvements made by House Bill 3 in 2019? Do you believe additional funding is needed?

I do believe that extra funding is needed and I believe that we can achieve that without raising property taxes.

3. How would you address the challenge of rising health care costs facing Texas educators and ensure that active and retired educators have access to affordable health care?

I will stand with me Democratic colleagues to provide Healthcare to over 2 Million more Texans and invest in Community Healthcare Canters in more rural areas that accept traditional insurance, Medicare/Medicaid, and offer a sliding scale payment option based on income.

4. Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) should be maintained as a traditional defined benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators, or do you support converting TRS to a defined contribution plan that is more like a 401(k) plan, in which future benefits are not guaranteed?

I believe the TRS is much more stable than the proposed conversion. I believe we should keep the plan the same.

5. What do you feel is the proper role of standardized testing in the Texas public education system? For instance, should student test scores be used for teacher pay, school accountability ratings, evaluating teachers, measuring student progress, etc.?

I think we overuse and abuse standardized testing. We test every year from grade 3 to 8 and teachers have to worry about making sure their students pass. This is insane. I support bi-annual standardized testing, but only for the purpose of seeing where we stand on public education and where we can improve.

6. Would you vote to create any type of voucher, tax credit, scholarship, education savings account, or other program aimed at paying for students, including any subpopulation of students, to attend non-public K-12 schools, such as private or home schools?

No. I don't know of a case in which that benefits the students.

7. State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily choose to join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose letting all public employees continue to exercise this right?

I am very pro union. I wish more groups in our area had unions so that workers could really get the most out of their careers.

8. What role, if any, should charter schools have in the public education system, and do you feel the number of charter schools operating in Texas should be reduced or expanded?

I am not a fan of charter schools. They are sending Billions to out of state corporations who own these schools and the students are rating worse than the ones in most of our public schools.

9. How much freedom should school districts have to make decisions during disease outbreaks, such as requiring face coverings and immunizations or transitioning to remote instruction?

I believe we should leave decisions like these to the school board. Texas is not a "One size fits all" type of state.

10. What do you believe is the proper role of virtual education within the public education system? Do you believe full-time virtual education should be expanded, and if so, under what circumstances?

I believe it would depend on the student. Some students with ASD or other neurological issues benefitted greatly from it, but others did not. I would take this on a case by case issue.

11. What do you feel should be the state’s role (versus the role of school districts or individual educators) in decisions about public school curriculum and instructional materials?

I believe that school districts should be creating curriculum with the votes of parents.

12. The COVID-19 pandemic and additional instructional support needed to remediate students’ learning losses have placed additional strain on public schools’ staffing needs. How would you work to ensure classrooms are appropriately staffed, teachers’ workloads are manageable, and planning time is not sacrificed amid these challenges?

We really need an influx of qualified teacher's aides. This would help lessen the burden for teachers and create a new breed of future teacher.

Additional Comments from Candidate on Survey

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COMMENTS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THE 2024 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

I don't have much more to add other than I commend anyone who makes teaching their career, They have to deal with so much and usual receive little to no praise for their tireless work.