About the Candidate

By Gloria Schoenduve

I am running for a position on the Moreland School District Board of Trustees to ensure fiscal integrity and accountability to the parents and taxpayers of this district, as well as to improve the quality of our children's education.

In the past two years, I have attended most every District meeting and met with parents, teachers, and the District management. I have spent many hours a week serving as a volunteer at Country Lane, I have raised funds for the schools, I have served on parental budget committees, and I have written requests for grants asking organizations for funds for the Moreland School District. As such, I have seen first hand how the District operates.

It is clear change is needed to improve the quality of education provided to the students and to enhance the fiscal management of the taxpayer funds. It is also clear the accountability of the school board and District management to the parents and the voters must be improved.

If elected, there are three elements to my plan:

• I will insist the mission of the Moreland School District is to establish programs, policies and procedures to ensure the best quality of education for all the children in the district.

• To improve the fiscal management of the District, I would advocate for a 'zero base' budget policy where each line item in the budget is set back to 'zero'. Funds would then be allocated to line items based on a priority system where the achievement of academic excellence is the first priority. The taxpayers deserve to know their money is being well spent for the education of our children.

• I would ensure the Board is accountable to the parents and to the taxpayers. I believe it is the responsibility of the Board to set the goals and objectives for the District. It is the responsibility of the Superintendent and the management of the District to create and implement the policies and procedures to achieve these goals. If the objectives and goals are not being met, the Board must make the necessary management changes to meet them. The Board and the management must be accessible to the voters and to the parents and we must have a sense of cooperation between the teachers, parents, and the District management. Clearly, accountability, cooperation and transparency are severely lacking in the current environment. This is not acceptable and it must be changed.