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LWV League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund

Smart Voter
Hamilton County, OH November 8, 2011 Election
Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues
Member of Governing Board; Hamilton County Education Service Center; 4 Year Term


The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualifications, Equity, Student test results, Building Consensus, Qualifications, Equity, Student test results, Building Consensus, Budget

Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

? 1. What are your qualifications for office? (50 word limit)

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

My 35 years experience in service to education will be a vital asset to the HCESC board as we meet the challenges of government legislation and the economy. My service spans 3 boards of education (HCESC, Great Oaks ITCD, and Finneytown Local) with leadership responsibilities (President, Vice President, and Legislative Liaison.)

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

I have served on the Hamilton County Educational Service Center Governing Board for 25 years, as immediate Past President and current member. With an understanding of emerging opportunities, I am well positioned to lead the development of policy to support our ESC administration as they design and deliver service solutions.

Answer from Fred Hunt:

I am a former school board president with 20+ years of professional experience in consulting organizations. The Educational Service Center would benefit from both my business experience and background in support of education. I am a former U.S. Naval Officer and have held many leadership positions throughout my career.

? 2. What would you do to advance the concept of "equity in education"? (100 word limit)

Answer from Fred Hunt:

Every student should be properly challenged to achieve to the best of his/her ability. The Educational Service Center (ESC) can be a valuable resource for providing support to districts with limited funding. Providing, maintaining and enhancing programs that most directly impact students with limited opportunities should be a primary function of the ESC.

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

Maintaining and expanding the services of the Hamilton County Educational Service Center is the best way to promote equity in education. The HCESC delivers staffing and programs that enable school districts to serve the specific needs of all of their students. I have a lifelong history of championing education equity. First as a parent and then as a board member, I have worked for gender equity in athletics, advocated Advanced Placement courses, and teamed with our State Representative to get consistent funding for Head Start and Special Needs programs. I will continue this mission through service to the HCESC board.

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

Members of the HCESC Governing Board also serve on the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development Board of Directors. Through this dual experience, I possess a breadth of knowledge spanning pre-school through adult education. As an educational service center, HCESC is dedicated to providing high quality educational services in a variety of areas. Some are provided directly to students, some to teachers and administrators ... all aimed at student growth and success.

? 3. How would you use your students' state test results to improve education in your district? (100 word limit)

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

I will ensure that the Hamilton County Educational Service Center uses the state test results to provide what our clients, the local schools, need. The state test results indicate where school districts need assistance to improve education. The HCESC uses this data for planning so that we can make the right staffing and programs available to the local schools. I will continue supporting our HCESC management's success in providing the right programs at an affordable cost.

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

HCESC does not enroll students itself. We provide support to districts as they utilize state test results to improve education in their classrooms. Our school improvement consultants work hand-in-hand with principals and teachers to interpret test results, design improvement strategies and implement instructional methodologies to facilitate student growth. Our curriculum consultants provide customized professional development based on district data. Our special education professionals utilize student results to guide the development of instructional strategies best suited to student needs. As a Governing Board member, I recognize the valuable role that our ESC plays in this essential element of improving education today.

Answer from Fred Hunt:

The Educational Service Center provides support for districts to better interpret scores and grow results. At the same time, the ESC should be reviewing individual and aggregated district scores to properly create additional offerings that would anticipate district needs and cost-effectively address them.

? 4. What will you do to build consensus in the community in support of public schools?

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

I will help the Hamilton County Educational Service Center build excellence in our local schools. Strong public schools earn community support. ESCs provide programs which raise the ratings of the public schools which use them. I have understood the importance of community consensus since my service on a local school board. Back then, I personally set up and consistently attended community meetings to get input for the Board to drive our programs. As an HCESC board member, I can serve by providing the programs which our local schools need in order to pursue excellence and earn their communities' support.

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

As a parent, I supported our schools through the PTA and other volunteer activities. As a Life Member of the Hamilton County PTA and the Ohio PTA, I serve as an advocate for community-wide support of our public schools. HCESC provides service to twenty-two member school districts in southwest Ohio. In my role as HCESC Governing Board member, I am afforded the opportunity to support the services that strengthen the educational efforts in that community. As an active member of OSBA, I support the advocacy role of that organization as it brings the collective voice of school board members to both state and federal levels.

Answer from Fred Hunt:

I have always chosen to "lead by example." Both my children attended public schools and my wife is an employee at a public school. Although my children have both graduated, my wife and I continue to volunteer and support public schools. Celebrating successes and displaying my own commitment to public schools has helped, and should continue to help, build support of public schools.

? 5. What are your qualifications for office?

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

My 35 years experience in service to education will be a vital asset to the HCESC board as we meet the challenges of government legislation and the economy. My service spans 3 boards of education (HCESC, Great Oaks ITCD, and Finneytown Local) with leadership responsibilities (President, Vice President, and Legislative Liaison.)

Answer from Fred Hunt:

I am a former school board president with 20+ years of professional experience in consulting organizations. The Educational Service Center would benefit from both my business experience and background in support of education. I am a former U.S. Naval Officer and have held many leadership positions throughout my career.

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

I have served on the Hamilton County Educational Service Center Governing Board for 25 years, as immediate Past President and current member. With an understanding of emerging opportunities, I am well positioned to lead the development of policy to support our ESC administration as they design and deliver service solutions.

Knowledge of our community's most pressing challenges is essential to our ability to add value. HCESC defines its communities at local, state and national levels. As a Governing Board member, I have been active in advocacy, support and leadership roles at all these levels. At the local level, I serve on both the HCESC and the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development Boards. At the state level, I am an active member of the Ohio Schools Boards Association. At the national level, I actively support the National School Boards Association and the Association of Educational Service Agencies. As our Board's Legislative Liaison, it is my responsibility to monitor federal and state legislative activity to inform our policy decisions. The combination of these contributions allows me to have a cross-cutting perspective of educational agendas and issues from federal to local levels essential to quality Board membership.

? 6. What would you do to advance the concept of "equity in education" in your district?

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

Members of the HCESC Governing Board also serve on the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development Board of Directors. Through this dual experience, I possess a breadth of knowledge spanning pre-school through adult education. As an educational service center, HCESC is dedicated to providing high quality educational services in a variety of areas. Some are provided directly to students, some to teachers and administrators ... all aimed at student growth and success.

HCESC's mission is to provide the supports needed so that each child to learn more, do more and be more. HCESC has served our schools for almost 100 years through visionary leadership and professional expertise. I understand the challenges facing our schools today and am committed to doing my part to support HCESC in this mission.

Answer from Fred Hunt:

Every student should be properly challenged to achieve to the best of his/her ability. The Educational Service Center (ESC) can be a valuable resource for providing support to districts with limited funding. Providing, maintaining and enhancing programs that most directly impact students with limited opportunities should be a primary function of the ESC.

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

Maintaining and expanding the services of the Hamilton County Educational Service Center is the best way to promote equity in education. The HCESC delivers staffing and programs that enable school districts to serve the specific needs of all of their students. I have a lifelong history of championing education equity. First as a parent and then as a board member, I have worked for gender equity in athletics, advocated Advanced Placement courses, and teamed with our State Representative to get consistent funding for Head Start and Special Needs programs. I will continue this mission through service to the HCESC board.

? 7. How would you use your students' state test results to improve education in your district?

Answer from Fred Hunt:

The Educational Service Center provides support for districts to better interpret scores and grow results. At the same time, the ESC should be reviewing individual and aggregated district scores to properly create additional offerings that would anticipate district needs and cost-effectively address them.

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

HCESC does not enroll students itself. We provide support to districts as they utilize state test results to improve education in their classrooms. Our school improvement consultants work hand-in-hand with principals and teachers to interpret test results, design improvement strategies and implement instructional methodologies to facilitate student growth. Our curriculum consultants provide customized professional development based on district data. Our special education professionals utilize student results to guide the development of instructional strategies best suited to student needs.

Believing in a collaborative approach to improvement, HCESC recognizes the value of partnerships. As part of its service solutions, HCESC establishes partnerships with nationally recognized educational experts in areas such as instruction, assessment, standards, leadership, and school improvement. One such partnership with Dr. Robert Marzano is focused on the development and implementation of "formative assessments" in the classrooms, an approach that incorporates the use of student performance data into lesson design.

As a Governing Board member, I recognize the valuable role that HCESC plays in this essential element of improving education today.

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

I will ensure that the Hamilton County Educational Service Center uses the state test results to provide what our clients, the local schools, need. The state test results indicate where school districts need assistance to improve education. The HCESC uses this data for planning so that we can make the right staffing and programs available to the local schools. I will continue supporting our HCESC management's success in providing the right programs at an affordable cost.

? 8. What will you do to build consensus in the community in support of public schools?

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

As a parent, I supported our schools through the PTA and other volunteer activities. As a Life Member of the Hamilton County PTA and the Ohio PTA, I serve as an advocate for community-wide support of our public schools. HCESC provides service to twenty two member school districts in southwest Ohio. In my role as HCESC Governing Board member, I am afforded the opportunity to support the services that strengthen the educational efforts in that community. As an active member of OSBA, I support the advocacy role of that organization as it brings the collective voice of school board members to both state and federal levels.

Answer from Fred Hunt:

I have always chosen to "lead by example." Both my children attended public schools and my wife is an employee at a public school. Although my children have both graduated, my wife and I continue to volunteer and support public schools. Celebrating successes and displaying my own commitment to public schools has helped, and should continue to help, build support of public schools.

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

I will help the Hamilton County Educational Service Center build excellence in our local schools. Strong public schools earn community support. ESCs provide programs which raise the ratings of the public schools which use them. I have understood the importance of community consensus since my service on a local school board. Back then, I personally set up and consistently attended community meetings to get input for the Board to drive our programs. As an HCESC board member, I can serve by providing the programs which our local schools need in order to pursue excellence and earn their communities' support.

? 9. What are your budget priorities?

Answer from Marilee G. Broscheid:

HCESC maintains a balanced budget, one which is carefully planned and adhered to by administration. A key budgetary priority is maintaining HCESC's ability to provide quality services despite current and pending state budget cuts. Increasing efficiencies in operations and economies of scale are strategies being implemented by HCESC leadership to address this challenge.

Answer from Barbara A. Parry:

My budget priority is to provide best value to the local school districts. Educational Service Centers like the HCESC can't pass levies. To earn our operating funds, we must provide services that school districts need and can afford. We must stay current with changes in legislation, the needs of our local schools, and economic realities. All of this allows us to supply the programs that give the districts the best possible support in improving education and meeting State and Federal laws at an affordable cost to them.

Answer from Fred Hunt:

In this time of limited funding, organizations must do all they can to provide the most "bang for the buck." Programs should be prioritized based on success rates, number of students impacted and cost effectiveness. Programs that are efficient and successfully meeting the needs of the students they impact would be my top priorities.


Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits may apply. See individual questions for specific word limits. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. Please edit your work before submitting. We are unable to provide spell-check at this time.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.


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