Some candidates stepped up. Some did not. We will publish the verified record of who completed the questionnaire and who shows up to a Candidate Convo, so every member can see it for themselves.
Some candidates stepped up. Some did not. We will publish the verified record of who completed the questionnaire and who shows up to a Candidate Convo, so every member can see it for themselves.
*READ THE CANDIDATES' QUESTIONNAIRE ANSWERS [1]*
*READ THE CANDIDATES' QUESTIONNAIRE ANSWERS [1]*
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*READ THE CANDIDATES' QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS* [2]
The questionnaire shows what candidates were willing to put in writing. The Convos are where we push harder. These conversations are built around the realities of leading a school, so candidates will hear questions they are not getting at every other forum. What will you do when your colleagues on the board disagree? When a board member reaches into school operations? What about when the budget leaves a school short-staffed? We want answers specific enough to hold up after the election.
The questionnaire shows what candidates were willing to put in writing. The Convos are where we push harder. These conversations are built around the realities of leading a school, so candidates will hear questions they are not getting at every other forum. What will you do when your colleagues on the board disagree? When a board member reaches into school operations? What about when the budget leaves a school short-staffed? We want answers specific enough to hold up after the election.
Our Governing Board decides endorsements through its own process, and joining a Candidate Convo earns no one an endorsement. Accountability applies to every candidate, whether we endorse in that race or not.
Our Governing Board decides endorsements through its own process, and joining a Candidate Convo earns no one an endorsement. Accountability applies to every candidate, whether we endorse in that race or not.
*Members, we need you.*
*Members, we need you.*
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Save the dates now. Convos run October 6 through October 20, and every CPAA member can attend any of them. [Schedule and registration link]
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Save the dates now. Convos run October 6 through October 20, and every CPAA member can attend any of them.
Submit your districtwide question when you register. We are focused on issues that affect schools across the district. For concerns specific to your building, reach out to your auxiliary president, who can help you connect directly with your board member.
Submit your districtwide question when you register. We are focused on issues that affect schools across the district. For concerns specific to your building, reach out to your auxiliary president, who can help you connect directly with your board member.
CBoE + CPAA Candidate Convos run October 6 through October 20. Show up. Bring a colleague. Make them answer.
Election season is here, and board candidates want into our schools. They want photos with our students. They want to stand next to our principals. They want voters to believe they care about public education.
Good. Because we have questions for them… and expect answers. Questions like:
Do you understand the work principals and assistant principals do every single day?
Will you uphold our collective bargaining agreement?
Will you engage and listen to school leaders before a board decision lands on the agenda?
And when you say schools need more resources, what exactly will you do to get them?
"We are the individuals directly impacted by what you do. Every decision you make on that board has a direct impact on my ability to do my job." Kia Banks, CPAA President
This is political. We're done pretending otherwise.
Many of us never thought of ourselves as political people. We became principals and APs to lead schools. But the dollars that staff our buildings, the terms of our contract, district policy, and decisions about outside contracts all come from people in elected office. We live with every one of those decisions. So do our students.
We have watched board members fight in public while our schools waited for answers. We have watched the line between governance and interference get blurry. We have walked into conversations about our own schools and found that no one asked the person who leads that school. In a recent CPAA member meeting a colleague offered a frustration with the current process saying:
"We are the people you will be making these decisions for. Your policies and decisions fail when we are not included."
President Banks has been clear that we intend to get ahead of "the blurred lines between governance and interference." A campaign statement saying "I support principals" costs nothing. We want to know what candidates will do when those lines are tested.
