LAS Board of Education Candidate Q&A: District and Board

Each Thursday, Lowell’s First Look is sharing a Q&A with candidates for the LAS Board of Education.

Responses are shared exactly as provided by the candidate with no editing.

Here’s what we asked this week, followed by each candidate’s answer. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Lowell Area Schools overall? What would need to happen for your score to increase?

2. Do you believe the Board of Education currently operates in a transparent fashion?

3. What 2 things would you change about current board procedures and policies?

Jessica Curtis

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Lowell Area Schools overall? What would need to happen for your score to increase?

While I don’t feel any school is a perfect 10, I think school districts should always be in a state of continual improvement. I would rate our school at a 9. Lowell Area Schools excels in many areas and may still be a work in progress in other areas. Lowell Area Schools has influential leaders who successfully convey the district’s goals. Lowell Area Schools has high expectations for all students and teachers. Lowell Area Schools has goals and a focused direction on where we want our students to be and use ongoing evaluation to see that those goals are met. Research-based practices, data analysis, and a strong focus on staff development are used to enhance instruction and student achievement. I also feel our district provides safe learning environments for our students and positive working environments for our teachers and staff. To increase my score of the district, I would want to see even more opportunities for our students to learn and further excel in career readiness programs.

Do you believe the Board of Education currently operates in a transparent fashion?

Yes, the Board of Education operates transparently to establish programs and procedures to help all students achieve their highest potential within the district’s financial limitations. Our Board of Education functions openly and seeks the involvement and contributions of the public stakeholders, students, and staff. Our school website informs the community about board meeting dates, agendas, meeting minutes, board policies, and financial reports. The Board of Education also offers the option to view the meeting virtually and share past meeting links on the website.

What 2 things would you change about current board procedures and policies?

The only thing I would change about current board procedures is posting policy changes that will be voted on for the public to see before the meeting. That would give the community more transparency in seeing the proposed changes and the recommendations.

Brian Krajewski

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Lowell Area Schools overall? What would need to happen for your score to increase?

This is a great question and I believe my answer reflects how I have operated as a board member.  I score our school system in the upper quadrant  (7ish) .

Why the score?

• We (Lowell Area Schools) prepare our kids very well for whatever their next step is in their lives.
• I also know that we need to continuously improve and strive to be the best.

The mentality of always pursuing greatness is something that needs to continue to be nurtured as part of our core fabric.  Thru the data that we continuously monitor, you can see the positive trends in how our school system delivers.  As any organization approaches the upper scale (9’s and 10’s), it becomes harder to see progress (Low hanging fruit is gone).  It is at this time that you need to look at “differentiators” both in what you are doing and how you are delivering it.  During the pandemic we HAD to “think and do” differently.  This thought process has continued thru the deployment of pilot programs (benefit of ESSER funding).  This approach is a fiscally sound way to test and deploy programs based on data and results.  Leading organizations, regardless of industry, deploy similar practices and tactics.  We need to continue to leverage this best practice as we strive to move from a really good school system to a Great one.

Area’s that I continue to pay close attention to are:

• Continued progress of our core (Math, Science, English, History)
• Mental Health
• Continued evolution of diverse programing (Academics, Arts and Athletics)

While maintaining our sound fiscal position.

Do you believe the Board of Education currently operates in a transparent fashion?

Short answer Yes.

Do I believe it can improve – Yes.

I appreciate hearing from our constituents on what is important to them.  My first 8 years on the board, other than facility bond community meetings, we did not receive much feedback from our constituents.  Since the pandemic, we have had seen a significant increase in board meeting participation and “on-line” letters to the board (Plus social media groups).  These “inputs” allow us the opportunity to evaluate what communication techniques are working and what isn’t, along with what our constituents want to see.   We continue to listen and look for ways to provide the information that is desired in – open session board meetings, school communications and academic performance data.

Continuously improvement of our communications is, and always has been, an objective of our board9s) (past and present superintendent and district goals).  With the rapid evolution of technology, what worked 12 years ago may not work today.  We need to catch up to that technology curve by piloting new and novel ways to message to our community.

What 2 things would you change about current board procedures and policies?

As an incumbent, I have the opportunity to say that if I felt change was needed you would have heard and seen this message in our board workshops.  Over the past 12 years, you can see the dialog that I have had, along with my fellow board members (past and present), regarding policies (changes and new).

For those of you that are newer to school board work, what you are seeing regarding new policies, and changes to policies, is a dramatic increase in volume and velocity of policies coming at school systems.  This increase is creating additional time demand for school boards, administration, school leadership and staff.  For all those involved in this process, I thank you for your commitment to the process, thoroughness of your work and the additional personal time that you continue to commit to this work.

Laurie Kuna

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Lowell Area Schools overall? What would need to happen for your score to increase?

I’d give LAS a 9. My score would increase if we instituted regular surveys—say, every 5 years–of all the district’s stakeholders, including local businesses and civic organizations like the Chamber, Lowell Historical Museum, Lowell Arts, etc. then used the data generated to help set the long-term course for the district. Right now, we have and incorporate data from metrics such as standardized tests to deliver the best academic programs we can, but how do students feel about their education? How do teachers feel about the ways they’re delivering an education to their students? How do staff and students district-wide feel about being part of LAS? How do parents, grandparents, alumni, Lowell business owners (many of whom are LHS alumni) feel about how they were prepared for life and how their children or grandchildren are being prepared?

We know high-functioning organizations have high “buy in” from stakeholders, I’d like to have data to show where our stakeholders are in terms of that buy in. Once the data is gathered, we can drill down into the perceptions of all those involved in every aspect of LAS to come up with concrete data that shows we’re as good a district as we believe we are. And if that data shows we’re in reality not as good as we think we are, then we’ll have a roadmap to help us correct our course.

Do you believe the Board of Education currently operates in a transparent fashion?

Yes. Because we’re an elected board, we are obligated to follow the Open Meetings Act. We must hold public meetings—locations and times publicly posted—and allow for public comment during those meetings. We stream them for people who can’t attend, and those who wish to review any previous meetings have that option. The Lowell Ledger and Lowell’s First Look publish meeting summaries and include public comments so people can learn what was discussed. And anyone who still has questions can email the Board or contact Nate Fowler via email or phone call. We’re not obliged to answer every question asked at every meeting. In fact, our regular meetings are structured in such a way that they’re summaries of the issues we’re dealing with and not public Q & A sessions. For example, our high school track is in desperate need of repairs due to drainage issues and other factors—like age—so at a board meeting the public may hear about the problem and whatever bids for repairs the district has received. They will also hear the Board’s discussion and, if the item comes to a vote, what that vote is. I’m not exactly sure how much more transparent you can get.

Also, we are obligated to go into closed session to discuss such things as contract negotiations or personnel issues. The reason why we go into closed sessions is, of course, covered by the previously mentioned news sources, but the content of those meetings cannot legally be shared.
I think Superintendent Nate Fowler does a great job of addressing issues brought up in public comments at previous meetings. The problem is that, sometimes, the answers he gives don’t satisfy some people and so they insist that the Board and school administrators are hiding something and, thus, not being transparent. Unfortunately, the Board can’t help anyone who accuses us of not being transparent because they don’t like answers they get.

What 2 things would you change about current board procedures and policies?

I wouldn’t so much change as enforce the board policy on public comments that says the speaker can be stopped if they’re repetitive. Since I’ve been on the board, we’ve never enforced that policy, and we certainly have repetition on some issues. I can’t think of a second policy that I’d like to see changed. Our policies—many of them legal policies that we can’t amend—give us a good framework by which to conduct the district’s business and help keep us within our legal obligations for compliance with the Open Meetings Act and other procedures public boards of all types have.

Sharon Shah

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Lowell Area Schools overall? What would need to happen for your score to increase?

6. To increase this score: We should remain focused on improving academic outcomes by prioritizing individualized education plans (lEPs) tailored to each student’s needs. Our district should reconsider federal funding that forces compliance with mandates misaligned with our community values. By emphasizing data-driven strategies, we can ensure that decisions are based on proven outcomes, not fleeting educational trends. Academic achievement must remain the top priority, with educational innovations serving to enhance, not replace, core learning objectives.

Do you believe the Board of Education currently operates in a transparent fashion?

I believe there is always room for improvement in transparency. However, I’ve also seen the board take meaningful steps recently, such as providing greater access to meeting packets and including policy numbers with links. This allows the public to stay informed and conduct their own research, which I truly appreciate. It’s encouraging to see these efforts toward openness, and I hope they continue building on this progress.

What 2 things would you change about current board procedures and policies?

I’d like to see to it that the library and classroom books are vetted and cataloged according to content, and lists are kept current and available for parent review at any time. That way parents can make truly informed decisions about the books their children choose to read. The current systems in place require a child to first be exposed to potentially undesirable content and THEN parents are made aware. It’s backwards. I’d also like to see better follow through on existing board policies. We have many good policies in place but are not following/enforcing many of them. In particular, related to staff conduct/dress code, etc.

Annie McMahon Whitlock

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Lowell Area Schools overall? What would need to happen for your score to increase?

I would rate Lowell Area Schools as a 9 out of 10. I am incredibly happy with the quality of education and care my daughters get. I think our school system is truly an underrated gem in this area. We have current students and alumni succeeding at high levels in academics, athletics, and the arts. I don’t believe that any school system is “perfect,” which is why I didn’t give it a 10/10. There are always ways we could and should be striving to improve the student experience in our schools, but we have an incredibly solid baseline and high standards for ourselves.

Do you believe the Board of Education currently operates in a transparent fashion?

Yes, mostly. The Board meetings are public, and the Board members have been accommodating of all kinds of public comment at each meeting. The Board has listened to and accommodated requests for recording meetings and posting information packets ahead of time, albeit somewhat inconsistently. I believe the Board is transparent, but there are places to improve here as well. There appears to be a lot of misinformation about how public education operates and how Lowell Area Schools fit into state and national policies. The Board could counter a perceived “lack of transparency” and “groupthink” by doing more to explain their votes.

What 2 things would you change about current board procedures and policies?

I went through the specific Board procedures and policies, most of which are determined by the state of Michigan, as Board members take oaths to uphold state laws. Lowell’s policies and procedures are in line with other Boards of Education in the area and state mandates. It would be hard for me, who has not served on the Board yet, to determine which policies and procedures are currently not working for the district AND are within our power to change. Informally, I do believe the Board could do more to educate the public on their decisions (as I mentioned in my above answer) and speak more to explain their votes during their designated time in meetings. But this would be more of an “informal” policy than what is outlined in the bylaws.