If you have kids – Do they attend or have they graduated from IPS schools? If not, where do/did they attend?

I have 5 total. Whew. My oldest is out of district. My next two are in an IPS middle school and my youngest two are in preschool and will attend an IPS elementary in 27/28.

What prompted you to run this year?

I’m running because the work isn’t finished. Over the past four years on the board, I’ve helped build the structures that give families and educators a real voice in how this district is run and how its dollars are spent. But we’re now entering one of the most consequential periods in IPS history — a new funding structure, a new oversight body in IPEC, and hard budget decisions that will shape our schools for years. This is exactly the wrong moment to hand those decisions to someone still learning the terrain. I know this work, I’ve done this work, and I want to see it through for our students.

What is the most pressing student needs issue facing the district? How will you address it?

Stability. Our students are being asked to learn while the ground shifts beneath them — budget cuts, restructuring, and uncertainty about which schools and programs will still be standing next year. Children can’t thrive in constant turbulence, and neither can the educators who serve them. My approach is to make stability a governing priority, not an afterthought. That means insisting that budget and structural decisions are made with a clear-eyed view of their impact on students and classrooms, giving families honest information early rather than surprising them, and protecting the continuity of the relationships — teachers, support staff, school communities — that students depend on. When we have to make hard choices, we make them thoughtfully and transparently, so families can plan and trust the process.

What area of academics do you think the district needs to focus on and why?

Early literacy — ensuring students are reading proficiently by the end of third grade. This is the foundation everything else is built on. A child who isn’t reading on grade level by third grade faces steep odds in every subject that follows, because they shift from learning to read to reading to learn. If we get this right, we change a student’s entire trajectory. It’s also where focused investment pays the highest long-term dividend, which matters enormously in a tight budget environment. Reading by third grade should be a non-negotiable, measurable commitment for this district.

As Indianapolis education begins this new phase with the addition of IPEC, how should the board approach its relationship with IPEC?

IPEC is now a reality, and it holds real authority over facilities, transportation, enrollment, and how referendum dollars are shared. The board’s job is to engage with it constructively — but vigilantly. I’d describe the right posture as necessary partnership with close oversight. We should collaborate wherever collaboration serves IPS students, and we should advocate firmly whenever IPS’s interests are at risk of being shortchanged. IPEC oversees both IPS and charter schools within our boundary, which means our board has to be a consistent, well-prepared voice at that table — never passive, always watching how decisions land on the students we’re elected to represent.

Do you support the IPEC referendum and the rate? Why or why not?

Yes and no. I have real reservations. I support the referendum because a “yes” vote is essential to stabilizing funding for every classroom in IPS, and the alternative is far deeper harm to our students. Our current referendum expires at the end of this year, and without a replacement the cuts we’d face would be devastating. My reservation is about the rate. IPS advocated for a higher rate because that’s genuinely what the district needs to sustain the level of instruction and support our students deserve. IPEC ultimately approved 37.2 cents — a rate that raises important revenue but still leaves IPS needing to cut roughly $20 million more, on top of the $24 million already cut this year. So I support this referendum as a necessary floor, while being honest with voters that it does not, by itself, solve our funding challenge. I’ll keep pushing for the resources our students actually need.

IPS recently made budget cuts and will need to make more cuts even if the referendum passes. What will be your approach to budget cut decisions? Are there other ways IPS can bring in money beyond the referendum?

My first principle is simple: protect the classroom. Cuts should move from the furthest point from students inward — never the reverse. That means scrutinizing administrative and operational costs before we ever touch teachers, support staff, or the direct services students rely on. It also means a transparent process where families and educators can see the tradeoffs and weigh in before decisions are final, not after. Hard cuts are coming regardless; what I can promise is that I’ll fight to keep them away from the classroom and to make the process open and honest. Ways to bring in money? The referendum alone won’t close the gap. Three areas I’d press on: first, securing fair state reimbursement for special education and English-learner services, where the current funding doesn’t match what these students actually cost to serve well. Second, equitable cost-sharing with innovation schools for the services IPS already provides them — if we’re carrying costs on their behalf, that should be reflected fairly. And third, real operational efficiencies that streamline how the district runs without cutting into instruction. None of these is a silver bullet, but together they matter, and pursuing them aggressively is part of being a responsible steward of public dollars.

How will you engage with the community if elected? What role will their feedback have in your decision making?

Engagement can’t be a box we check at election time — it has to be built into how the board operates. I’ll do it three ways: regular town halls and listening sessions so any family can be heard; showing up in person in schools and neighborhoods, not just at board meetings downtown; and advisory committees that have real influence, not decorative ones. On that last point I’m specific — community input should carry actual weight in decisions, which means bringing people in before choices are made, reporting back on how their input shaped the outcome, and being honest when we go a different direction and why. Feedback that changes nothing isn’t engagement.

Outside money to fund campaigns has been a huge factor in previous IPS school board elections. Will you accept any donations from outside special interest groups? Why or why not?

I will accept support from groups whose commitment to strong public education is genuine and aligned with the students I serve — and I’ll decline money from interests whose agenda runs counter to that. Voters deserve to know who stands behind a candidate and why, so I hold myself to a standard of transparency about where my support comes from. What I won’t do is take money that would ask me to put any interest ahead of IPS students.