• KASSI@KIPLING4BSS.COM

Kassi Kipling

Community Priorities

Build Trust

  • Trusting our educators to do their job Our State report card reflects just how amazing our educators are and the great lengths they go to in order to educate our children. We need to trust that our educators will recommend the best educational resources for our students and not constantly second guess them.
  • Building trust with the community through transparency and openness Far too many meetings are occurring behind closed doors. Just because the board has a right to these closed door sessions does not mean all of these discussions need to happen this way.

    We also need to have a better understanding of potential policy changes before the night of the meeting.
  • Building trust through panel discussions with the community and having more discussions in the open I believe the board should hold panel discussions with the community twice a year. The community needs a forum to interact with the board other than board members showing up everywhere with name tags on. I would rather focus on enjoying the students at the big game or play than talking shop. If we are attending events for the students, then let’s put the focus on the students.

Find Balance

  • Balance of power between the board, superintendent, and staff There is a balance and partnership that needs to occur between these 3 entities. Over the course of the past 2 years, the school board has claimed far too much power and the balance has become incredibly lopsided. We need to re-establish the balance by ensuring board members do not micromanage the staff while empowering the superintendent to be the leader they are supposed to be.
  • Ensuring board members stay in their own swim lane/knowing their role on the board School board members work collaboratively to set the vision for the district. They create and track a strategic plan and set policies and educational standards. They bridge the gap between what the taxpayers want for their schools and what students need to succeed academically. Successful board members collaborate with the treasurer to set responsible budgets and trust the superintendent to manage their employees, while supporting the needs of the district as a whole. The superintendent is in charge of the day to day activities of the staff. It is time we get back to how school districts are supposed to be run.
  • Balance of voice to ensure the minority has a voice on the board Our school board is 100% one political party and does not seem interested in protecting the rights of those that do not align with their beliefs. The minority needs to feel that their voices are also represented. Ensuring minority representation also protects the community from potential sunshine law violations from too many conversations occurring during executive session. We need to ensure we have checks and balances in place. Currently, there are none.
  • Allowing the community to voice their concerns prior to new motions being voted on This past year there have been multiple contentious motions presented and voted on in one night AFTER the open communication period. Parents have not been allowed to voice their concern. If elected, I will move to require an open communication period to occur prior to a motion being voted on.

Maintain Excellence

  • Continuing to meet academic and extracurricular achievements Our schools are Nationally Ranked in several areas and I for one would like to ensure it stays that way. This means we need to continue to utilize the best textbooks, the best teachers, and the resources for our students. We have clearly been doing something right, now is not the time to change what has worked due to ideological views.
  • Recruit and retain top teachers In order to recruit and retain the top teachers we need to ensure that teachers feel valued and are competitively compensated. The relationship between the board and the staff is extremely strained. We need to elect someone that can help rebuild these relationships and restore our staff’s faith in the school board. The quickest way to lose an employee is for them to not feel valued. Let’s make our staff feel valued!
  • Address funding issues to maintain excellence We are over 2 years into a 7 year emergency levy. Now is the time for the district to take a heavy look at our finances and determine what it will take to maintain excellence. We need to work with the community and the State to determine how we set our district up for continued success and not wait until we are in a tough situation.

Restoring Trust, Finding Balance, and Maintaining Excellence in Bellbrook Schools.

Resources

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