Poudre School Board Candidates Respond to Questions from RMEQ

RMEQ invited all school board candidates in Poudre School District to complete a questionnaire to share their positions on issues important to our community. Four candidates provided responses:

Karla Baise (District C)

Tom Griggs  (District D)

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

Andrew E Spain (District E)

Read their responses below to ensure you are making informed decisions when you vote this November.

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Why are you running for a seat on the school board, and what drives your commitment to public education?

Karla Baise (District C)

I am running for School Board because I believe that ALL kids should have access to education and should be seen and met where they are at. I want our educators to feel like participants in our community (access to housing) so that their needs are met and they are able to build relationships with the families that they serve. I want our educators to be life long learners and instill a growth mindset in our students. From what I have seen we have every opportunity to provide our PSD students with the tools to be leaders in Colorado and beyond.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

My own kids benefited from the kind and highly skilled treatment they received from so many of their teachers in Poudre School District. The district helped me raise my children; Sera and Beau had many privileges they benefited from, and each did their best to make the most of the wonderful opportunities with which they were presented. They are doing well, each in her/his own way, as young adults today. I am running for school board because I believe no child in this district deserves anything less!

I view serving as a member of the Poudre School District Board of Directors as an opportunity to repay the rich support the district has provided my family and me over the years, to become an even more vocal advocate for high quality programs, equitable access to education for all children and families, and to champion the district’s critical role in education in this community. It is my intention to bring to bear all the expertise and varied perspectives that come with my diverse education background - for meeting the district’s present and future challenges.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

I was inspired to run because 2 years ago my autistic daughter (then 9y/o) was abused by a staff member: Tyler Zanella (since fired, and sentenced for abuse of 11 children). I found myself wondering "how could this happen?" I want to support staff in creating a safe, effective learning environment.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

Simply, I want to take my experience, insight, and knowledge and apply it to be being part of the solution (along with many other great people) in building this district and doing what is best for the students.

What personal and professional experiences have prepared you to serve effectively on the school board?

Karla Baise (District C)

For the past 18 years I have served multitudes of nonprofits in our community as the liaison to Odell Brewing Company whose purpose is "building community through beer." Our pillars are equity, humanity and sustainability and have helped inform my holistic view of our community. This work has provided me a deep understanding of the needs of children and families in Poudre School District. I have seen successes and I have seen failures, my greatest take away is that change happens when people are seen and heard and feel like they matter. Shared compassion yields positive action and sometimes even strong policy.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

Professionally, I have spent the last 35 years in the field of education, earning a teaching license and Master of Education in Secondary Teaching English and Social Studies with Bilingual Crosscultural Language & Academic Development (BCLAD) certification, then a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language - all at UCLA. Finally, after teaching high school in Salinas, CA, I received my Ph.D. in Teacher Education at the University of Toronto, specializing in new/second language education and multicultural education. For 24 of the last 29 years, I have been a teacher of teachers, first at San Jose State University in California and then at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), in Greeley, CO, where I taught for 20 years. My former students are now teachers and administrators throughout Colorado.

I retired from UNC in July, 2020, after intermittent visits to Brazil over a five-year period, first as a Teacher-in-Residence working with Brazilian public school English as a Foreign Language teachers, then as a Fulbright Distinguished Teaching fellow, and finally as a visiting international professor at Universidade Federal dos Vales de Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM). Since my retirement from UNC, I have served both as a regular and a full-time substitute teacher and as a Social Emotional Learning Specialist in nearby districts. I have also served in a variety of volunteer roles in Poudre School District (PSD), in education, and in the larger community, These include serving as: a) a board member and past president of the Colorado Association for Bilingual Education; (b) a board member of PSD’s Equity and Diversity Advisory Council for most of two decades; and c) a co-founder and initial board chair of a statewide non-profit organization now known as Advocates for Public Education Policy (www.a4pep.org). I am currently a member of A4PEP’s Advisory Committee.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

Beyond my personal story that drives me, I have 6 years experience in management, over a decade in welfare related roles, over a decade in roles that are highly regulated and publicly monitored, 4 years in policy review, and a blue collar perspective that helps me empathize with parents and staff.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

My experience includes:

-Over 40 years of teaching experience (healthcare professionals primarily).

-Formal education in educational leadership (PhD).

-Over 15 years of working with a volunteer Board of Directors (non-profit setting).

-Experience in the legislative and political process.

-Experience with multiple K-12 educational settings (children have attended different options).

-Extensive volunteer and service-oriented experience.

How do you believe public schools should balance teaching accurate, standards-based information in subjects like history and social studies with responding to recent parental rights movements and efforts to ban or restrict books?

Karla Baise (District C)

I am a staunch proponent of the truth, even (and sometimes because they are) uncomfortable truths. Sometimes these moments offer humans the greatest insight into our character and can generate moral standards and norms that might otherwise be ignored if one were simply to follow the status quo.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

Under Colorado law and school practice in most schools, parents already have significant rights to include or exclude their children from exposure to curriculum that they find objectionable. On the other hand, I see banning books as banning ideas, which is contrary to what makes a democracy work. Educators, and especially librarians and media center managers, already do a great deal of screening of books and other instructional materials that share a range of values and subjective human experiences in an age-appropriate way.

As an instructor, I often found myself playing the role of “the Devil’s advocate,” taking an oppositional view of whatever was being presented, whether through student presentations or course text materials. I did this as a way of helping my students evaluate the accuracy of any one point of view, in the service of helping them get a more complete sense of the history. As a teacher educator, I always encouraged my students to find ways to present multiple perspectives to their students, because I believe it helps create citizens who are better informed as they take up their roles as adult citizens in a democratic society. Banning books and ideas does not contribute to such a goal.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

I believe it is a disservice to students to water down history, etc. I would like to see a wider variety of books available to students, not fewer. Sadly, I suspect the federal government may force school boards' hands on this, but I oppose such efforts.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

I will not stand for banning books and equally will not stand for restricting education to only certain “approved” views (by whichever approving entity). As a current Board of Education member, I have sworn to uphold the Constitution. I will not violate that.

Do you support school policies that respect how the students, staff, and administrators choose to be addressed including chosen names, pronouns, and honorifics? Why or why not?

Karla Baise (District C)

I support students and educators having the freedom to show up to a public institution as the best version of themselves including and not restricted to the pronouns that they feel best suits them and the name that they would like to be called. I believe that students' achievement is directly correlated to their innate sense of belonging and that teachers are not able to show up for their students or be proficient instructors under antiquated rules that would constrain their ability to be their authentic selves.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

Yes, I absolutely do support such policies. Besides my own staunch belief that individuals have a fundamental human right to identify themselves as they wish to self-identify, I have a developmental perspective on this issue, borne of my experience working as a teacher of middle school-age young people and high schoolers, as well. It is at the middle school level that many/most kids seem to be struggling directly with issues of their own identities the most, whether these aspects of identity have to do with gender, sexual preferences, race, language, ethnicity, or any other aspects of human diversity, as long as this process does not interfere with the rights of others or put others in danger in any way. It is educators’ role to support this safe exploration and development, as much as it is to support intellectual, academic, and physical development.

As for staff and administrators, the same is true even if we do not bear as much direct responsibility for promoting healthy attitudes among adults in school environments towards people who choose identities that challenge societal norms. We can still be allies in the struggle many of our peers and colleagues face in achieving this degree of personal freedom. Choosing how one prefers to be addressed—including chosen names, pronouns, and honorifics—is one example of this, and it is also a human right that extends throughout a person’s life. We owe it to all our students and all our workmates to be as encouraging, respectful and supportive of such development and such self-identification as we can possibly be.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

I support this. I consider it basic decency and respect to refer to people the way they introduce themselves, whether its a legal name, nickname, chosen name, etc. Same for pronouns and honorifics.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

It is a simple mark of respect to address individuals as appropriate in the settings that are appropriate. I will support school policies regarding this that have been developed collaboratively and with community input. I add the caveats because I cannot, in good faith, typically support policies that have not had proper forethought, input, and consideration.

What are your top priorities for ensuring schools are physically and emotionally safe for all students, including addressing bullying and harassment, which we know disproportionately affects historically excluded students, and how will you ensure that the school climate supports LGBT students in their academic success?

Karla Baise (District C)

My priorities are to find new ways to address bullying and harassment. Equity initiatives as we know them are not leading to change. There must be a dialog around what drives these behaviors and encourage curiosity instead of othering. There are people doing hard work to lead the way in helping educators guide the conversation, my favorite that I am aware of currently is "A Queer Endeavor" out of CU Boulder. I am hoping to do a showing of their film "Reclaiming the Narrative: A Documentary About LGBTQ+ Students" (2023) to our PSD teachers this fall for a look into the experience of the kids themselves. I believe these battles are best won through mutual understanding.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

As a former Social & Emotional Learning Specialist in Thompson School District, I placed a premium on physical and emotional safety in schools and classrooms. It is also my number one priority when I substitute teach, since that is a large part of any substitute’s role in a classroom where they are working. In both cases, I have ensured such safety by injecting myself proactively into situations where there is a threat to safety and making explicit my reason for stepping in to those involved in such situations.

It seems that bullying and harassment in schools have been matters of concern for kids and the parents of kids who are mistreated in these ways forever, although it seems as though there has been a recent escalation in the prevalence of it in many schools and districts. I have seen that different schools seem to have differing degrees of control over these threats to learning; it varies because of factors like the extent of such threats in any one school, site-level leadership in a school, and the comprehensiveness and collective support in combatting them.

As for the school climate supporting LGBT students in their academic success, I believe I have partly addressed this issue in my preceding answer. As a substitute teacher, it has been my observation that schools that have achieved a high degree of safety and inclusion do so for all their students’ sake, including LGBT students.

At the school board level, we should be publicly recognizing such successes and optimizing opportunities to share best practices from school to school and educator to educator. We also need to ensure that, when parents complain about mistreatment of their children along these lines, their appeals are taken seriously and dealt with in ways that are satisfactory for all involved.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

This is a main concern of mine. Re: staff on student issues: I want to enforce a 0 tolerance abuse policy, and 100% respect of mandatory reporter status. Re: student on student issues: 1 thing I want is to bring PSD's pro-diversity resolutions out of the board room and into the classrooms.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

I am a firm believer in working to create cultures where individuals can be themselves. Fundamental to this is the notion of empowerment of all individuals in that culture. I will work to set this bar and thus support a culture where all feel safe (in a variety of ways). Inclusive in this are policies and processes that call out inappropriate behaviors and provide avenues for individuals to take actions to protect themselves and others.

With Colorado’s school funding strained by TABOR restrictions and anticipated federal budget cuts to education, what principles would guide your budget priorities? What three areas, if any, would you consider reducing funding for? Where would you protect or increase investment?

Karla Baise (District C)

The only area that I am certain that we could pull back on funding is through consulting firms. There are studies happening globally, reports made daily of evidence of successes and failures in efforts to encourage a thriving student body. I believe that we have the collective intelligence to discern ways in which we can engage our students and educators to create positive change at little to no cost. I am learning more about our district every day and though I don't know that I will ever be able to fully answer this first question, I intend to know more and to have more informed opinions.

I would protect sensitivity training and safeguard the gentle spirit that accompanies our young people who do not have fully formed brains. I would protect arts and humanities with the deep understanding that the nature of our community depends on them. I would increase investment in technology training and ensure that the students in PSD are not just future ready but future leaders.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

In terms of my budgetary priorities, most of them are described in my response to some of the questions above, including more resources devoted to addressing equity, inclusion, and diversity issues, as well as kids’ and educators’ safety and competitive educators’ compensation. Additionally, it will probably surprise no one that I am a great advocate for meaningful, helpful, and accessible professional development for teachers (and, in fact, for staff at all levels of the district); I would therefore prioritize providing effective professional development that qualifies educators for higher rates of compensation and job satisfaction resulting therefrom.

I believe it is essential that our budget be a direct reflection of the district’s values as an organization and more broadly, ours as a community. So, the prime criterion in developing an appropriate budget should be ensuring that it aligns it with these values. As a new Board member, I will have a considerable learning curve related to recurring budget items and will initially focus on the hard work of making a financial case for updating the next budget to better reflect such priorities.

Under current circumstances, this is a process that is initially more focused on allocating money rather than obtaining additional money. I am strongly in favor of as collaborative and transparent a budget development process as is possible, while appropriately protecting confidentiality. All voices in the community and within the school district itself need to be heard in this process. Nonetheless, the point is not lost on me that we are potentially facing some dire budget cuts in the near future. Frankly, I am not familiar enough with the district budget at this point to identify where I would consider reducing funding in it. My values, as stated elsewhere in this questionnaire, will guide my decisions about such matters.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

My priority is what will most benefit students' education and wellbeing.

Protect: staffing, training for staff, class opportunities

Reduce: I'd prefer to seek creative funding solutions rather than cut things, but I'd say my lowest priority is protecting sport teams.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

My principles include:

-Minimizing negative impact to specific groups because of any decision (equity in impact).

-Working collaboratively with key individuals from various organizations to identify savings or alternative revenue sources or educational opportunities that can blunt budget cuts.

Areas for reduced funding include any funding for trailers (modular units). At this time I do not feel it appropriate to identify further specific areas since I am still learning the nuances of the PSD budget.

Increased investment should be on what will draw more students into the district, such as adding more CTE/life-ready type programs.

Do you believe that all recipients of public education funding, including charter schools and voucher programs, should be required to comply with the same state standards, regulations, nondiscrimination laws, and structural accountability as traditional public schools? Why or why not?

Karla Baise (District C)

Yes, if a school receives public education funding, they should be beholden to the same oversight of every other school in the district bound to that same oversight. I believe that clarity is care. It would be unethical for a student at a school in our district to visit another school for a sporting event, to watch a friend in a performance, participate in an academic challenge, etc and not feel secure that they have the same protections afforded them in their own school where they have built relationships. I do not feel like a student should feel more comfortable at one PSD school than another. I think that every student in every school in the district should feel like they are afforded the dignity to belong.

Tom Griggs  (District D)

As a scholar and activist in education policy and politics, I can say with confidence that it seems as though adequate funding for schools in Colorado has been an issue for as long as anyone can remember. I helped to found an organization that is now known as Advocates for Public Education Policy many years ago precisely to address the privatization agenda that has been especially visible since 2002, when No Child Left Behind became federal law. I can say categorically and without hesitation that “all recipients of public education funding—including charter schools and voucher programs—should be required to comply with the same state standards, regulations, nondiscrimination laws, and structural accountability as traditional public schools.”

The Charter School institute (CSI) established in the 1990s, which allows charter school proponents to bypass school districts in seeking authority to operate, amounts to competition with districts for public education funding. This is inappropriate and is at the very heart of the advocacy work being focused on in the state legislature and by Advocates for Public Education Policy (of which I am an Advisory Committee member). Beyond this, of course, the district needs to advocate at the level of the state legislature about not eliminating the averaging for declining enrollment or making other changes that would essentially revive the Budget Stabilization Factor.

There is also a need for board members at the local level to advocate, with our state and federal level representatives, as well as through the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) and the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE), for adequate support at the state and federal levels, such as is the case with the ongoing battle to reestablish the Budget Stabilization Factor.

Sabrina Herrick (District C)

Absolutely yes. If you want public funding, you should be held to the same standards as everyone who gets that funding. There should be room for case by case discussion (ie: a school for blind children only accepting blind children), but it should be the school's job to argue their 1 time exception.

Andrew E Spain (District E)

Yes. All should be held to the same standards as listed in statutes and regulations if receiving funding from the government.