2021_YSNElectionGuide

5 Y E L L OW S P R I NG S N EWS H H H 2 021 VOT E R’ S GU I DE H H H Of course, as a new citizen, I am also inter- ested in fostering a sense of civic duty and involvement in our local kids. 3. The current levy proposal is the most affordable and long-term solution we have on the table to address our worn-out facili- ties. I fully support it. Once passed, I would want to focus on two related topics. The first one would be developing a robust maintenance plan to maximize the lifes- pan of the new building. Studies recom- mend a range of $3–$7 per square foot in maintenance for a new building, which is a lot less than for an old building. This recommended range includes the salary and benefits of custodians in addition to the anticipation of system upgrades due decades later. I would want to pinpoint our specific maintenance budget goal and the ways in which we would secure it. My second topic would be clarifying the fate of the Mills Lawn property in a way that is affordable and beneficial to all. We have yet to hear all the good ideas that our passion- ate and creative community can generate. If the levy were to fail, I would want to explore creative sources of financing — maybe less through property taxes, and more through income-based tax and pri- vate fundraising. I would want to hear from experts on the phased-in levy ideas. My initial research indicates that it cannot out- pace the growing inflation rate of building costs for public facilities, but I would want to be proven wrong. I would also keep lob- bying our state Legislature for proper fund- ing, because we are not alone in struggling to pay for the illegality of our state’s school funding system, ruled unconstitutional in 1997, 2000 and 2002. JUDITH HEMPFLING I ser ved on the Yellow Springs Vil- lage Council for 11 years — six years as Council presi - dent — and am mo s t p r oud o f achieving inclusive- ness and respect for al l vi l lagers ’ input during my tenure there, and of advo- cating for af fordable housing, environ- mental sustainability and police depart- ment reform. I have two grandchildren attending Mills Lawn School now, and my own two children also attended the Yellow Springs school district. I view the teachers, staf f and students as the heart of our schools and believe public education plays an essential role in preparing children to be active citizens of our democratic society. I have been a political activist since my youth, advocating for peace and human rights, environmental sustainability and racial equality. I support the Black Lives Matter movement that is playing such an important role in exposing and addressing white supremacy in our society. I agree with current district consensus that the school community should sup- port CDC guidelines regarding COVID- 19, advocate for and support transgender and gender nonconforming students and employees, and teach the truth about white supremacy’s destructive role both historically and currently. 1. I support open enrollment as a posi- tive for both students outside the district who can greatly benefit from being a part of our school district and for the school district, which can fill empty seats that are available in some of our grades. In this way, the district benefits socially because of the additional students and fiscally from educational monies that comes with these students to the district. I’m glad that our school district can be a safe haven for students who are unable to thrive in their home districts for a variety of reasons, which may include being a part of the LGBTQ community or because of ethnic, racial or cultural dif fer- ences, which may have caused them to feel isolated or unwelcome in their home districts. Yellow Springs school district should welcome open enrollment students within the confines of the fixed costs of the district so that there is not an additional burden on taxpayers. In this way open enrollment benefits the district’s fiscal and social well-being with no negative aspect. 2. Our public school is an important institution of our community, especially for families with children. It’s great strength lies in its excellent teachers and its small size, which make it possible for students and their families to be known and know teachers, staf f and peers. A teacher’s job is demanding and time consuming, with teachers often spending many hours completing their work after the school day is done. The school board can play a role as a venue for problem solving systemic issues, and with the community, identify the underlying values we want reflected in our schools. For example, a recognition of the importance of the relationships between students and teachers might lead to a problem-solving session looking at ways to reduce the work burdens of teachers so they have more time for the essentials. One solution might be identifying unnecessary paper- work or processes that bring little benefit to students. Project-based learning, or PBL, is the educational philosophy adopted by Yellow Springs school district. Again, the school board can ensure that it is applied in a way that is flexible so that students can master the important competencies in the dif fer- ent areas of study. The pendulum swings in educational approaches. PBL brings benefits when teachers and students have significant input in its application. The school board can provide a venue for ef fective problem-solving. When significant concerns arise in the district, whether academic or other, school staf f should play a central role in finding solutions. Open, honest discourse between school board members with robust citizen input should assist in this problem-solving. Mitigating the impacts of COVID is another place the school board helps identify and address challenges that impact the whole school community. It is important that all levels of educa- tion are equally valued and based on the interests and needs of students: the technical and trade skills provided by the career center, addressing special needs with ef fective 504 and IEP plans, com- munity college and college prep. All are important for students in their quest to gain confidence and skills for self-actual- ization as well as financial independence. Protecting the fiscal health of the school district is a key responsibility of the school board and is essential in protecting academic excellence. School board members, as representatives of the community, need to respect the taxpayers’ ability to pay. The operational budget pays teachers and staf f, and funds activities and curriculum central to educational pro- grams. Our operational budget will need to be increased in the near future. We do not want a community overstretched by school taxes that is then unable to meet the needs of the operational budget. We do not want to be among schools that have shiny new buildings but inadequate monies for teacher salaries and curricu- lum needs. 3. I am running for the school board because I believe it is in our children’s and community’s best interest to preserve and improve the current school facilities. I therefore oppose building a new K–12 school on the edge of town. These are my reasons: • Our children and grandchildren are facing an unprecedented planetary emergency — a code red according to the United Nations — regarding the warming of our planet. We are citizens of a first world country who out-consume the rest of the world. We contribute more than most to the destruction of our planet because of the huge consumption we feel is our right. We should not participate in this status quo way of thinking, that we need a new school building because other districts in the region have new buildings. Communities all over the world would love to have our school buildings for the education of their children. • Mills Lawn Elementary, McKinney Middle and YS High School buildings are structurally sound. We would not be using them if they were not. Adequate funding for maintenance and upgrades can ensure the current buildings meet standards appropriate for the education of our chil- dren for the indefinite future. • By making the decision to preserve our current school facilities, our youngest children will continue to flourish at Mills Lawn Elementary School, a beautiful natu- ral setting at the heart of our community rather than out on the edge of town. • We can provide an excellent education for children of all incomes in our public school system and contribute to the ef fort to keep our community af fordable. This requires a commitment to excellence in caring for our facilities, a waste-not-want- not maintenance/rehab plan. The cost will be an amount the community can bear so that working families of low and modest income can af ford to remain in our com- munity and they and their children are able to benefit from the amenities of our community and school. AMY MAGNUS I’m excited to run for Yellow Springs school board. I b r i n g v a l u a b l e expertise in gover- nance and educa- tional services. I ’m a 20 - year United States Air Force veteran with lots of program management experience, a math and science educator of 14 years, and the developer of a children’s museum. I’ve served as president of the Library Association Board and vice president of the board for YS Home, Inc. Currently, I’m assistant manager of the Yellow Springs 4-Season Farmers Market, where I mentor businesses and tech startups. This fall, I’m coaching Gonzola Perez, a University of Dayton alum, through Project Enginuity, a program run by the Entrepreneurs’ Center and Dayton Chamber Minority Business Partnership. I come from a family with experience in education, healthcare and star tups. Grandma Magnus was a farmer and ele- mentary school principal. My sisters own and operate a deli in Gunnison, Colo. Dad is a retired IBM engineer and furniture upholsterer. Mom retired as a nurse prac- titioner and started a nonprofit, a care net- work connecting villagers in Nichols, N.Y., to healthcare services. Following Mom’s example, I founded a public charity on June 19, 2019, to bring a children’s museum to Yellow Springs. Early in my Air Force career, I realized a lifelong dream of working on space pro- grams. I’ve worked on satellite and obser- vatory projects. I’ve enjoyed the golden opportunity to participate in the launch of a satellite from the NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis. I got another stellar opportunity working as a visiting scientist at Cornell University. At Cornell, I began my research in group instruction. My family moved to Yellow Springs in 2007 to work in academia. My husband, Jeremy, teaches at Central State University. Until recently, I taught at the Air Force Insti- tute of Technology. At AFIT, I led research in human computer teaming within large scale training exercises. After receiving a $450,000 grant to study fundamental pat- terns in group learning, I began studying early math education in earnest. I had so much fun visiting children’s museums and taking in their math and science programs, I decided to join the fun myself. Thus, I began my work on the Yellow Springs Sci- ence Castle. I left AFIT in 2020 to follow this dream. Over the past 24 months, I’ve been working with Learn to Earn Dayton developing Play On Purpose activities and assessments for regional playgrounds. In August, Yellow Springs Science Castle received our third award from the National Informal STEM Educational Network to develop training programs for staf f and volunteers. Exciting times! 1. I support the district’s open enroll- ment policy. It promotes diversity and inclusion, recruits new families, supports village workers who wish to send their children to Yellow Springs schools and provides revenue. Our policy works well, but as neighbor- ing districts implement open enrollment, we may take a look at our application pro- cedure and timeline. In late August , a repor t sur faced from the statehouse news bureau that legislation is being considered to make open enrollment mandatory at all Ohio schools. A voluntary program has been in place since the 1993-94 school year. Now, about 80% of Ohio schools par ticipate. Many of the remaining 20% are suburban schools. Supporters hope that mandatory open enrollment will promote diversity in Ohio schools and decrease the cost of education. Schools in rural settings such as ours may see secondary ef fects from the new policy as more schools participate in open