This Q&A is part of Tiger Times Online’s coverage of the 2025 school board election. The election will take place on April 1. For more information, click here.

The following Q&A has been edited for concision and clarity.

• Why are you running for the District 7 school board, and what’s the most important skill or experience you bring to the role?

I’m running because years ago, my children attended district seven. My oldest daughter is 40 years old. I’m a very active parent, and I always wanted to do it, but with my busy schedule as a nurse, that time wasn’t allotted for me because I worked a lot of hours. Now I have time to focus on the district and the students. I’m a parent, just like other parents, and I have some of the same concerns as others do.

• Should you be elected, what specific policies would you like to see enacted or changed, and how would those changes specifically benefit students in our high school or in the other schools?

Health and wellness is one of the bigger things for me as a nurse, assuring that every student is mentally focused, meaning that they are focused health wise and mental health, because mental health is a very big issue. With COVID, students was home for two years, and they had to be acclimated back into the environment, and sometimes they might not know how to do that. As a nurse, that could be some issues that could arise within that student that the school is not aware of.

• Are you in favor of increasing or decreasing school funding? If so, where would you propose those funds come from and where would they be allocated, or where would you cut back?

I’m thinking increase in funding, and those funds should come from the state to support the school, and whatever direction that the school board would allocate those funds to. Fundings that I think needs to be increased is, like for us, every child having a meal, every child getting fed, making sure that their nutrition level is where it needs to be, and allocating that funded to preschool meals, like breakfast. Breakfast could be one of those things that the child need. A lot of times the students don’t get breakfast. They just run out the house, get on the school bus. But I feel that breakfast would benefit them.

• Who do you believe is the school board’s primary constituent? Is it the students, the parents, the teachers, the staff, the community, or someone else?

It takes a community for us to have a school, and within that school, you got the students and you got the staff and the parents. So the biggest constituent, to me, is the student and everybody else would be collaborating on behalf of the student to make sure that student have what they need to be successful.

• School boards, in general, have become more contentious and gained more attention in recent years with many larger political movements. Do you think any of the larger things we’ve seen in our country will affect our school board specifically?

You have to make an assessment of the district in knowing where the funds would go, and the board, like they do now, come together and meet and allocate those fundings to places that’s needed. A lot of times, parents don’t understand that in those meetings that may be monies that have been given to the school already. Then they have to allocate it within a certain time frame to that area. I’ve heard some things that parents say that the money’s not being used properly. When you get money allocated from the government or the state, you have this time frame that you have to do all those things. Sometimes, some of those projects can get interfered with, whether due weather or construction, something might happen that they can’t continue that project. That project might get delayed. They say, wonder what happened? Well, they got delayed, because those things might come up, like weather.

• Are you satisfied with the current curriculum offerings in our high school? If not, what changes would you advocate for, and why? Are there specific subjects or skills you feel are lacking?

My daughter graduated from Edwardsville High School back in 2000. Her curriculum allowed her to be successful. Now she’s a lawyer. I feel that the curriculum that the students have, and if the student won’t, other than what that curriculum, students would also have to communicate that to the Board of Education, that we would like this curriculum, or we want to see this happen. A lot of times the boards, if they don’t know that that’s neat for you to want a different curriculum, then pretty much the curriculum probably stays the way it is. With time changing and technology advancing, there’s a lot of things that needs to come into play as we go on into the years to come, 2030, things are going to change, Me personally, I’d talk to the student body president. Get the student body involved in questions. What would you like to see in the near future for us curriculum? What do you think would help you to be more successful in your college years. First is the student, because they’re the ones that have to let us know as being the board members, this is what we want to see in the future.

• What specific resources and support systems should our district provide to address student mental health and well-being?

One of my big issues is mental help. We’re being well rounded student and having those people there to maybe pick up things that other people or staff might not be able to. If they see or hear something that concerns them, not directly, maybe they can have the student, to ask them, Are you okay today? Are you having any issues? Do you want to talk about it? Students care a lot of things on them that they don’t have the outlet. Sometimes they don’t want to talk to their friends. Some things might be too personal, but having those people in place, like qualified counselors, those that with degrees that can really pick up on things from students that other people can’t. That’s needed in every school, having those resources there for the student.

• How would you ensure the school board is transparent and accountable to the community?

That’s one of the biggest things I see, too. Is communication, lack of communication with the school board and with the parents and sometimes even with the staff. More being more open line of communication means sending those memos out to parents or to the community members, making them aware of what’s going on, and also encouraging them to attend the board meetings. The board meetings, you have very few people that attend, but yet, they want to address change. They want to make changes. My thing is, if you’re not there, then what voice do you have if you’re not there to attend those meetings?

• How do you plan to help all students become ready for college, careers or other forms of post-secondary success?

I feel like the counselors should play a very significant role in that. I can only speak for myself, my daughter, when she attended Edwardsville High School, she had great counselors that kind of stirred her in the direction of what she was wanting to do, if what she wanted to be a lawyer. The counselors really aided her in that decision, and was there and did the research for her. She did the research too, but mostly, the counselors. If they got well rounded counselors, those counselors who might have access to college information, could do some of the delayed work for the students. That way that counselors involved and the students involved, and students also communicating also with the counselors.

• What are your views on the recent push to change EHS to a 7-period day and changes to the start and end times?

I’m looking in more so for like the younger students, parents needing to get to work, get to work later. They have to their kids, bring them to school so they can make their seven o’clock work hour. It has a lot to do with parents on that end. As far as high school wise, I don’t feel like that should be changed, because there, school students, and that set time should be continued on for them, because now they’re driving, they’re getting up, they’re being responsible. I personally feel that it shouldn’t change for every school, just certain schools, because the students, high school students, are driving, most of them. Because they’re kind of what they’re used to, that’s what they’re kind of used to. Those early mornings with the high school is preparing them for the workforce, at those hours too. So I don’t think it should change for the high school.

• What are your views on efforts to replace the current bathrooms near the cafeteria with a single gender-neutral bathroom?

My stance on that is, me, personally, if I was a student and I’m a female student, a lot of times female has a lot of issues that they resolve in the bathroom. Lot of times they may not want someone of a different gender in the bathroom rhythm, while they’re maybe expressing to their girlfriend, crying out, or something might be going on physically with their bodies. To me that’s, that’s a fine line. I feel personally, that the girls bathroom should be the girls bathroom. The boys bathroom should be the boys bathroom, but that’s just my opinion. I’m quite sure it would be beneficial. Yes. And if they have other bathrooms to go to, then that wouldn’t be a problem for no one.

• A lot of districts have faced staff shortages. How do you propose District 7 maintain staff and have high quality teachers?

If I was to apply for a job, I want my worth. I want a benefit package, and the wage that I feel like I’m worthy of. The school district, in order to keep staff retention is to, give them that benefit package, give them what they want up front. That way they know what their future looks like. If their future doesn’t look, okay, we’re gonna pay you this amount, but this only gonna last so long. I think that should be a package available for them, that way to keep staff retention.

• With that staff retention, how do you make sure that they are engaged in their learning, as students often don’t have equitable access?

Most people, especially children, get in a routine. Being a routine of having someone that you see every day, allows you to gain trust, allow you to communicate more. Seeing that person throughout your school years, over and over, that to me, is successful. I know when my kids go to school, when there’s a substitute teacher, the whole class is going to be unfocused. Having those students, having staff in place, and having members of the district school, those same people coming back is coming back. You have a much more successful school, because now you got those people that’s been there for years, and they’ve seen your child go through and learn and develop and you was there with them, making sure they had what they need, not as though somebody come in one day. If you got new person, then nobody seems to cares about that student. So it makes a difference.

• Give me your final pitch for why people should vote for you.

As a parent myself, I understand and the success of every student is very important to me, just like it was my child, and making sure that they’re there, they having what they need and just being there, hearing them, listening, understanding them, understanding the staff and the teachers, understanding everybody in their position and what they want, because everybody wants something, but trying to give everybody what they want. It takes progress, but really being there for the parents in the teachers and the staff, to me, is very important, and I just want to be there, and I want to hear what their concerns are. What concerns you concerns me.