- CBJ Aquatics Board
- Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee
- Commission on Aging
- Special Committee for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan
- the Skate Park Advisory Board
- CoastAlaska
- Capital City Broadcasting (KTOO)
During my time on these boards, I’ve had the privilege of serving our community and working with government. I believe that our public boards are the best interface between citizens and government.
I have a strong sense of civic responsibility, and going to where the work is needed. For a city that has given so much to me and my family, I’ve always felt compelled to give back some of my time and expertise improving our community so that we can all benefit from the great opportunities Juneau has to offer.
I ran for school board in the past and have received write-in votes and encouragement from friends and family to try and run again but to no avail. This year is different. More of you have reached out and the stakes are higher. I spoke with members of our community and heard constantly that people felt comfortable voting for one or two candidates but uncomfortable voting for the third seat. A large number of candidates were pushing for relaxing or eliminating the COVID-19 mitigation strategies that have unquestioningly saved countless students. This is a change that I am not comfortable with and disagree with.
A write-in campaign two weeks after ballots have already been sent out and in the middle of a pandemic is definitely not the conventional route to winning office– I am very aware of that. It’s going to be an uphill battle but I know it will be worth it.
I am not an epidemiologist, nor do I have any medical background. When Covid-19 arrived, I was the chair of the Aquatics Board and we were meeting almost weekly to understand how to best navigate the pandemic while striving to offer the maximum level of service safely possible. We adopted a risk matrix that was in line with the Assembly, who based their work on the current findings of the CDC. Most, if not all, Facilities and Programs in CBJ have done the exact same, and the Juneau School District is no different.
Masks and vaccines work, and the Juneau School District is a shining example of that. Masks and vaccines factor into determining who is a close contact, and who needs to quarantine when cases occur. While Juneau has seen a surge of cases related to the Delta Variant that is similar to our neighbors up north, thankfully due to the mitigation policies put in by the school board, the Juneau School District has seen relatively lower numbers of cases and classroom closures than school districts that do not have mandatory masking required.
I’m a strong believer in keeping schools open to the maximum extent possible. The best way of doing that is through our current Covid-19 Mitigation Strategy. The Public School System is often a great equalizer, and I fully support equity throughout our schools. When classroom closures occur, and distance learning is put back in place, it boomerangs our kids back and forth. Not all children in our district have the same opportunities or difficulties in these situations.
Our district made the choice earlier to expand our free lunch program to include breakfast, and all students. I strongly support this. My friend Sharon Lowe had made this her life’s work, and I think a great way to honor her legacy is to continue this. When classrooms close, not every family has an equal opportunity to access these programs easily. Kids learn at their best when they are in safe classrooms, well fed, and under the direction of teachers. It’s my goal to ensure we can continue the great work of the board in this direction.
While Covid-19 has dominated the election cycle, the school board also has a substantial workload. I am interested in the following:
- Work with our city, state, and federal governments to use infrastructure and relief monies to fix our schools through the Capital Improvement Process.
- Continue to push for the moratorium/grace period on relying on standardized testing results to dictate policy and funding. As a data processor, I use data and information to make informed decisions constantly. At the same time, I’m acutely aware that data points aren’t the only metric to be taken into consideration. With over-reliance on standardized testing results, We are encouraging our teachers to “teach to the test” and giving our students an added stress during the most difficult time of everyone’s lives. We need a comprehensivev and holistic approach to educating our children, and I don’t think that a single focus on standardized testing is the optimal route there.
- Begin discussions with our Assembly, Public/Private Partnerships/Tribal Corporations to see how we can work towards improving the childcare situation in our community.
- Look towards expanding service learning in the district to steward civic engagement of our youth while expanding programmatic offerings in an economical sense.
Will Muldoon jumps in the school board race two weeks before Juneau’s election
I’m writing in Will Muldoon. Here’s why
Second write-in candidate joins school board race