Members of the Board of Education recently met with local elected officials to talk about the Board’s 2019 Legislative Priorities.
The legislative priorities are as follows:
High Quality Instruction
We will continue to encourage quality instruction, focusing on providing our teachers the coaching, professional development and resources to help our students learn at the highest levels. This includes:
- Continue to implement innovative salary options that attract and retain high quality teachers.
- Encourage professional development funds for competency based education at all schools.
- Provide funding for instructional coaches for our teachers.
- Expand the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant and increase tech support and technology coaches at our schools.
Mental Health
We need to continue to increase student access to mental health resources and services. Students with mental health challenges experience difficulty at school for many reasons, especially academic and social areas – both of which are critical to the success of students. This includes:
- Increase mental health support and training in our schools.
- Provide additional counselors in our secondary schools.
Safe Schools
We must continue to provide resources and training to school staff, parents, students and community members to ensure the physical safety of every student. The lead role should be taken by school boards working with state and local officials.
- Allow for local solutions to meet the unique needs of each LEA.
- Increase funding for safety initiatives, including additional School Resource Officers.
A WPU increase, funding for enrollment growth, and equalization will help us meet the needs of our District.