Douglas County School Board President Kristine Turner will be finishing up her sixth year serving the district entering the elections in November. Her competition this year in District E is Douglas Benevento.
Colorado Community Newspapers recently asked three questions of the candidates:
Douglas Benevento:
“In order for the board to consider budget reductions, it must first have a clear understanding of the current financial state of the district and what deficit, if any, exists. When making a determination on what to reduce, the board should focus on maintaining services to students and ensuring that parents are not inconvenienced. The board should also determine whether savings can be achieved by providing more responsibility and autonomy to the schools. Site based budgeting, would significantly reduce the central bureaucracy and empower parents, teachers, and administrators in the neighborhood schools to make decisions.
Kristine Turner:
“If re-elected I will continue to push for transparency, accountability and innovation, cost saving on-line education, advertisements on buses, and better use of our facilities during non-school hours to generate more revenue. We have got to figure out how to fund education, and I will continue my work on the School Finance Committee at the state level in an effort to come up with solutions in funding education through the School Finance Act.”
Benevento:
“Their primary concern is that the board lacks accountability and transparency. It is crucial that the residents have the ability to go onto the district’s Web site to find out how the district is spending their money. The board should also establish an audit committee. Spending thousands of dollars on board memberships in organizations which do not educate our children is a waste of taxpayer money. The board should have meetings in neighborhood schools, and notify parents in the area, so they can attend.”
Turner:
“My opponent’s ideas for more charter schools are already in the works. I have approved all of the charter schools that have come before me. I voted to include the charter schools in the mill levy last year. I worked tirelessly with parents and the community to help establish Lone Tree’s new magnet school. I was the only board member who met repeatedly with Senator Peter Groff and the Charter League to create legislation for the entire state in order to benefit charter schools. I have never voted in favor or against an issue based on pressure from a special interest group. I put the children and education first, not political objectives, or personal interests.”
Benevento:
“The board should ensure that its purchase of food for students is health conscious and economical. The Health Advisory Committee to the board has developed a wellness plan which would achieve these ends. A school in Georgia moved to a more health conscious food purchasing strategy and saved around $400,000.”
Turner:
“I wrote the current policy for the school district’s mission and vision around wellness. I am a clinical psychologist and believe very strongly in well-rounded children. I have worked to introduce a pedometer project to the district so that students can track their level of physical activity. I have worked with the parent based Health Advisory Committee to establish the district’s wellness policies.”