My highest priority is that the school system has the budget and staffing necessary to fulfill its mission of educating our children.  The operating budget must be sufficient to recruit and retain high quality teachers, staff, and educational professionals who show up every day for our students.  I believe the Board of Education members should be the biggest advocates for our school system by working with county leadership to secure the resources required to provide an excellent education for our young people.  CCPS already operates arguably the leanest school system in the state, and further reductions would directly impact classrooms, educators, programs, and student outcomes.  Our budget needs to include necessary resources so that PTAs and PTOs are not filling the gaps in the operating budget.

During the decade of declining enrollment from FY09-FY19, CCPS implemented cuts and cost saving measures that hollowed out other parts of the organization while prioritizing preserving staff in front of students.  Last year, CCPS has the lowest ratio of non-instructional staff per student in the entire state.  While the ratio data has not been released for the current year, it is safe to say that further cuts to central office or administrative staff will hinder the ability of the organization to function as it has been.