Four candidates are racing to fill three available seats on the Cape Elizabeth School Board in the Nov. 3 election, held by members John Christie III, David Hillman and Mary Williams-Hewitt who are not seeking additional terms.
Elizabeth Scrifres, who served on the board from 2011-2013 but lost a re-election bid last year, will appear on the November ballot along with William Gross III, John Voltz, and Heather Altenburg.
The Current asked the candidates the same series of questions about why they’re running for the School Board. Their responses follow:
Elizabeth K. Scifres
Age: 40
Occupation: Tennis Coach/Instructor
Political Experience: One term on Cape Elizabeth School Board; one year as vice-chairperson.
Q: Why are you running?
A: I am running for school board to preserve and protect what is great about our schools (what is working), while at the same time updating and innovating so that our children are prepared to be citizens of this ever-changing world.
Q: What are the three biggest issues facing the Cape Elizabeth School District?
A: While there is a lot that we are doing right in the Cape Elizabeth School District, there are still many areas in need of improvement. One such area is communication. Timely, effective communication among the three schools, between school and parents, and with the entire community builds understanding, cooperation, and trust. For example, when the schools make information widely and easily available, not only is transparency achieved but also informed community participation in decision-making is increased.
Another area in need of improvement is unifying our schools so that students have seamless transitions between grades, from one school to another, and into their post-graduate life as well. This unity assures that all staff has common goals for our students, and is making sure they are well prepared for their next steps. The third issue of importance is the budget and budget process. It is essential that we support our schools not only because it is best for our students, but also because it is best for our town overall.
In terms of process, the school department must make every effort to put all items of the budget in context so that everyone can understand what is being spent and why. At the same time, every dollar spent must be scrutinized to make sure it is necessary and being spent efficiently. I believe the schools must be wisely but well funded.
Q: Do you think Cape’s $23.5 million school budget is fair?
A: Fair is not the best word to use in this context. I believe the school budget number is appropriate. It covers the necessities of providing a sound education to the students of our town. It covers the needs of aging, decaying buildings and systems, staff salaries and benefits, services, supplies and a host of other things.
Q: In what ways will you help education in Cape Elizabeth approve?
A: I will push to improve communication and thus transparency, at all levels. I will ask the hard questions that need to be asked, no matter who is on the receiving end – be it the superintendent, administrators, specialists, or anyone else. I have the experience to hit the ground running, engage in what needs to get done right away.
Q: One of the School Board’s strategic plan goals is to increase student engagement in learning and teacher engagement in instruction. How do you think this can be achieved?
A: Studies show that engagement happens when people truly care about what they are doing. The more we can connect student learning to their passions and to real-life situations, the more they will value it and thus engage. School can’t just be an endless string of facts and operations that students memorize or master, regurgitate and forget. Likewise, the more we encourage and value teachers who bring their own excitement, creativity, and passion to their craft, the more engaged they will be. Yes, there are standards to be met, but there are so many different ways to get there.
Heather Altenburg
Age: 44
Occupation: Yoga teacher
Political Experience: None
Q: Why are you running?
A: I am running for school board because as a longtime educator and parent, I believe in excellence in public schools. My goal is to enter the school board with an open mind and to be receptive to the issues of interest to the community without presenting a strong personal agenda. I am a careful listener and hope to bring concerns and questions to the table.
Q: What are the three biggest issues facing the Cape Elizabeth School District?
A: A major issue facing the district is the state and federal mandated policies regarding the Common Core, standardized testing and teacher evaluations. A second issue is working within the budget and setting new budgets for the upcoming year. Lastly, it is vital for the district to continue to develop, create and increase innovative learning strategies that evolve with the times and most up-to-date research.
Q: Do you think Cape’s $23.5 million school budget is fair?
A: I believe the $23.5 million budget is fair. Our schools are one of the best investments for a strong and vibrant community. In order to help our schools remain among the best in the state and grow even stronger, we need to make appropriate, financial investments.
Q: In what ways will you help education in Cape Elizabeth approve?
A: As a school board member I will cultivate clear and timely communication between the three schools, the administration and the community while working toward common goals. My experience as classroom teacher for eight years, parent of three and member of the community with parents and in-laws living here as well, will bring a well-rounded and unique perspective to the board. I will bring an open mind to all issues with the best interest for our children, their futures and the community.
Q: One of the School Board’s strategic plan goals is to increase student engagement in learning and teacher engagement in instruction. How do you think this can be achieved?
A: Student engagement can happen through newer, more innovative learning strategies of hands-on and experiential learning. When students are invested with an interest in the creative process of learning, the results are far better and the learning can be exceptional.
John Voltz
Age: 54
Occupation: Consultant
Political Experience: None
Q: Why are you running?
A: Cape Elizabeth has a tradition of great public schools. Our schools are one of this community’s greatest assets. I hope to contribute to their stewardship – actively maintaining what is excellent and driving prudent innovation to make them even better for all students, teachers, administrators, district employees and residents.
I participated as a citizen in the most recent school budgeting process, as a result of some proposed changes I felt would significantly affect the overall excellence of Cape schools. During this process, I gained a detailed understanding of the budget, the schools and programs, and issues facing the district. On reflection, I felt I could make a larger contribution as a member of the school board.
Q: What are the three biggest issues facing the Cape Elizabeth School District?
A: Maintaining excellence – Cape Elizabeth Schools have a reputation of excellence. I believe maintaining excellence requires hard work, foresight, diligence and innovation. I plan to strive to make Cape Elizabeth a district that attracts and retains high-quality teachers, administrators and staff that work together to deliver an excellent, well-rounded education to all students.
Communication – I believe it is important to foster a supportive positive learning community with open active communication between teachers, administrators, staff, parents and the school board. Actively fostering this type of environment is vital to maintaining high-quality schools in the long run.
Transparency – Much of what the school board does is already available to the public. I know the current school board values transparency and works hard to support this goal. I also think there is more that can be done. I plan to actively work to make the budget and the process more understandable, and to encourage and promote better and more comprehensive data in support of the budget. I will also work to encourage and support greater visibility and participation in important district decisions where possible.
Q: Do you think Cape’s $23.5 million school budget is fair?
A: Yes. The budget is developed through an open participatory public process and is voted on three times: by the School Board, by the Town Council, and then by the public. Cape Elizabeth’s per-student costs are broadly in line with other high performing districts in southern Maine. Cape Elizabeth is a community that has chosen to create and maintain excellent public schools. I believe this is a wise choice and that the money spent to support Cape schools is reasonable.
Q: In what ways will you help education in Cape Elizabeth improve?
A: Cape Elizabeth has excellent schools, but we cannot rest on our laurels. While we are doing many things well, maintaining excellence will take diligence and innovation. Areas where I see room to improve are:
Communication – I will work to foster better communication that will lead to more informed and transparent decision making.
Resources – I will work to ensure we have appropriate resources in place to continue to excel. This is not just funding – it includes making sure we do our best to utilize our existing resources including teachers, administrators and staff. We should work to grow and develop their capabilities. We also need to actively recruit talent and acquire critical resources when needed.
Innovation – I will work to encourage adopting prudent innovations to help us perform better or with fewer resources. We should encourage participation of all the staff fostering innovation – this is critical, as they often know best where the challenges and opportunities lie.
Q: One of the School Board’s strategic plan goals is to increase student engagement in learning and teacher engagement in instruction. How do you think this can be achieved?
A: A lot of good work has already been done on student and teacher engagement. The current strategic plan is more than just a plan – it includes indicators of success. A number of these success indicators relate directly to increasing student and teacher engagement. For example, one indicator calls for actively engaging students in identifying areas of interest or passion and tailoring their learning experience to leverage these. Another one calls for the implementation of a professional development plan for teachers, which will foster better teacher engagement in instruction. I believe the plan and these indicators are right on track. As a board member, I will work to ensure these and other indicators of success are implemented, tracked, and shared with the public.
William H. Gross III
Age: 69
Occupation: Retired engineer; volunteer high school physics tutor.
Political Experience: None
Q: Why are you running?
A: For the past seven years I have been volunteering in Dr. Efron’s ninth-grade Honors Physics class. I witness our outstanding school system and tremendously talented teachers up close every day. Still, I see many areas where small changes could make our schools even better.
I want to serve on the school board in order to balance the requirements of our quest for educational excellence with the needs of our teachers and the burden on our taxpayers.
Q: What are the three biggest issues facing the Cape Elizabeth School District?
A: Budget pressure due to declining enrollment. Cape taxpayers will continue to question the size of school budget increases while student enrollment is declining.
Changes in curriculum (Common Core) and student grading (standards-based assessment and proficiency-based diploma grading).
Teacher evaluation/contract issues. Our strategic plan lays out a 5-year process to design a teacher/administrator evaluation system. Yet our current teacher contract specifically excludes teacher evaluation from being used to determine teacher pay and which teacher can be laid off in the case of a reduction in staff.
Q: Do you think Cape’s $23.5 million school budget is fair?
A: The total amount of the budget is fair. The way the $23.5 million is distributed across the school system is unfair. The administration rightly points out that 80 percent of this budget ($18.8 million) consists of staff salaries and benefits for our 262 employees (average compensation for each employee = $71,755). Yet of these 262 employees, only 79 are the core of teachers whose efforts actually result in our children becoming educated – 28 teachers in grades K-4; 24 teachers in grades 5-8; 27 high school teachers in Math, Science, English and Social Studies. These 79 core teachers should receive the bulk of our attention, both qualitatively and financially.
Q: In what ways will you help education in Cape Elizabeth approve?
A: I believe the two most important factors, that our school board can control, which affect the quality of the education our children, are:
• The quality of our teachers
• The amount of time students spend in class
I believe that our school board should develop a 10-year plan that concentrates on these two factors. We should start planning now for the $1 million annual budget surplus we will begin to enjoy when the current capital improvement program ends in 2024. These future budget surpluses should be used to fund the future major changes we will need to make in these two areas.
Q: One of the School Board’s strategic plan goals is to increase student engagement in learning and teacher engagement in instruction. How do you think this can be achieved?
A: The best way to achieve this goal is to implement a practice here in Cape Elizabeth similar to what the Japanese call jugyokenkyu (loosely translated as “lesson study”). Jugyokenkyu is basically a practice of having teachers observing another teacher teach a class and then spend the rest of the day dissecting the class to determine the best way to teach that lesson. The teachers review together in minute detail which math problem the teacher posed to the students; why the teacher called on particular students; how the teacher responded to a student’s incorrect answer; and so on. Teaching is an art and jugyokenkyu can help all our teachers become Rembrandts.
John Voltz
Bill Gross
Elizabeth Scifres
Heather AltenburgSend questions/comments to the editors.
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