League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
Hamilton, Butler County, OH November 8, 2005 Election
	Andy Barlow Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Northwest Local School District; 4 Year Term

Questions & Answers

1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)

I have been active in PTA for 12 years; began regularly attending NWLSD Board Meetings a year ago. My wife and two of our children are graduates of NWLSD. Our youngest attends Monfort Heights Elementary. My education in Cincinnati was a mix of public/private schools. I am the General Manager for the local division of a publicly traded company and am responsible for over 300 employees with a $35 million budget including operations, accounting, HR and legal functions.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

1)We must improve our scores on the State testing through challenging each student in a safe, non-disruptive environment with class sizes conducive to individualized attention. Every subject in each grade should have minimum requirements concerning content across the district and each school be responsible for ensuring this content is mastered. 2)The Board must reevaluate all spending and income streams. Inefficient past practices must be changed. New methods to "do more with less" must be implemented. 3)Community support and involvement is vital to improving education. As the schools are a public institution, transparency of both administration and board action (to the amount permitted by law) is paramount to increasing support and involvement.

3. What will you do as a Board of Education member to increase parental involvement in your school system? (100 word limit)

Community involvement (both parental and nonparental) at all levels of the school system and educational process is mandatory to the district's progress. 1)Parents participating in their children's education by helping with and promoting study is a major benefit. To increase this I will encourage seminars to "teach" parents how to help their children and then put this "teaching" into practice through structured evening "fun study sessions" for parents and students. 2)Schools need community involvement to help in all areas: tutoring, assisting teachers, cafeteria, landscaping, etc. and I will promote the groups historically responsible at this level, the PTA's and PTO's of the district, and help them reach out past parents and actively recruit nonparental community members. 3)NSLSD needs community involvement at the district administrative level. To increase this I will make the dealings of the board and administration as transparent as possible and re-institute district level committees comprised of educators and community members instilling a diversity of ideas, experiences and giving a fresh perspective to solving issues.