League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 8, 2005 Election
	Susan Cranley Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Cincinnati City School District

Questions & Answers

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

I work in the St. Bernard-Elmwood Place School District, focusing on literacy and at-risk students. I also helped to establish a foundation that enables the district to maintain a health clinic. My knowledge of Best Practices and current research means I will help the district focus on and improve student achievement.

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

To improve student achievement, the Board must:

1. Start Board meetings with a report on student achievement.

2. Create and implement a new strategic plan.

3. Institute curriculum mapping in the twelve lowest performing schools.

To improve Board performance, the Board must:

1. Adopt a policy of openness and cooperation by publicly disclosing all audits.

2. End closed-door executive sessions.

3. Reduce the number of meetings to two per month and stop micromanaging the district.

4. Have a Board retreat.

5. End the practice of paying Board members per-meeting.

The Board must assure that community learning centers serve all taxpayers by:

1. Ensuring that schools are a welcoming and supportive heart of the community.

2. Partnering with Cincinnati Recreation Commission to use gymnasiums as basketball centers at night.

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

CPS must communicate with parents. Communications must be straight forward and understandable.

CPS must involve parents in school activities. Schools must find ways for parents help from home when they can't come to school. Teachers and administrators must encourage parents help in classrooms, throughout the building and on the playground. To guarantee success, volunteers must be trained.

CPS must involve parents in building governance. Parents must be informed about policies and procedures that are mandated or for which there are Best Practices.

Parents who understand choices and possibilities usually find a way to contribute to the well-being of their children.

4. What is the most pressing issue facing the Cincinnati Public Schools? (100 word limit)

CPS must create and implement a strategic plan. CPS's Strategic Plan expired in early 2004. A strategic plan maps where you are going and how you are going to get there. The goals it sets forth insure that the district has a focus and a framework. A strategic plan's goals and performance indicators serve as progress monitors. It determines strategies for achieving the goals and makes it possible to create an action plan. An effective plan will be data driven and student centered. It is an affirmation of the mission and vision of the district: it focuses on student achievement.

5. Please describe what you consider the most important roles and responsibilities of a school board member. (100 word limit)

School boards must be judged by the academic achievement of all its students. Thus the most important role of a board member is to assure that a quality education is provided for every student. The education must be rigorous and demanding if our students are to be productive citizens in the 21st Century. To achieve that goal board members must be cooperative. Individual agendas and the politics of polarization must be avoided. Board members must understand that their role is that of governance. Governance guided by policies which are established by mission and vision and articulated in the strategic plan.

6. How would you, as a school board member, improve student achievement for all students? What would you do to close the achievement gap? (100 word limit)

To improve student achievement, I would:

1. Institute a policy that all Board meetings start with a report on student achievement--bringing CPS back to its core mission: student achievement.
2. Create and implement a new strategic plan.
3. Institute curriculum mapping in the twelve lowest performing schools to protect our most vulnerable students.

To close the achievement gap, I would:

1. Mandate that teachers understand and access disaggregate student achievement data.
2. Insure that the data is used to create interventions and enrichment opportunities.
3. Examine results in all subgroups, identify trends and address problems and successes.

7. What would you do to ensure the district remains on solid financial footing? (100 word limit)

Keeping spending within revenues will be a constant challenge. Revenues are shrinking and costs are escalating. The treasurer must keep the board apprised of revenues, expenditures and encumbrances. Tough decisions must be made. Making them will require thorough consideration, consultations with experts and in collaboration with the various stakeholders. Local taxpayers are paying an ever-increasing portion of the school's budgetary needs through taxes. Board members must be sure that the budget is fiscally responsible. The school board must articulate needs, explain how and why money is being spent, and approach the community for monetary support when necessary. (97)