I'm excited to get to work as your next board member so we can focus on rekindling the parent teacher Bond and taxpayer trust through full District transparency prioritizing on-grade education ensuring safety for all students and staff and exercising thoughtful fiscal responsibility.

When we look at our test scores and graduation rates we can choose to be satisfied that we're consistently above State averages or we can hold ourselves to a higher standard we can dig into the data with an Ida where there are gaps and what are the tools and best practices that can help us move the needle.

Especially relevant to the job of a Schoolboard member is our fiscal responsibility in transparency which we have um received recognition for we have a stable budget we have strong um understanding of where our resources are going and how that may need to evolve as the population and our student body evolves.

I would also like to say the programming that um we have for enrichment um the band uh program especially is is fantastic...and other enrichment activities that I know that there are a lot of districts out there that are envious.

Communication is key...there's mandatory learning that needs to take place but there's also learning that is considered as enrichment...teachers need to be able to have that opportunity as well to weigh in on that so having an open line of communication between the teachers and the parents is is Paramount.

It's valid for parents to be asking questions and to to have um transparency in what is being taught to their students...we respect that parents can opt in or out of certain um certain curriculums so that that's something that's already a policy in place.

One important thing to acknowledge is that we now do have a state law so that we um aren't taking time debating Banning books uh it that isn't something that is legal anymore...I don't support book Banning it's sort of a non-issue at this point um in terms of our schools uh here in Minnesota.

In a democracy we do not take away freedom to read because we don't agree with the content of the message however we make uh an effort to filter content to our children through analyzing appropriateness for their age and ability to understand the content...I think maybe that could be a solution just to name one of how um we can work with parents having that decision of what books should be available in schools.

There's no reason why this shouldn't be a priority for 196 we also need to address the expectation and culture of school while recent legislation was passed to have a process to consider before dismissing a student from class we've inadvertently stripped teachers of their Authority in front of the kids to make important leadership decisions.

I can assure you that we have been working hard to put the systems and plans in place to keep students safe thanks to the voters we had a bond in 20156 and were able to make sure that we had safe and secure entries in every school...we all need to push for more action on this and that includes Mental Health Resources and princible gun laws.

We don't have enough mental health professionals period That's impacting our school district...the demand I believe does exceed what we have available and I'm afraid if we ask students directly which I want to do as much as possible that many more of them would self- select into having more mental health supports.

As a former police officer working uh and answering calls...it was obvious to me that about the time that cell phones and um um you know internet use uh un supervised internet use in classrooms...I I personally and so did a lot of my colleagues saw um an increase in behavioral issues with students.

How I would see my role as your school board member would be that liaison from the voters to uh our and student the voters and students to our legislators...we need as a school board we need to have people who advocate for what the District needs itself it shouldn't be anybody else's agenda.

I think of the role of Schoolboard as having a few key components one is the the supervision hiring and firing of our superintendent...we have a an important responsibility to manage uh the the fiscal um budget and that's something that again budgets reflect priorities.

I am not coming into this did not get involved in this uh based on any political agenda um I am doing this work because I'm deeply committed to serving the community which uh is evidenced by also my day job uh working in hunger relief and in the nonprofit sector for my entire career.

My experience in law enforcement 20 years...has really given me the opportunity to learn and experience um Humanity um in ways that um many people like teachers nurses people who are in public service um really get to experience...it's not something that you can learn in a school or in a textbook it's something that you learn simply through your day-to-day interactions with people.

The biggest aspect of of what we're staring at right now is the the historical Bond referendum that was passed...I think that when you have a living breathing um budget and project you have to be on top of it constantly...I would also like to take a look at what we're like really get down to what the um budget is for wages across the board.

We have a a very large um a very large bond that that is going into US build building some new facilities that were much needed...it is a big um priority to make sure that those dollars are well spent...I also want to say that it's important to have uh if we want to be able to attract most talented staff and not have shortages we do need to be compensating people well.

We are lucky to be in not only a large District but in increasingly diverse District...it is important that we have in our strategic planning and act on making sure that we're achieving our goals around Equity...that value needs to translate into everything that we do and that is not just racial Equity but you know making sure that our facilities are accessible to people with disabilities.

I do agree that we have a uh very diverse district and um I I think that's a great thing to have because it gives uh our kids the opportunity to understand where other people are coming from...I think that's what makes us best at being human is understanding that it doesn't matter um other than what you're experience Es are that makes you human.

I have um the experience with being a police officer for um 20 years...it's been um my responsibility of making hard decisions and um you know making sure that there's disciplines but that there's also rewards for fantastic Behavior...I've been in you know all the way from starting at the very bottom um to being in charge of a 120 person volunteer unit.

I do think that it's um really important to be able to think about navigating um strategic plans and systems change that's a a key role of ours on the school board and something that I you know have been very involved in as um a part of those leadership team for my organization other nonprofit organizations you know really the hunger relief system as a whole is rather complex and has evolved quite a bit in in the last several years.

We start from a place of respect and communication even if we disagree we can voice our differing opinions and fact I think that that's important...we're workshopping when we need to that we're talking with you know different staff and different leadership roles across the district so that we're constantly learning and um bouncing things off of each other.

Everybody comes from different life experiences different job experiences um and we all have our our own opinions about how we think things should be run but we have to have respect for each for each other...I think the people that are on our school board are there because they have one goal and mind and that's to make sure that our kids succeed.

I would like to see um the the the school board known to be uh fiscally responsible uh across the board...we also need to uh make sure that our students continue to excel...and then also I would really like to see an improvement in the safety of our schools bringing back that that school culture and really um helping teachers and staff to to um make sure that they're in control of the school.

I want to make sure that we find new avenues for student and family engagement...we need a nurturing School environment for everyone that includes mental health supports that includes support staff...we have um intolerable gaps when it comes to bipo students um English Learners and even a higher driver of whether or not you graduate is your family's income level.

I hope you've learned a little bit more about me I hope you feel comfortable reaching out to me anytime as your current and committed School Board member as I already just rattled off I have a lot of priorities for um the district and more than I was able to achieve in six months so I would love to continue leveraging what I have learned.

There is no doubt in my mind that our children are the key to the success of our nation...I think we have a great District but we're but we're having a hard time getting out of a slump our MCAS and graduation record in the district support that...I'm asking everyone watching who will be voting on November 5th to consider maybe it's time 196 uh consider a different approach to getting that desired outcome and vote for me Melissa field as your next School Board member.