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Full Name: Joanne Anastasia Johnson
What office are you seeking? SD308 School Board Member
What is your political party? Non-partisan
What is your current age? 50
Occupation and Employer: Self-Employed, Operational Excellence Consulting
What offices, if any, have you previously held? None
City: Oswego
Campaign Website: www.WeTheParentsOswego308.com
Education: Master from the school of hard knocks
Community involvement: I do not belong to any organized groups that were created specifically for volunteering. I frequently donate to causes within our community, such as adopting a family for Christmas, providing home cooked meals for community members, and providing financial donations for those in need.
Marital status/Immediate family: Yes, I am married to Kevin Johnson. We have 6 children, 5 of which have attended school in the SD308 district.
Why are you running for office?
I moved to Oswego 25 years ago for the school system. Had the system been performing as it is today, I would not have chosen Oswego to raise my children. Our district has been on the decline for several years. I now have the knowledge & the time to perform my civic duty to bring back what has been lost over the years.
a. Restore academic excellence; it must be our #1 objective in education. Empower our children with the attitudes & foundational knowledge required to succeed.
b. Restore parental rights by being transparent & listening to parent’s feedback, as well as respecting the boundaries between school & home. Values are to be taught at home & academics are to be taught at school.
c. Drive fiscal accountability & eliminate the need to request additional referendums from our tax base & ensure that the funds received accomplish the educational goals with minimal cost to student families.
d. Ensure School Safety, which includes accountability for those that cause harm, campus safety plans, security personnel & tools.
What makes you qualified for the office you’re seeking?
I spent 27 years working for Fidelity Information Services, an Information Technology. I retired from FIS as a Division Executive responsible for 250 employees globally. Retirement did not last long… I currently provide consulting services to a New York based telecommunications company. My professional experience that is relevant to Oswego 308 School Board is
a. Strategic planning, execution & governance
b. Leadership; the ability to motivate others to achieve results
c. Budget planning, optimization & maintenance; assessing the current state & aligning spending to support the academic needs of our community.
d. Policy & Compliance: Ensure that we have solid policies & that we adhere to those policies through proper governance.
Have you sought and/or received any training to run for your local school board? If so, from whom?
I have not taken any formal training courses, however; I have engaged with others that have been on school boards and/or ran for office in the past.
Would you propose any changes to the curriculum? If so, what?
If so, what? I do not have any proposed changes to the curriculum at this time, however; a change may be required to improve SD308′s grade level proficiency rates of only 3 in 10 students reading or doing math at grade level. Below is the process that I would follow to drive improvements within the district. Steps 1-3 would determine if it was appropriate to make a change to the curriculum:
1) Define the problem: What is not working & what is the impact
2) Listen & learn: Gather input from the administration, teachers, subject matter experts, students, and their parents.
3) Collaborate: Work with the administration & others on the board to ensure that all are aligned that change is required based on the prior steps.
4) Set goals: Ensure that we have SMART goals that are concise & measurable. These goals should be agreed upon with the superintendent.
5) Plan: Superintendent creates the tactical plan for execution, to include resource requirements. The board would review & potentially approve for alignment to the goals, progress tracking & budget considerations.
6) Plan execution & governance: Superintendent executes the plan & provides the measures for the board to ensure the expected progress & results are being seen throughout the implementation. Any unexpected issues or poor performance would be addressed with the same methodology in the prior steps.
7) Govern to ensure sustained performance: Once implementation has been completed, ensure that there are proper measures in place to sustain & potentially improve.
8) Continual Improvement: Restart at step 1 when opportunities are identified through the proper governance.
Are LGBTQ students treated fairly in your district?
I do not have any data to agree or disagree with this question, however; I can say that I will strive to ensure that our district is fair to all children.
What is your assessment of how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is handled in your school district?
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion within our school district is effectively classifying our children by race and sexuality. This focuses on our differences vs. our commonalities as humans. It is more important to embrace the fact that we are ALL unique and are ALL deserving of empathy & kindness.
Do you believe the district needs to make any changes to improve DEI in your district?
All children should feel valued regardless of their physical attributes; no child should be told that they are a victim based on their race or any other attribute; this creates a true barrier to them becoming the victORS that we all know they can be.
Are teachers in your district paid adequately now and in retirement?
The compensation for teachers is fair.
Would you support changes to teacher pay scales? If so, how?
The compensation for the district superintendent is good.
What is your assessment of the district superintendent’s compensation?
The compensation for the district superintendent is good.
Would you make any changes to how the district superintendent is compensated?
No, unless a mutually beneficial case was provided and approved by the board.
Do you support the current superintendent? Please explain.
Yes, the relationship between the board and the superintendent is critical to the success of a district. Dr. Sparlin has been a leader within our district for over a decade; with him comes significant historical wisdom of what has worked and what has not. While I do not agree with all of his recommendations, I certainly appreciate his ability to have respectful and healthy discourse.
Should schools in your district adopt and teach sex education according to the National Sex Education Standards? Please explain.
I believe that health and human reproductive education should be taught, however; the National Sex Education Standards should only be taught with parental consent.
What is your assessment of how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled locally?
Based on the low risk to children, I did not agree with the schools closing. I also did not agree with the masking policy due to the prior studies showing the masking would not prevent flu like virus that can easily penetrate the mask. Given the information that has come out, it is clear that we unnecessarily impacted out children and set them back years both mentally and academically.
What did you learn from the pandemic?
We must not act out of emotion or fear. Our priority is to educate and ensure our children well-being.
Are voters that support your district taxed at an appropriate level?
The tax rate is fair, however; I do not feel that our children are receiving the academic quality that the citizens are paying for.
Would you support any plans to raise taxes in the district? If so, what should the additional revenue be spent on?
No. Our tax payers are experiencing the same recession challenges as we are as a school.
Would you support lowering taxes in the district? If so, what programs or services in the district would you cut?
No, however; I would look to audit our spending and determine where cuts are viable (such as consulting services) without impacting our ability to improve our academic proficiency. Any savings found would be reallocated to
a. academic programs for both the students and teachers
b. increase pay for teacher’s assistants to be competitive with the market
c. increase pay for bus drivers to be competitive with the market
d. hire full time teacher’s assistants and bus drivers
Would you support any plans to raise taxes in the district? If so, what should the additional revenue be spent on?
No. Our tax payers are experiencing the same recession challenges as we are as a school.
Will you accept the voters’ decision in your race on Election Day?
Of course.
What is your position on open, transparent government?
It is critical to earning the trust of our citizens.
Do you support the Freedom of Information Act and citizens’ ability to freely access government records?
Absolutely