Good Governance + Data for Planning, Investment, and Improvement

In a tight budget environment, we can’t afford to try the wrong thing.  If we’re going to make the most of our resources and make solid decisions, then we have to make sure that everything we do is grounded in good data and not guesswork or faulty assumptions. 

Questions we should be asking include: 

• ​"Who needs to be involved in this decision? Are we operating in silos so that we’re missing critical information or can’t spot an unintended consequence?”
• "Do we have access to the right data to guide decision making? If not, how can we get it?” 
• "Do the staff, School Board, and advisory councils have the tools and time to analyze and apply data correctly?”
• "Are we willing to be guided by the data and make difficult decisions to abandon things that aren’t working?”  

As a School Board member, I will:

1. ​Promote a process for “formal abandonment” of programs and expenditures that aren’t working. Some school districts call this “academic ROI.” Many districts separate this from their budget process to ensure that their decisions are based first and foremost on what will deliver the most benefit to students, with potential cost savings as a secondary consideration.
2. Dig into our per-pupil expenditure and make the case for increased funding from the County if it’s warranted. It’s a fact that Arlington allocates a smaller percent of its General Fund revenues to its schools than do many other local governments. This is concerning, given that our student population is growing at four times the rate of the overall population of the County. It’s also true that APS spends more per student than many other school systems in the region. Taxpayers need a clearer sense of why that’s the case so we can understand whether and how we should increase funding for our schools--but only after we’ve ensured that every current dollar is well spent.
3. Work with the County Board to create diverse neighborhood schools that aren’t over capacity. Reid Goldstein made this case in his recent ARLnow column: we need well-coordinated housing and zoning efforts that won’t add more students to already-overcrowded schools or create deeper racial and economic divides in our school system. As a parent, I’ve been encouraged to hear APS staff and School Board members say that they’re getting more and better data from the County to inform things like boundary changes--but that’s just the first step.
4. ​Push for a clear, compelling instructional program that drives our capital improvements and our expenditures. I believe that the Instructional Program and Pathways (IPP) work is absolutely critical to get right--and it bothers me that we’re rushing to finalize it this spring, when families and community members can’t spare the time and attention to understand and influence it. This work needs to be done with care and it should be coordinated with revisions to related School Board policies on Instruction, many of which haven’t been updated in more than a decade.

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