School Board Candidate Interviews
Kathryn Brosnan's answers added.
School Board candidate Kathryn Brosnan has submitted a late response to the Nottingham Blog candidate interview questions. Candidate Lisa Heath’s responses have been previously published here. This article will show both responses.
School Board Candidates
Lisa M. Heath
Kathryn Brosnan - late response
Susan Levenson - no response
Danielle Roy - no response
QUESTION: What do you think about the proposed warrant article to impose a 10% cap on annual increases to the school budget?
BROSNAN
I think imposing a 10 percent cap on increases to the school budget is overkill. I appreciate the desire to keep the budget in check and I believe that there is a thoughtful approach used by the school board and administration to provide a budget that meets the needs of our students and that of our community.
HEATH
I was apprehensive at first with the idea of a 10% cap but after listening and attending school board meetings, attending the deliberative sessions, speaking to staff as well as students, and hearing the necessary maintenance and repairs needed just to make the school viable, I feel it all justified the 10%. I am disappointed that the word 'impose' was used to describe the proposed warrant. In my opinion, I do not believe anything facility, staff, or student-related could be considered "an imposition" to this community. Providing the staff and students with a safe learning environment as well as the resources needed to succeed in all aspects of education is critical. Our children are our future. We need to be able to provide them all the tools they need to succeed in life. However, there is also a responsibility to ensure that the budget is utilized properly and can demonstrate to the community how necessary those funds are.
QUESTION: Several citizens, including elected officials, have complained that some of the books in the school's library are inappropriate. Do you agree? If so, which books? How should the school handle complaints about library books?
BROSNAN
The librarian uses professional resources, the curriculum and input from students, teachers and parents to purchase books for the library. The books are divided so that the Young Adult books are in an area that younger students don’t use. Parents are able to limit the books their children are allowed to check out. These requests are on the library computer .
I believe that children need to see books showing a variety of experiences. Our world is a wonderful and exciting place and children need to see the variety of our world.
HEATH
In my opinion, I do not believe that the books in the school's library are inappropriate. From the information that has been provided to parents by our school librarian, it was noted that several resources are used when determining what books are appropriate for our students per age group. The books in question (regarding gender identity) are providing an additional reference for students as well as their families. By complaining about such books, we are sending the message that those individuals/families are not accepted either. Students should feel understood and accepted regardless of outside personal opinions. If parents in our community think that there are books in our library that are not suitable for their own children, I believe those specific situations should be addressed directly with the librarian, administration as well as their children. Our school librarian and administration have provided an excellent option with the Opt-Out program as an extra measure for those books deemed YA (young adult). Another thing to consider is that these books are not assigned readings but are an additional resource for students to connect with.
QUESTION: The school board has been accused of ignoring the will of the voters. What do you think of this accusation? Has the school board been responsive to the voters or not?
BROSNAN
I believe that the school board offers many opportunities for voters to vote cypress their views. At each school board meeting there is an opportunity for residents to speak . There is also the opportunity of sending an email to the school board who will discuss them .
Finally the voters have the opportunity to vote on the budget at the polls.
HEATH
I do not believe that the school board has ignored the will of the voters, which was even more evident to me at the School District Deliberative Session. I believe there is always opportunity for transparency and better communication regarding decisions that will affect the entire community. For example, I believe that the school board has to proceed cautiously in regards to topics such as negotiations. By presenting recommended negotiations to the board members prior to meetings where the public are invited to attend and comment is the most realistic approach. This would allow the board the time to review those recommendations and be able to address potential public comments and concerns effectively.
QUESTION: Seacoast Classical Academy has been recruiting students from Nottingham. What do you think will be the impact of this on Nottingham?
BROSNAN
I don’t see any issue with private schools encouraging Nottingham students to attend their school.
HEATH
In my opinion, if there is an impact on the town, it will be very slight, if at all. This would not be any different than parents that choose to send their children to St. Thomas or Portsmouth Christian Academy. Parents are going to make decisions for their families and should be able to send their children to the school of their choice. Between the new families coming into town and those few that may decide to enroll their kids into a private academy, I believe it will have little-to-no impact on the town. If anything, it might provide a relief, as we currently do not have enough classroom space for those enrolled.
QUESTION: A member of the Budget Committee accused the school of over-paying teachers. Do you agree or disagree?
BROSNAN
Our teacher are the backbone of our school. They provide our students excellent education opportunities and it shows in their national and state educational testing. Their dedication to our students was show during the Covid health crisis. They quickly changed the way they delivered the curriculum in Zoom and other forms of communication and enabled Nottingham School to resume in school instruction before many other schools in our state.
Our teachers are in middle of state averages for teachers with the same experience and education in our state. We need to continue to pay our teachers an equitable salary.
HEATH
I would be interested in seeing documentation to support this accusation. With that being said, I would think that there are a number of factors in determining teacher salaries: regional averages, years of service, level of education, etc. In my opinion, our teachers support our students in a number of ways, far more than just general education. They listen and advise, they empathize, and they make our children feel safe within the classroom setting, as well as the ability to speak freely about concerns at school or at home. Our teachers inspire our children to be the best that they can be, inside and outside of school. We have asked a lot of our teachers the last few years, far more than what has been asked in the past. At this time, without that supporting documentation, I do not feel I can agree nor disagree.
QUESTION: The politicization of school curricula has been a major issue in a large number of school districts throughout the country. Political activists on one side claim that the curricula have been co-opted by activists on the other side to indoctrinate children. How do you think Nottingham should approach this controversy?
BROSNAN
Our curriculum is delivered via reliable texts that have been throughly vetted and examined by our curriculum coordinator, administration and teachers.
HEATH
Although I believe that this is probably a bigger concern for high school and college level students, I did reach out to friends and family in the educational system to obtain a better understanding of what they are seeing in their classrooms. From what I've gathered, teachers are tasked with educating our children based on a certain curriculum that has gone through its own processes and procedures. I believe that teachers should educate children on the events of the past, all the while keeping their personal opinions and agendas out of those conversations. While some discussions may be uncomfortable, they are important as they led us to where we are today. We are always learning and working on correcting our previous missteps. I am hopeful that the curriculum being taught is impartial and that personal opinions are kept out of the classroom setting.
