After retiring from the Air Force, I wanted to continue to serve in some capacity. I decided to focus on where it all starts...with the education of our children. So, I ran for school board.

 

Attending public schools ensured I received a well-rounded education in a diverse, safe environment, all of which prepared me for success in life. That’s what wanted for the students in our district as I began my school board service.

 

I became passionate about ensuring all students had every opportunity to succeed. In fact, my mantra was, “One’s success in life should not be dictated by the circumstances of their birth.” Unfortunately, as it turns out, there is still much work to be done.

 

School board service opened my eyes to the reality of public schools as the one constant in some children’s lives. A place where they can get at least one meal per day, feel safe for several hours, and have their minds expanded beyond their immediate existence. I also saw how often, given the opportunity, children rise beyond
expectations.

 

Traveling throughout Arizona and out-of-state as an executive committee officer and eventual president of the Arizona School Boards Association, I learned more about the challenges our children experience. But I also learned how our public schools help them deal with those challenges while continuing to support America’s greatness.

 

Thomas Jefferson understood that “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people”. He also presciently said a democracy “cannot function without wise and honest officials” and “that talent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated [at common expense] regardless of wealth, birth or other
accidental condition”.

 

Some 220 years later, we are seeing Jefferson’s words come home to roost. A focus on standardized testing has narrowed curriculum, culture wars have vilified teachers and librarians causing a mass exodus of valued professionals, and valuable resources for educating all our children have been drained off by an unaccountable voucher system to fund private educations for mostly wealthier students with taxpayer dollars.

 

How do we Stand Up for Freedom? We stand up for our public schools. We support requests for local funding (bonds and overrides), we demand our state legislators support public schools, and we run for school board and or support or those who do. The stakes are just too great to do anything less.