On 8/20/2024 I attended a forum with questions. These questions were delivered by retired expert professional of Saline Schools, Jason Gumenick. Here are the questions with my answers also included.
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#1.
Q: Introduction to myself
A: Good evening. Well, I’m Brad Gerbe and I’ve had the fortune of serving the Saline community as a School Board Trustee for the past four years.
I am a science teacher of Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Forensic Science for the Manchester Community Schools where I’ve been a dedicated and loyal employee for the past 20 years.
I live in the Northview subdivision of Saline with my wife Jessica who is a critical care medical ICU nurse and we have Graham, a 16 year old Junior at Saline High School and Bryce, a 13 year old 8th grader at SMS- Saline Middle School.
In my time as board member I have been given the trust of our board team as the Treasurer and Finance Chair, a position I have held for the past 3 years. In those 3 years we have managed to establish the largest fund balance that Saline has had in a very long time… and we have done a lot of what we would call “right sizing” to address our current structural needs as a school district.
I also believe in those 3 years that I have established myself as a trustworthy teammate and colleague and that I have been able to provide the perspective of a boots on the ground teacher to the Board team. I think it is important to have a teacher or a support personnel individual on the board and I am glad to have filled that role along with my friend and board colleague Jenny Miller. I also believe I am a steadying influence for our board team and someone who desires to listen willingly to do my best for kids- the students are everything and that’s why I serve in this capacity.
I believe that there is more work to do, primarily related to the bond of 2022 and we will have potential important business items such as if we can’t talk our current superintendent Steve Laatsch into not retiring at the end of his contract, then we may be in the market. For those reasons and others, I am asking for the continued support of the Saline community and if you want to learn more about what I believe in after this forum I invite you to visit www.votegerbe.com. Thank you.
# 2.
Q: Like many other districts in the area, Saline has seen dropping student enrollment in recent years. While the state has recently been helpful in providing more funding, this may not last and Saline Area Schools may need to find ways to cut spending or raise revenue to achieve the goal of a balanced budget. State law prevents school districts from imposing local taxes to raise funds for operating expenses. As a school board member, what would be your recommendation of spending areas to cut or ways to raise revenue if the need arises?
A: First off I have to say that I think we do an outstanding job with the money we are given by the state and local tax dollars. We have an outstanding assistant superintendent of finance, Miranda Owsley and we have excellent relationships with our bargaining units. We hire incredible individuals, thank you Carol Diglio, and we are competitive for talent with our current salaries and contracts.
Because of the outstanding relationship we have… I will answer the question this way… I think the attrition model that we established this past year is the best way to maintain budget solvency. It wasn’t perfect but we were able this year with the support of our various teams to find ways to right size to the tune of $1M dollars.
Cuts means people. It means programs. These are things that are important to me and to Saline families and I don’t want to “make cuts”.
I will say this though- if there was an unexpected cut to per pupil funding, etc then we would have to.
I’m not afraid to do this… but right now I don’t think we have to.
If we were making cuts I’d ask the superintendent to put together a team of diverse roles and I’d ask them to make recommendations. It is not appropriate for me as a board member to choose the areas to cut as I am not the one most familiar with student, school and family needs. That’s our professionals job.
I will advocate for one thing until my time is up. We need to stay on our state representatives and keep advocating for categorical funding in two areas- SEL and safety. These areas are funded well currently and I hope they will continue to remain a priority of the governor and our elected leaders. As the finance leader I will advocate for their continuance with Senator Jeff Irwin and state representative Felicia Brabeck among others.
#3.
Q: Superintendent Stephen Laatsch has served the district for many years. He is three years into a five year contract. Leadership is incredibly important in any organization, but hiring the superintendent and approving the budget and contract are among the most important roles for the Saline Board of Education. If Superintendent Laatsch chooses to retire or leave the district at the end of his contract, what characteristics would you look for in the next superintendent and what concerns would you address in this hiring that you feel are not currently being met?
A: I was once asked by a board colleague why I am such a big fan of Steve Laatsch.
And the answer is this… stability.
Steve knows our schools. Steve knows our staff. Steve is in our schools constantly and so I’d say he even knows our students- and they know him. And in a class A school as large as ours- I’m not sure that is universal. We are fortunate in a great way that Steve Laatsch chooses to work for our school system. I am committed to his succcess and want to work with him, because I think he has a good pulse of what is going on and a good vision for what is coming.
He is also incredibly humble. And dedicated- you should see his Google calendar- it’s insane all the things he gets to- and he was doing that even before he was the superintendent!
I haven’t been ducking the question- I’ve been answering it as I go. I’m looking stability. I’m looking for a desire to understand the school experience for educators and students. Im looking for connection. I’m looking for someone who wants to implement things like the Bridge to Civility to help individuals in our district connect. I want a superintendent who has the goals we currently have as a district- academic success and rigor, promoting a culture of equity, maximizing civility and unity, and continuing to work towards our bright future through the bond and curriculum innovation.
I’m looking for a superintendent who will continue our progress towards these goals.
One area I’d like to see some improvement, and I know it’s a goal of our superintendent, is I’d like to see our hiring practices reflect as closely as possible the diversity of our student body.
#4.
Q: Many of the people watching and listening tonight are here because they want their child to achieve their best. Student math scores for the M-Step are down well below where they were from the pre-pandemic levels. What would you advocate as a school board member to address this learning loss? In addition, What are your additional areas of focus/concern regarding student achievement in the district?
A: Yes, we have to own that Covid had an impact on student scores. If I could go back in time and stop a pandemic from impacting the Earth, I would. It wasn’t fair in so many ways and it was a challenge to navigate.
We did our best to find expertise and to make decisions based on expertise and one of those things meant that our students weren’t in person with our incredible educators and support staff. Our staff really is the best around and since the world has returned to normal I’m proud of the gains our students have made- for example recently our AP pass rate was reported as one of the highest in the state!
On a regular basis the board receives reports from the teaching and learning team led by Kara Davis with individuals like Caroline Stout and Jenn Nelson who are leading teachers and support personnel in professional development. I’d invite the public to look at the results and send us questions and observations.
Literacy is very important to me. I think it’s the most important thing we do- and I think it applies k-12, just in different ways. Literacy scores with a few exceptions are up in the past couple of years.
You are correct Math scores are an area of opportunity and a current focus of our teaching and learning team.
So what can we do? Continue to listen and ask questions when these reports are presented- and I have. I have advocated at the board table, and in conversations with district leaders for additional literacy coaches. We did that. We need to Continue to survey our staff about the impact of PD and what they are seeing as necessary. Listen to families as they identify areas of improvement.
And we need to continue the regular cadence of accountability at the board level. I am glad to do that.
#5.
Q: Concerns have been raised about accountability in Saline schools. While the overwhelming majority of students and staff are being responsible, we know that people need to be held responsible for their actions, whether it is a student engaging in bullying, a teacher who routinely shows up five minutes after the tardy bell, or an administrator who doesn’t follow through on. We know that this small minority of transgressions can lead to poor morale in a school district. As a school board member, how would you promote a culture of accountability in the school district?
A: We have outstanding administrators and leaders. As a board member we create a culture of accountability by empowering our superintendent to take risks and to talk to his staff about what is important. Minor transgressions do impact schools and so as a board member I pledge to support the administrative team as they enforce the policies and procedures as defined in our staff and students handbooks.
While I believe in accountability I also am invested in our staff's success. As such I think it’s important to provide accountability but also to provide professional development and restorative practice. We can accomplish this through reflection utilizing the existing evaluation process as defined in our collective bargaining agreements.
#6.
Q: School boards around the country have become ground zero for community conflict in recent years, whether addressing mask mandates during the COVID outbreaks to DEI issues dealing with hate speech, bathroom access and curriculum over the last few years. As a school board member, how will you address the enforcement of the non-discrimination policy, ensure the respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and also the individual freedom of students and staff to engage in the freedom of expression?
A: I admit that being a school board member in 2021 was really tough. But we kept working at it.
What I tried to do in an imperfect world is communicate how I was making decisions to the public and then to try to be consistent. I desire expertise in decision making. Professionals. And I will listen to professionals, those closest to a decision as they advise me. I think it’s the best way.
To address your question about climate- we have to listen to and care about each other, even when we disagree. Some of the conduct at board meetings has been regrettable and I thank saline that though we have differed, we always were ultimately able to do the business of the school district.
We must try to work together for our students and while I certainly acknowledge that I am left of center, it is important to me to hear from those who are the world differently from myself.
Now with regards to our school district… There are students who are in our schools with diverse experiences- race, gender identity, economic status, religion, etc and we have to ensure that our schools provide for every students experience. Every student should be able to walk our halls and be proud and to see him/ her/ them self in curriculum and school experiences. This is why I voted for the transgender policy and for health curriculum for at risk life skills students. We have been enforcing the policy as well as others, and with the recent decision to publish administrative guidelines our administrative staff is sharing information. Bottom line: All students deserve to feel safe and protected and I am committed to that!
#7.
Q: In the late 90s and early 2000s, there was a huge wave of hiring of classroom teachers in Saline Area Schools. In the last few years, we have had some new teachers who have left the district as well as an increase in those experienced teachers who have retired. Is there anything you would like the district to do to keep these teachers from leaving the district? What should be done to support teachers moving forward?
A: Well first off, as a fellow school employee, I hope all of our retirees enjoy a well deserved retirement. You’ve earned it.
Retaining our employees is important. Recruiting outstanding candidates for positions is also important. There are a couple of things we can do to encourage retention.
Number one we have to be competitive with our salary and benefits. We have contracts in place with all of our staff- and we made aggressive moves to increase compensation for our support staff who were really deserving. And second we need to provide the most stabilizing environment that we can. I want the focus on our professionals to be on their classrooms, buses, etc and to trust those individuals to do their job.
The reality is we need to stay on our legislative leaders to maintain school funding as a priority. When we take care of teachers and professionals, we take care of kids. And I am a strong advocate for rewarding our professionals with deserved salary and benefits. Funding our schools in a responsible and prioritizing manner, allows us to appropriately reward our talent. This will keep staff here and recruit the best talent to our district. Also I want to thank our voters because top notch facilities are a recruiting tool- and over the next 10 years we are going to do incredible things in this area for students and staff starting with the operations center next fall.
#8.
Q: Is there an issue in the last couple years in which you disagreed with a decision of the board or Superintendent Laatsch. If so, what is it?
A: This is a difficult question to answer for me. I have to be careful to protect the FERPA rights of students and families.
I have disagreed with decisions of the Board and the Superintendent, or moreover, a member of his team.
Steve and I meet regularly. I call him regularly. We have a good relationship and ability to community and I will tell you that some of those conversations have been intense to say it nicely.
But we are committed to each others success and I think we have figured things out.
What I will also say is this- Steve does a solid job of communicating with us as board members, as did Jennifer when she was President and now Michael. This helps us to work through these things. Because as I’ve said before stability is important. I’ve even called up other board members and had good conversations to seek to understand when we didn’t agree. I’ve had a couple of times at the table over the past four years where those who have been watching will know that I expressed my disagreement- in public as part of the process and as required by OMA.
I will continue to do that. I will continue to be a good teammate.
#9.
Q: Among the challenges in Saline schools is helping to support students who score in the bottom 30%. What suggestions do you have to promote the academic achievement of this population of struggling students?
A: This question is simple because it’s core to who I am…. Support educators- all the way! Encourage their desire for self improvement and trust their professional judgment. Provide tools needed for success. This includes the necessary time for common planning and for professional learning community discussions focused on struggling students and their achievement. I’d also welcome these discussions as part of the overall commitment to MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) which are a framework that helps schools and districts support students by integrating data and instruction. It's designed to help schools meet the needs of all students by aligning resources and initiatives to support academic, behavioral, and social-emotional learning. MTSS uses data-driven decision making, progress monitoring, and evidence-based strategies to help students grow.
Our district is committed to MTSS… and so am I. It’s just good teaching! Period.
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