d4 Tammy Smith Final

8/8/2019 d4 Tammy Smith Final

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TAMMY SMITH-Bossier Parish School Board District 4

Q. How long have you served on the BPSP, and what made you decide to run?

A. Four years ago. I had three children in Bossier Schools, was very active in PTO, was veryactive in volunteering, being at the schools turned into sort of a full time job. I had parentscalling me and I thought that if I could have an impact just in my childrens schools, why notdo this for the whole parish? I had worked as a contract occupational therapist for BossierSchools.

Q. Why do you think youre qualified to serve on the BPSB?

A. I have been very dedicated. I have business experience, managerial skills, HR skills,budgeting skills. My husband owns a construction and real estate business and Ive beenaround that for 23 years. I understand the business process of construction, the lingo, andwhat prices are running so thats been an advantage as Ive served on the Building andGrounds Committee. Also with the real estate market, I understand where the trends are,where the growth is. Now that I have children from preschool to college, I have a unique

insight as to parents, teachers and educators, where we are and where we have to go.

Q. Recently, the BPSP considered a tax increase to cushion against cuts in state funding.

Do you support a tax increase, cutting spending, or a combination of the two to cushion

against state funding cuts?

A.Coming though this recent Maintenance scandal, I think we need a time period to regainpublic confidence. I think weve worked really hard on restructuring some of our staff, puttingin measures that weve lowered the threshold for invoices. The Board now receives a brokendown list of each vendor and how much weve paid to each vendor. To me, now was not atime to do a tax millage roll forward. I personally would have preferred not to have rolled it

back two years ago. I thought we should have kept it, cause I could see where we were going.But once we did that I believe the general public sees that as another increase, even though itsrolling back to what was adopted by the public. They see it as an increase. I felt that we could

better position ourselves by stepping back and seeing where our building was needed anddoing a bond issue, which is actually not a tax, its just permission to sell our bonds, and it hasto be voted on by the public. And we have not done a bond issue since 2004. We completedthe elementary schools and the high school. Its something that in a bond issue, you want tohave something for the entire parish. We do have the $20 million plus surplus, that I felt likealong the year, we could make cuts in the budget to help make that up. Our sales taxes are

growing and this year were $300,000 over this year. I dont think were going to be able tomake up the whole $5.5 million up in cuts, but well be able to make some adjustments whereit wont be that amount.

Q. What is your position on the BPSB addition of Graduation Coaches, Behavior Coaches,

Response for Intervention Coaches?

A. I think they were much needed. We really sat down and really looked at the fact that ouradministration schedule had really not changed since 1970s, so we were way understaffed.


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The requirements and accountability from the state requires us to reach a standardperformance score, and there are increments in between years. In noticing that, and of coursewe want to reduce the dropout rate, I was in favor of the graduation coaches. What we haddone was put in a pilot role of such a coach at Bossier High School because they had thelowest SPF scores. Their basic function is to do a final grade analysis for core subjects,to be sure to look at 9th grade students not being promoted to 10th grade, to look at attendanceand discipline and in and out of school expulsion rates, and see how that ties in. Of course to

me parental involvement is going to be a key. You can get Melissa Maneros report that shegave to the Administrative Committee on Results of the Graduation Coach Initiative PilotStudy. We also through the Dropout Prevention and Mentoring Program under the careerdiploma pathway, and the Butler Educational Complex, their Graduation Coaches do monitorattendance, preparation and consultation for 8th grade students, monitoring achievement, jobskills.

Q. What about the Behavior Coaches and Response to Intervention Coaches? Have those

positions been filled.

Behavior Coaches and Response for Intervention Coaches positions were also filled. What wedid was those were teachers and they were moved over and stayed on a teacher scale. Theywere not given any increase for doing that. Response to Intervention is primarily at theelementary level. They were targeting children whose scores were lower on the Dibbles testand targeting those children with extra pullout time from the classrooms. Positive BehaviorSupporter has been a really big thing and is a big component of Response to Intervention.

Q. Did the School Board have to hire new teachers to take the place of those who became

Response to Intervention Coaches?

A. There were six or seven new teachers based on enrollment. Our projected enrollment was

about 200+ students over what we had projected. Im sure that we did replace those with otherteaching positions.

Q. What do you believe is the role of a School Board member?

A To set policy and procedures and to hire the Superintendent.

Q. What are your plans to increase openness and transparency?

A. I personally believe that I have been open and transparent. I return phone calls, I answeremails. I try to do that every single day. Any reporter or newspaper, anyone who has called

me, Ive always answered their questions. I think our Superintendent has done a good job ofcommunicating with the media and answering questions honestly.

Q. What are the biggest challenges facing the BPSS?

A. Because of the federal cuts that continue to be made, is how to maintain a healthy budgetand balance the expenditures. Also, the salaries of our teachers are the lowest salary averagestarting scale of the Southern Regional Average.


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Q. What is included in the Southern Regional Average? What exactly is the School Board

comparing this to?

A. Neighboring parishes. Or maybe it is states. Ill get back with you on that. When we havecompared, what comparisons we have received, it has been the parishes surrounding ours, butI think the Southern Regional Average is actually the lower southern states, but I will find thatout for you. I think we need to look at how we are going to be competitive. We did hire 144teachers through either attrition or through the new positions that I told you about in this

current school year.

Q. If re-elected, what will be your top priority in your next term?

A. To look at another bond issue. To prepare a vision for the next five to ten years. Whereare we going to be. We just made a recommendation to purchase land for a new elementaryschool in Haughton. Have a plan to finish it within a three year period of time. Have a plan,roll it out and be ready to go. Growth is the main issue in Bossier Parish.

Q. Are there areas in the BPSS which you believe could be better served by privatization?

A. We have had in 2007 a look at privatization of the busses and that was not going to begood thing for us at that time. That would be something I would have to explore.

Q. What specific measures have you taken as a School Board member to provide greater

protection for BP school children?

A. We have SRO officers at all of our high schools and middle schools. We have just started aprocess where we have storefront entry ways where people can only enter the schools throughone area. Central park will be the first to have that. There is a roll out plan for all theelementary schools. All of our busses which run daily have cameras and we are in the processof getting DVR cameras on all of them. The Sheriffs Department have deputies come by and

sit in the parking lots to fill out reports and be visible in the system.

Q. What areas of wasteful spending in the School Board budget have you observed, and

what measures have you taken to address waste?

A. I dont know if it was really waste, but there seems to be overspending in the buildingprojects. Weve looked at professional fees, and looked really hard at things that we could dosmarter and wiser like grouping projects. This is where my building and constructionexperience has helped. We asked for the qualified construction bond that we could group thefive wing additions together as 1 project to bid. It came in about $1.4 million under what we

expected. And thats because you could have bigger companies come in and bid. They getbetter pricing because they can bid more in quantity. We have a good elementary school plan.So why do we need to pay an architect for another one. Take the one you have and adapt it.Dont have 18 more months of planning, for professional fees. Weve looked at projectoverseer and manager, bringing that in-house to try to control some those fees. Weve gone toelectronic bidding to open it up to more vendors. We work with the Police Jury with the

paving projects to help save money.


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Q. What additional areas of concern in the budget you would like to see addressed?

A. Paving projects. Weve developed a formula for 8 individuals come in and rank thoseupcoming projects, rank those first on liability and safety. Prioritizing the 10 projects to seewhat we have available for that. Were always looking for ways to bring more technology intothe system. There is nothing really in the budget to replace technology. We have added at $20

per student technology fee, a couple of years ago, that goes to each school, but that does not

touch the price of computers. Any money that we can get from grant sources is less moneythat we have to take out of our budget, so weve done really well with grant writing.

Q. What is your political party affiliation?

A. Democrat

Q. With what part of your partys platform do you most agree, and with what part do you

most disagree?A. I registered as a Democrat at 18 because thats what my parents were. I dont really getinvolved with a lot of parties. I try to research the individual and vote for the individual whomostly aligns with what my belief system is. I really dont think that the School Board is a

place for politics for Republicans or Democrats. I dont see that it has a huge impact. So, Ivote for the individual.

Q. What is the primary source of funding for your campaign?

A. Myself

Q. Would your current job allow you the time to attend SB meetings?

A. Yes, I have 100% attendance for the past four years. I have attended 130 out of 131committee meetings. I have attended probably 95% of the administrative interviews eventhough I did not have a vote. That was the most important thing I could do to be sure that theintegrity of the interview process was there. There is a lot of discussion that goes on behindthose doors as to who is the best, and I can tell you that the cream always rises to the top.

Q. What is the extent of your knowledge of the LA Open Meetings Law and the LA Public

Records Act?

A. I think that weve done a good job of being open to the public, the public requesting tospeak, and they are allowed to speak at our meetings on any agenda item with relevantinformation. We do ask if there are several members there to speak on one topic, that theywould select someone to be their representative. We publish our documents on the official

journal, the Bossier Press Tribune. We put out our meeting notices there, send them to thepress. All the current School Board members should have a good idea because we wentthrough extensive training on the Open Meetings Law and the Public Records Request Act.That is very important, and everything we do is public. Every vote we take we have to do so


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in public. Under Executive Session there are only very limited circumstances when thatoccurs.

Q. Do you agree of disagree with concerns that the School System transfer policy is

inconsistent and inequitable?

A. There are certain things where the transfers are out of our control, and I know that MissHayes has to follow, there is a whole process. Ive been the chairman of the Administrative

Committee twice in the past four years, which is where all those appeals come to. Minority, Mto M transfer is one way of a legal transfer, which is where if the student is a majority they canchange to minority. We also have child care tending. So a child Kindergarten through 6th gradecan transfer if they have child care tending. For example, in Plain Dealing there is no childcare available, there is not after school programs, there is not a day care center. So any parentoutside of the Plain Dealing area and does not have family there, and if the child goes to a daycare in Bossier City, their child can do to the school in the district in which the day care islocated. But its an annual thing and you have to fill out a form yearly. There are also meansfor children who have special needs that are not available at their home school they can be

transferred there. There are some things where that Miss Hayes had to just automatically denyand those have to be appealed to the Administrative Committee. Some of those we do overturnand some we do not. I have heard that there are inequities going on and I have asked thatAdministration be provided a list of every transfer, and if they are granted a transfer, why?The Board only sees the ones who appeal to us, so we only may see 15 a year. We never seethe other transfers. The Board is only provided the information on the ones that appeal. Thatsthe only ones that we would even know about. I have asked for that list to be provided to theadministration, the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent. But I dont know if that listexists. I dont know if there is compiled list. Ive asked for that to be done.

Q. As you know there was controversy surrounding the appointment of D.C. Machen to

Superintendent of Schools, for whom did you vote to replace the former superintendent and

why?

A. I voted for Mr. Machen. We had a very intense Superintendent search and intenseinterview process, and it was strung out over a period of weeks. We formed a community

panel and it was made up of an LAE representative, a local pastor, BAFB Colonel, ScottHughes with the Alliance for Education, a local businessman, the bus driver representative, aretired principal and another pastor. They sat through our whole process. They did not have a

vote, but they had input. In the beginning there were a lot of different opinions about whoshould become Superintendent. And the majority of the community panel felt that it should beMr. Machen. After sitting through the interview process and speaking to several of myconstituents who had also sat through the process, they felt he was the best candidate. He has35 years experience and had the vision to restore the confidence in Bossier Parish Schools.He does not back down. He is there to present to the public. He is open to the media which isvery important. No one could argue that his knowledge stood out above the rest, along withhis experience, I feel he was the best person for the job.


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d4 Tammy Smith Final