House of Representatives District 7: Candidate Q&A
Candidates for this office were offered a questionnaire on education issues by The Parents’ Campaign. See below for responses received to date.
Theresa Isom
1. What is your experience with K-12 public schools, personally and/or with your children? I have personal experience with my son being an Elementary School Principal for 7 years. I have grandchildren that are ages 7 and 9 and I know the importance of having resources for the students to help them be successful and succeed. I have been a mentor for the past four years at the Holly Springs Elementary and Middle schools and see the struggles that the child has.
2. Do you agree that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) should be fully funded every year? If yes, what actions will you take to ensure full funding. If no, explain why. As an Educator, I strongly agree that schools should be provided with resources that will ensure that the teachers have the supplies that are needed to teach the students. As the requirements increase then the teachers much have the necessary tools to meet expectations that are being required of the students.
3. What will you do to ensure state revenue that is sufficient to provides all of the services Mississippi’s citizens need to lead productive lives? I will review the Bills that are presented and the funding that is being proposed for education. I will also look for any hidden sources of funding in the Bills that are presented.
4. Will you oppose vouchers that send taxpayer dollars to private schools, religious schools, home schools, or virtual schools? Why or why not? Yes, I will oppose vouchers because if public schools are funded adequately then there would be resources in the public schools that the students would have equal to those in the private and other types of schools. The funding would allow for more technology and a decrease in student to teacher ratio in the public schools.
5. Do you believe that all K-12 schools that receive taxpayer dollars, including private voucher schools, should be accountable to taxpayers for the quality of education they provide, using the same accountability measures as public schools? I believe that when schools, private or public, receive taxpayer dollars then they should be held to the same standards and measures of accountability.
6. Public schools serve the vast majority of Mississippi students with disabilities. Do you agree that public school special education services should be fully funded every year? (Special education has been underfunded by the state annually since 2008.) If yes, how will you accomplish full funding? If no, explain why. Students in special education in my opinion need adequate funding because the students require more 1:1 attention and the teachers need a student to teacher or assistant ratio that will allow them to work closer with the special needs students.
7. Do you agree that Mississippi should provide high quality early childhood education statewide? Early childhood education is absolutely necessary because when the student comes to school, the expectations are the same for all students according to the curriculum and expectations set by the state. If a student does not have a level of formal early childhood education, then that student starts out at a disadvantage and the instructor will be required to spend more time with that child. The teacher’s schedule does not always allow him/her to spend a lot of individual time with the student. Mississippi should fund early childhood education statewide.
8. The nation’s top teachers say that the greatest barriers to school success for K-12 students are family stress, poverty, and learning and psychological problems. What steps do you believe legislators should take to alleviate these obstacles for Mississippi children? When students are noted to have adverse childhood stressors the school should have a means to assist the student. The legislators should ensure that all schools have an advocate that work with the students that have been identified to have some form of adverse experience that is affecting the child’s ability to succeed in school. More resource staff is needed to help work with students when barriers are identified. Many times, the stressor may be related to a health issue and healthcare should also be available for all children.
9. Do you support raising teacher salaries at least to the level of our neighboring states and raising pay for teacher assistants? Yes, the salary for teachers and assistants should be raised because this gives the teachers a reason to stay in Mississippi and teach and not go to the neighboring states to teach. Teachers will work and feel that they are being paid an equitable salary and will work with the assurance they are being paid for the service they are providing.
10. Do you agree that retired educators (and other retired state employees) should be able to draw their state retirement while serving in the Legislature? Yes, I feel that if this is income that they have earned that the Legislature should be able to be paid for the services that they have already provided. Most legislative salaries would place the person on a level that is below poverty if that is the only income that that person receives.
11. Legislators have little or no staff to help them understand the many bills they must consider. Before introducing or supporting a bill that could affect public education, will you commit to seeking input from teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents of public school students in your district? Who will be advising you on education policies? I always believe in researching any subject that I am required to take action on. It is important to talk with the teaches and the principals in the district to assist when making decisions. Also, to hear from the parents and students would be very valuable because they are directly impacted as well by the Bills that are passed. I would establish a counsel that I would work with and have someone that is highly involved in education on the committee. I always believe in researching any subject that I am required to act on.
12. Legislators receive tremendous pressure from the leaders of their chamber (House or Senate), state and party leaders, and corporate lobbyists to vote in ways that may contradict the will of their constituents and harm their communities. How will you respond to this pressure? As the State Representative I am the voice of the people for District 7 and the people that elected me expect the person that they elected to carry through with their issues and or concerns. I have been in many leadership positions where I have had to make many hard decisions and I do not normally give in to pressure. I make decisions based on facts and what is the greater good for all as opposed to the needs and wants of one.
Back to TopKimberly Remak (defeated in primary)
1. What is your experience with K-12 public schools, personally and/or with your children or family? I attended public schools, my sons all attended public schools. I understand the special education system; as well as the regular education system. I have two special needs twin sons.
2. Do you agree that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) should be fully funded every year? If yes, what actions will you take to ensure full funding? If no, explain why. I support full funding of the MAEP. Mississippi needs to put more funding into public education. I support raising teacher pay to a more competitive level and ensuring that school funds are available for teachers to purchase necessary classroom supplies.
3. What will you do to ensure state revenue that is sufficient to provide all of the services Mississippi’s citizens need to lead productive lives? State government cannot be all things to all people. I believe in limited government and I believe Mississippi has sufficient revenues. We need to do a better job of setting spending priorities. As a state representative, my top two funding priorities will be public schools and transportation. I will work to direct financial resources from other areas to our schools so we can raise teacher pay.
4. Will you oppose vouchers that send taxpayer dollars to private schools, religious schools, home schools, or virtual schools? Why or why not? I am opposed to vouchers. Rather than directing resources away from public schools, I believe we need to do more to improve Mississippi schools. Some of the best schools, DeSoto, Oxford, Starkville schools are in communities that have made serious investments in public education. I will work to ensure our state makes a commitment to schools so we lift up schools across Mississippi.
5. Do you agree that all K-12 schools that receive taxpayer dollars, including private voucher schools, should be accountable to taxpayers for the quality of education they provide, using the same accountability measures as public schools? Yes. Should our state direct any taxpayer dollars to private schools, we must hold these schools accountable for the public funds they receive. I support strong accountability measures for all schools- public and private voucher schools.
6. Public schools serve the vast majority of Mississippi students with disabilities. Do you agree that public school special education services should be fully funded every year? (Special education has been underfunded by the state annually since 2008.) If yes, how will you accomplish full funding? If no, explain why. As the mother of two special needs boys, I understand the importance of fully funding special education programs. Again, full funding is a matter of setting priorities, our state has sufficient resources, but our elected leaders have to make our public schools priority #1.
7. Do you agree that Mississippi should provide high-quality early childhood education statewide? I support early childhood education. I believe early education programs can help better prepare our children for kindergarten. These programs can also be quite helpful to young mothers. It’s important that we hold these programs accountable, however, we need to ensure these programs are working before investing too many resources in this area.
8. The nation’s top teachers say that the greatest barriers to school success for K-12 students are family stress, poverty, and learning and psychological problems. What steps do you believe legislators should take to alleviate these obstacles for Mississippi children? Creating a business-friendly climate and keeping taxes low are critical to growing the job base in Mississippi and creating more higher paying jobs. Improving our State’s roads and bridges will encourage more private sector investment in Mississippi and promote growth among existing businesses. These are keys to reducing poverty and related stresses on Mississippi families.
9. Do you support raising teacher salaries at least to the level of our neighboring states and raising pay for teacher assistants? Yes, absolutely. Mississippi cannot compete against our neighbors for the best teachers if we continue paying very low salaries. This year’s teacher pay raise was just a down payment. We need to significantly raise teacher pay next year so we can better compete. I support higher pay for teacher assistants too.
10. Do you agree that retired educators (and other retired state employees) should be able to draw their state retirement while serving in the Legislature? Yes. It’s not easy to serve in the Legislature. Few employers are willing to allow an employee to take three months per year away from their regular work responsibilities. This leaves a limited pool of potential candidates for legislative office. Permitting retired state employees to serve in the Legislature while drawing their pension broadens the pool of prospective candidates for the Legislature and that is sorely needed.
11. Legislators have little or no staff to help them understand the many bills they must consider. Before introducing or supporting a bill that could affect public education, will you commit to seeking input from teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents of public school students in your district? Who will be advising you on education policies? I will seek advice on education legislation from stakeholders, parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members, grandparents- any interested party who wants to better Mississippi schools.
12. Legislators receive tremendous pressure from the leaders of their chamber (House or Senate), state and party leaders, and corporate lobbyists, to vote in ways that may contradict the will of their constituents and harm their communities. How will you respond to this pressure? I am not interested in climbing the political ladder. I am self-funding the large majority of my campaign so I’m not beholden to party leaders, donors, or lobbyists.
