Meet The School Board Candidates: Katie Schwartz

This is the last in a series of Q&A articles with the candidates up for the South Washington County School Board.

There are . We wrap up the first round of our coverage of the election today with challenger Katie Schwartz.

The election is Nov. 8.

Katie Schwartz, St. Paul Park

Schwartz has an Insurance Sales degree from Kaplan University and is currently a stay-at-home mom.

I feel I am qualified to sit on the South Washington County School Board because I have been and will continue to be an active member of the community as well as in the schools.

As a member of the South Washington County Schools boundary committee, I helped to establish the current boundaries.

I organized fundraisers and activities for school-aged children as the president of the Cottage Grove Branch of MOMS Club.

I took notes and advocated for new equipment for a park and the building of a new park in a newly populated as the secretary of the St. Paul Park Parks and Recreation Commission.

I am also the current soccer director for the St. Paul Park Athletic Association. In my four years as director, I have organized soccer clinics with the Park High School varsity boys and girls soccer teams, worked with the soccer director to give St. Paul Park kids a place to play, and more than doubled the size of the St. Paul Park soccer program.

I have also been a member of the Park High School Cheerleading Booster Club and the Pullman PTA, I have been a Girl Scout leader, soccer coach, and T-ball coach, and I am currently a member of the Heritage Days Committee.

Taxpayers should not be asked for an increase from the current referendum amounts.

Taxpayer funds are necessary to run any school district, but I believe that with careful planning and budgeting, we can run the district without an increase from the current referendum amount.

In these hard economic times, we need to be more upfront with how the money we ask taxpayers to pay will be used.

I believe we need to take a close look at were money is being spent. We need to go over the budget with a fine-tooth comb and find that the district has some unnecessary spending. 

I feel the most important issue this school district is facing is the under utilization of district schools.

We have some schools that are bursting at the seams and others that have unused space.

When the boundaries were done a few years back, they were meant to last 10 years. But with the unexpected increase of over 400 students moving into the district, we need to take another look at the schools.

There are programs in certain schools that may be better placed in another school to help utilize the space and decrease overcrowding.

I am running to make sure that all students in District 833 have the same opportunities regardless of their abilities.

I currently have three children in three different schools within District 833. My oldest daughter is in the IB program at Park, my oldest son is in the autism program at Grey Cloud, and my youngest daughter is your typical first-grader.

Having children with different ability levels, I can see the importance of equality.

I will make sure programs are available for all students and that no students are forgotten.

If you have any questions regarding where I stand feel free to contact me at
votekatieforschoolboard@hotmail.com or find me on Facebook under Katie Schwartz SchoolBoard.