Keith A. Brown, Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education Candidate

Keith A. Brown

Age: 64
Residence: Ferguson, MO 63135
Occupation: Retired Flight Attendant - TWA/American Airlines; currently employed at Express Scripts
Education: Bachelor of Science in Christian Education from Biola College
Family: Spouse / Karyn A. Brown, Daughter / Tara N. Brown  (attended Ferguson Middle School and McCluer High School; currently teaches in the district)
Years in the district: Resident in the district since 1989 (24 years)

Background

I served in the Army from 1969-1970. I am a proud Vietnam Veteran. After retirement from the airlines, I substituted in the district for two plus years, gaining terrific classroom experience.  I have been involved in teaching and other ministry-related services in the churches that I have attended, both in Ferguson, as well as in the greater St Louis area. Over the years, I did volunteer work for the Salvation Army, helping in the food pantry, and running children's summer camps. 

Explain why you are running. I am running because I want to give back to the district my energy and time because of the terrific education the district provided to my daughter. I would like to work toward the goal of each student in the district receiving the highest quality education possible. I am determined to ensure that the district provides our students with the ability to go on into successful higher education. This is an absolute must for their future success. 

Questions

1. What do you currently see as the biggest issue facing the Ferguson-Florissant School District? Although the district has many pluses, my two plus years in the classroom has lead me to conclude the biggest issue facing the district, as it relates to the student's education, is maintaining a classroom that is conducive to learning. We lose too much quality teaching time in the classroom due to student disruption.  Almost all of our student are well behaved and are eager to learn; yet, often times they pay the price because of the actions of a few. We need a fair and consistent consequence that gets the disruptive students' attention. A quicker and more rigorous discipline could help to shore up the problem by getting disruptive students back on track. Tougher discipline will also serve as a warning to all students that there will be a consequence for unacceptable behavior.
2. How would you address the continuing uncertainty over state funding for schools? The district is doing an excellent job preparing for less state funding. A strong district presence in Jefferson City would be beneficial in airing our needs to the appropriate lawmakers. Our green projects show great promise in saving money, and the district is doing an excellent job with it. Paring down programs without cutting out the program completely is a great strategy being used by the district. It will save money as well as continuing the program benefits for our students. We must continue to dig deep into the budget to save money; yet at the same time we must carefully work at not enlarging the classrooms sizes or laying teachers off. We have great, dedicated people in the district working on these matters and with success.
3. In what area does the Ferguson-Florissant School District need to improve? Are you satisfied with the way the district has been operating? We must improve our test scores. We must improve the relationship between the school board and the superintendent. With both sides operating more transparently, I firmly believe we can accomplish more of our goals and our students, in turn, will benefit. I am satisfied with much of the way the district has been operating. We have excellent teachers who have received many awards for their efforts and hard work.  They are our greatest asset. The fact that so many homegrown students have come back to teach in the district says great things about us. We have active parents and a community that supports us with volunteers.  We have excellent facilities. Our reading program is strong. We are working hard to be fiscally responsible. Our superintendent's confidence is contagious, and our future is bright.
4. Assume you win the election. What single thing do you want to accomplish during your three years on the board? I want to see us continuing our current trend of improvement. Most of all, I want to see our students enabled with the needed skills to advance into higher education and have success at that level. At the end of the three-year term, I want to be able to say I have done the best I could to protect and prepare our students to be the best they can be.