The Anchorage Daily News asked candidates for School Board in the 2019 election to answer a series of issue questions. Many of the questions were based on suggestions from readers. Here are their responses, in some cases edited for length. Find all candidates’ responses here. We did the same thing with candidates for Anchorage Assembly.
Candidate name: Starr L. Marsett
Age: 63
Occupation: Realtor
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Current employer: Dwell Realty, LLC
Previous public offices held or sought / community leadership positions: Currently president of the Anchorage School Board
Education: B.S., Northern Michigan University
Website: www.starrmarsettforschoolboard.com
List the K-12 schools your children currently attend or have attended. North Pole High, East High, and currently Bear Valley Elementary
What steps have you taken to prepare for this job? What strengths do you bring to office, and what in your life demonstrates those strengths?
Serving on the Anchorage School Board the last three years has prepared me for another three years of service.
Have you ever worked for the Anchorage School District? If so, in what capacity?
As a substitute teacher.
What is the largest budget you’ve managed? State the amount, length of time and your level of responsibility.
The Anchorage School District for the last three years. Board Members are responsible for balancing the budget. The amount of the budget has averaged around $500 million.
Name two things the Anchorage School District does well and two things you think the school district needs to improve. As a school board member, what would you do about the two areas of improvement?
Two things ASD does well is our Middle College which provides students the opportunity to receive duel credit. Graduating from high school and also the possibility of an associates degree from UAA, and our offering of over 130 alternative programs. Two items to work on are reading proficiency and keeping our classroom sizes small.
If you had to identify $10 million in cuts to the Anchorage School District’s budget, name two areas you would look for cuts and two areas you would seek to protect.
Two areas I would protect is the classrooms and counselors. Where would I look for cuts, evaluate all programs within the district for use and look at school consolidation.
The Anchorage School Board decided last year to not change school start times after a lengthy study. Do you support this decision? Why or why not?
I voted to not change school start times for several reasons. There were many changes going on in our district at the time and I did not feel the time was right for one more change and it would have created hardships on our students’ families.
The Anchorage School Board approved a three-year contract with the local teachers union in December 2018. If you were a member of the school board at that time, would you have voted in favor of that contract? Why or why not?
I did vote for this contract. There was the possibility that teachers might have gone on strike had we not come to an agreement, causing students to miss school and costing ASD millions. I value our relationships with our teachers, principals and other staff.
How would you rate the Anchorage School District’s performance during or after the earthquake? What changes would you propose as a school board member?
I was extremely proud of students, principals , teachers, bus drivers and all other staff in their responses and safety for each other and our children. We need to evaluate our responses to ensure that we did all that we could and be ready for the next crisis.
Does Anchorage need better preschool options for children? What steps would you take to increase the availability of preschool education?
According to Department of Education only 32% of children in Alaska attend pre-k before kindergarten. That leaves 68% with no pre-k. Universal pre-k in Alaska would change our reading proficiency scores. Florida is a great example: top reading scores in the nation and they have universal pre-k.
Do you vaccinate your children, and how do you feel about vaccination requirements for children entering the school system?
Yes, All children are required to get vaccinated for the safety of others.
What will you do on the School Board to support students living in poverty, homeless students, and students in the foster care system?
We need social workers in our schools that could work with families and students. Our community looks more and more at schools to save and care for our children.
What sex education and support services do you believe school-age children should be getting at school?
I believe that what is offered to date is sufficient; however our high school students are asking for more information. With a state that has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases I believe we can provide what the students are requesting in a proper manner.
Do you support consolidation of underutilized schools? Why or why not? If you do support consolidation, are there any schools you’d consider consolidating now?
As the district faces more and more budget cuts it will be necessary to look at all expenditures to include possible school consolidations.
ASD’s graduation rates are among the lowest in the country. How can the school district take meaningful steps to boost this rate?
By working with organizations such as United Way who sponsor programs to help, by having support mechanisms in our school to identify students who are struggling before they reach a point of dropping out.
The biggest challenge facing the school district is (fill in the blank and explain):
Budget, funding has been flat over the last 5-6 years. To help our students to be successful we need a smaller teacher-to-student ratio and the resources to address student needs one-on-one.
What are your thoughts on school vouchers or public support for private schools?
I do not support vouchers. Take a look at Michigan and what it has done to their public school system.
What are your ideas for ensuring students and staff feel safe in Anchorage schools?
We need to be more proactive in identifying students in crisis and providing the help they need. We also need to complete the modifications to our elementary schools to allow doors to be locked at all times.
What steps should ASD take to improve its career and technical education curriculum?
We need to look at equity across the district in providing career and technical classes so all students have the same opportunity. I would like to see a second King Tech High School.
What specific ideas do you have to improve overall performance of students?
Sharing ideas and successes between schools. Looking at and evaluating schools with high proficiency to compare with schools that are not and finding a common thread that would help all schools.
What other important issue would you like to discuss here?
We need to look at extending the school day. We have one of the shortest school days in the nation. I would like to see more recess and lunch time for our students, but the time has to come from somewhere.