Why I'm Running.

I began paying closer attention to the school board last year when my oldest child was in kindergarten.

In April, our school principal sent a letter explaining proposed budget cuts and encouraged families to contact the School Board with concerns. I wrote to advocate against cuts to student support staff, including school counselors, social workers, and student support coaches. I also heard from families whose children attend magnet schools and were deeply concerned about proposed transportation cuts. For many students, reliable transportation is what makes access to specialized programs possible. When it is reduced, so are opportunities.

At a recent school board event, I listened to a school board member state that hungry children cannot learn. I wholeheartedly agree. What concerned me, however, was that I saw the same board vote to remove free, school-based mental health counseling services provided by licensed clinicians, even when those services were offered with parental consent and had been in place for months. As a developmental psychologist, an educator, and a parent, I struggled with that inconsistency.

When mental health supports are removed, the burden often shifts to classroom teachers, who are already stretched thin and asked to manage needs they are not trained or resourced to address. The decision to revoke the agreement with Centerstone to remove what we know can be life saving mental health services from thousands of students in Hamilton County prompted me to attend school board meetings throughout the fall and to speak during public comment in September.

When I learned the school board seat in my district was open, I decided to run.