Q&A with Linn-Mar School Board candidate Kevin Slaman

Kevin Slaman is running for the Linn-Mar School Board. He is not an incumbent. Here are his answers to a survey we sent to all of the candidates.

Occupation and Employer: Wholesale Representative: Aluminum Distributors

How and who should determine curriculum?

Iowa Core is mandated for all Iowa schools, essentially what should be taught, with district administration determining the local curriculum or how the Core is taught. Ultimately, it would be wonderful if there were stakeholder committees that were involved in the process of review and recommendations for curricular adoption.

Why do you want to serve on the school board? What relevant experience do you have?

Over the course of the last three years my wife and I have fostered our grandson. He was placed with us at four months of age and through many challenges we finally were granted the opportunity to adopt him. September marked the one year anniversary that he has been our son. He will turn four this October and my wife and I have discussed where he will go to school. Like so many people we have become very concerned about the direction of the Linn-Mar school system. I would not ask someone else to fight this fight for our family and community. I choose to make the stand.

Prior to moving back to Iowa in 2015, I served as the Secretary for the Board of Zoning and Appeals for approximately 5 years and Secretary of the Building and Planning Commission for approximately 2 years for the Town of Schererville, Indiana.

30 years in the financial service industry

How would you describe your attendance at past school board meetings?

I started attending the LMSB meetings in February of 2022 and would describe my attendance as a regular attendee.

What are your three top priorities for the school district? What will you do to address them?

a. Establish a more transparent exchange of ideas with stakeholders

b. Policy review

c. Budget review

This is a board and in order to move these priorities forward, one has to work with the other board members. One person can make a difference by having open and thoughtful discussions, as long as the board is committed to valuing the input of each board member.

What do you see as strengths and weaknesses of the school district?

The Linn-Mar School District has a proud reputation for excellence across the board, whether it be in academics, fine arts, athletics; this is the district's strength. Of late, that reputation has been dimmed by being placed in the national spotlight for negative reasons brought on by the current school board; this is the weakness.

Are there any curriculum concerns you have with the district? Why? How should the school board address these issues?

There needs to be a balance of respect for all opinions. There needs to be open dialog.

If you were required to cut the district's budget, what areas would you look to for savings and why?

Reviewing Administrative positions and their direct impact and interactions that ultimately support students.

What level of control do you think school boards should have?

Again, looking at balance - the community has elected the board to represent them, not push their personal agendas. If the community has something to say, the board should be open to listen. If a topic is brought up, all board members should be open to discussion. The school board needs to be in partnership with all stakeholders.

If the school district had additional funds available, what should they be allocated to? Why?

Looking for ways to support teachers as they are in daily and direct contact with what is at the heart of our school system: the students. Smaller class sizes, behavioral and academic intervention support.

What will you do to be responsive to parents, teachers and district staff? What types of communication should the public expect from you?

By setting a regular open forum for discussion. I would like to see something established every other month for these meeting. In addition to the forms of communication that are expected of all board members.