Carrie Davies, candidate for Cedar Rapids Community School Board director at-large

Carrie Davies, Kerri Davenport, Bridgette Williams Robinson and Marcy Roundtree are running for an at-large director seat on the Cedar Rapids Community School Board. ► Get to know the other candidates

Name: Carrie Davies

Office sought: Cedar Rapids Community School Board director at-large

Age: 37 (born Feb. 12, 1984)

Occupation: Sales associate/office manager for Farm Bureau Insurance

Email: carrie.davies2011@gmail.com

Have you held office before? No, I have not.

Personal bio: My name is Carrie Davies. I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids. I am a Christian, conservative, mother of four children, three of which are currently in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. My husband and I have raised all of our kids in Cedar Rapids. I am sales associate and office manager for Farm Bureau Insurance and have been in the insurance industry for 14 years.

Why are you seeking a seat on the school board?

As a mom myself, I believe that if you feel something needs to be changed you have to be willing to put yourself out there to change it. I have had many teachers in the community that came to me asking me to run and so I thought, I care for kids, I am a mom and I see what needs to be done and I am willing to do it.

How do you rate the district’s current performance? What areas are going well, and what could be improved?

I am VERY Concerned about the health and well-being of kids in our district and the health and well-being of our teachers and staff. It currently seems our district is more concerned about politics then what is best for kids and staff. Some of the crucial things I am seeing RED FLAGGED right now are financial responsibility, mental health of kids and them feeling safe in their schools, teachers feeling they have no voice, and parents having no voice in what is best for their own children. I feel we need changes in all of these areas. It's a lot I know, but the school board needs to do a better job in being transparent in A LOT of things.

What are the three largest issues facing the school district and what will you do to address them?

Not putting kids first, not putting parents first, and transparency on what is going on in our schools. I believe it's extremely easy to open lines of communication with kids, parents and the public on how to make things better, what are the needs of kids and parents and what the district is doing especially with the technology today. My focus will be to do this and make real change.

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

They should have control over getting rid of bad staff and teachers. They should have control over implementing bigger and better systems to put kids and parent choice first as well as being transparent to the public. They should have a role in implementing and improving systems to help disadvantaged kids and kids having trouble in life. It matters what our kids think, it matters what parents think and what is being done in the classroom and in the budget should be public to everyone.

What will you do to be responsive to concerns by parents, students and staff? What type of communications should they expect from you?

Currently there is no process for parent complaints … this section is literally empty and was brought up in the last school board meeting. The district is very much failing in kids and parents having a voice.

As for the type of communication from me, they will have full communication. Open to the public all decisions. An open-door policy for all staff and forums for more than just board meetings for full parent involvement.

Should school districts be allowed to enact a mask requirement for students during the COVID-19 pandemic? If yes, what type of masking requirement would you want to see in place?

I am a strong believer in parent choice. You do what you feel is good for your child as you know them the best. I believe in putting kids first and parent choice first. Each story is valid and valuable.

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

Administrative pay. Our district administrators are the highest paid in the Corridor area … WHY? They are supposed to be public servants not CEOS. I would look into all of the budget with my colleagues and trim the fat for sure. Our kids deserve better programs not higher paid officials as that does not equate to better education tools, better mental health programing and support systems for all the kids.

Are there curriculum concerns that you have with the district? What are they? What process should the district use to address the concern?

I believe our curriculum is not transparent enough for parent choice and flexible enough for kids. Learning isn’t a one size fits all for children. They all learn at different paces and by different forms or teaching. Some are not good test takers and yet we base how much they know off of how they do on state testing. The to me is not an accurate representation on how smart they are or what they may or may not know. The Common Core, as a parent, and honestly I have heard this from many teachers who have to teach it, makes zero sense. It confuses our kids instead of just teaching them how to figure something out. I feel like parent's, again should have more of a voice in what our children are being taught and how they are being taught, since it is the public school system and therefore the public parents of those children should have a say.