Candidate Questionnaire: Amy Krauss speaks with Arizona Daily Star
At the invitation of the Arizona Daily Star, Amy Krauss submitted these responses to their candidate questionnaire. As the Daily Star writes: "To give voters a better sense of who is on the Nov. 8 ballot, the Star sent a brief questionnaire to candidates for local, state, and federal offices. Their responses, unedited and as submitted to the Star, are in the collection below." You can find all of the responses on the Daily Star's website. Amy Krauss' responses are below.
2022 elections: Candidate questionnaire: Amy Krauss for Catalina Foothills School District Governing Board
Basic biographical information:
Name: Amy Krauss
Office they are seeking: Catalina Foothills School District Governing Board
Age: 57
City of residence: Tucson
Occupation: Attorney
Education: B.A. in Women’s Studies (University of Arizona, 1987); Juris Doctor (Tulane University School of Law, 1991)
Previous elected office: Governing Board, Catalina Foothills Unified School District No. 16 (2014; 2018)
Other relevant qualifications: 150-hours of school board professional development training by the Arizona School Boards Association; Attorney in practice for 30 years (criminal law); Volunteer attorney, Step Up 2 Justice (Awarded 2020 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Tucson Division)
1. What do you see as the most important issue to address and how would you address it?
At this moment, all public schools in Arizona are facing unique challenges resulting from a severe, national teacher shortage, the impact of the pandemic on student achievement and well-being, limited financial resources, competition from private and charter schools, and heightened concerns about school security. CFSD is no exception. My knowledge and experience, coupled with my ability to think critically and analytically, make me exceptionally qualified to solve these, and other, complex issues. Insufficient funding is an overarching problem that negatively impacts CFSD’s ability to comprehensively and effectively respond to all of these issues. The legislature must immediately override the constitutional Aggregate Expenditure Limit to avoid financial chaos in the final months of this school year. The expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (vouchers), which is poised to siphon millions of dollars from public schools, must be clawed back. Finally, funding that was cut in 2008 must be fully restored so that the capital and operational needs of the district can be met on a long-term, consistent basis. I am proud of CFSD’s track record of offering a robust curriculum and a wide array of extracurricular opportunities in spite of fiscal limitations. If re-elected, I will build on my accomplishments as a current board member by: (1) ensuring the approval of a responsible budget that aligns with the district’s objectives; (2) prioritizing the need to attract and retain highly qualified teachers, including by providing in-house teacher development training; (3) continuing to reduce class size across all grades; (4) supporting student wellness by increasing the number of counselors at each school and promoting a proactive counseling curriculum; (5) reviewing and augmenting safety protocols for every campus; and (6) properly assessing students’ academic and emotional needs to ensure that federal recovery funds are used wisely.
2. Why should voters choose you, rather than other candidates?
School Board elections are nonpartisan for good reason: a Board member’s undivided loyalty should be to current and future students of CFSD and to the CFSD community at large, not to any particular political platform. I have been continuously engaged with the CFSD community for the past 18 years, first as a classroom volunteer, then in leadership roles in the Family Faculty Organizations at multiple schools, and eventually leading to two terms on the Governing Board. I have no agenda other than to make informed decisions based on what is best for the nearly 5,400 students who attend CFSD schools. I am running with Amy Bhola and Gina Mehmert - each of whom has been similarly invested in CFSD schools for many years - because all of us are committed to the principle that every student deserves an equal opportunity to thrive and to excel. The other three candidates are endorsed by a political organization, Purple 4 Parents (P4P),1 which supports voucher expansion and other anti-public education initiatives. Consistent with the P4P platform, these three candidates want to re-write curriculum (eliminate altogether the optional health curriculum), encourage parents to attend school with their children in order to supervise teachers, and prevent counselors from providing potentially life-saving resources to high school students.2 In order to get elected, these candidates have misrepresented data to support a false narrative that CFSD students are largely not proficient in English and Math. Nothing could be farther from the truth. CFSD students consistently perform better on statewide assessments than their counterparts, the graduation rate has remained well above 94% since 2015, 90% of graduates attend college, and Niche ranks CFSD the #1 public school district in Arizona (2023).3 The most recent statewide assessment scores rank CFSD as #1 in English and #3 in Math, of 238 unified public school districts in Arizona. CFSD students are well-prepared for college or the workplace after they leave our district. The students who attend CFSD schools deserve to have their education guided by board members who have demonstrated a commitment to public education and to CFSD, who value the professionalism of teachers and administrators, who support a diverse student body, and who will take the time to become fully informed in the deliberative process. Your vote for Amy Bhola, Amy Krauss, and Gina Mehmert is a vote for continued excellence in CFSD
3. Could you please provide a list of the people and organizations that have endorsed you?
I have not sought political endorsements because school district governing board elections are non-partisan. However, LD18 Democrats is supporting a number of non-partisan school board candidates, including my slate (Amy Bhola, Amy Krauss, and Gina Mehmert). Endorsements by our 100+ individual supporters are listed on our campaign website, which is updated regularly. I also encourage readers to watch the many video testimonials we’ve received at www.thrive4cfd.org/testimonials.