The Sedona-Oak Creek School District will see new faces on the board for the first time in several years as four candidates are vying for three seats on the Governing Board this November.
Those candidates answered questions as they look toward serving the next four years. Next up is Karl Wiseman.

Q: What made you decide to run for school board?

As a local citizen for the past 36 years, I’ve raised four children in this community. Like many of you, I’ve been taken aback by the actions of the school board on more than one occasion. The apparent dysfunction of the current school board has been a distraction to its mission, that of educating the children of our community. In addition, I believe a change in leadership is long overdue.

As a parent volunteer at West Sedona School, I’ve witnessed the growth in the classroom sizes, and the apparent dismissal of our tenured teachers for the younger graduates from NAU. Many of our best educators have taken jobs in the Cottonwood School District for better pay and leadership. Without mentors, and with over-size classrooms, our teachers have been assigned a real mission impossible, and our children have been denied the quality of education they deserve and we expect of our education system.

Many of our kids have received high marks in the classroom, but have yet to meet the standard for most categories of AIMS testing. The net result is our children are not prepared for high school, and are unable to pass the core classes that ensure enrollment into the state colleges. The current curriculum does not challenge our children.

Once elected, it will be a top priority of mine to lower the classroom sizes in the school district, develop a more stringent curriculum and get the pay raises to our educators that is long overdue.

Q: SOCSD teachers are among the lowest paid in the state, resulting in high turnover, problems finding affordable housing and low morale. How will you raise salaries to keep teachers in Sedona and attract new teachers?

Our educators have been underpaid for too long, and it will be a top priority of mine to give our teachers the pay raises they deserve.

Q: What do you feel is the top priority currently facing the school district?

The top priority currently facing the school district is regaining public confidence in our school system. The failures at all levels have resulted in falling enrollment, and many of our local parents have sought alternatives in the schools located in Cottonwood and Cornville.

In addition, an updated mission for the Sedona Performing Arts Center is overdue.

Q: What’s your opinion of the recent restructuring of the schools within the district?

The recent restructuring of the schools within the district is just another example of the dysfunction of the current school board. The conversation regarding falling enrollment and what to do about it should have been the topic of discussion many years ago. Instead, parents and community members have been misled, resulting in the outrage evident in the last public forum.

The current plan was poorly conceived and executed. I believe the decision to restructure should have been a decision made by the community, not by the current school board behind closed doors.

Q: In the last two years, the school board and administrators have faced scrutiny from parents, teachers and local media. What do you feel it will take to right the ship?

The public scrutiny of our school board and administrators speaks to the poor decisions made by the current school board in recent years. I believe we can turn this ship around with thoughtful planning, getting the teachers the pay raises they long deserve, reduce the classroom sizes so that our educators can be successful, and be more transparent in our actions.