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, beginning with Larry Garnello.
Q: What made you decide to run for school board?
I have been a resident of Sedona since 1984. During those 32-plus years, I have been a homeowner, a business owner, a property owner, a community member, but my most important work was being a parent to my two children. My wife, Denise, and I raised our daughter, Jessica, and our son, A.J., right here in Sedona. Both of my children attended the SOCSD from kindergarten through completion of high school. For 16 straight years I had my children in the Sedona Oak-Creek School District.
My students received a quality educational experience during those 16 years and I want to ensure that all of our current and future students receive the same quality educational experience. I am confident that my strong working knowledge of the Sedona community will serve as a solid foundation for me to apply my collaborative skills and analytical leadership to support my powerful interest in public education in Sedona and across the state of Arizona at the local and legislative level.
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?
Arizona’s K-12 public education dollars from federal, state and local sources dropped from 87.7 percent of the national average of per pupil revenue in 1992 to 69.5 percent in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus public education finance report of 2013.” Our school district was formed back in the early 1990s when Arizona funded schools at 87.7 percent of the national average, now it is at 69 percent of the national average. This is where we need to attack the problem: At the state legislative level. In order to create real change and establish a sustainable competitive teacher salary schedule, we must make a commitment to challenge the legislative funding for public education in the state of Arizona. That being said, from a local level, I plan to utilize my financial and business acumen that I have previously utilized to start, grow, and expand my own businesses and to incorporate that same process as part of a collaborative team effort when I am elected to the Sedona Oak-Creek Unified School District this fall. 
Q: What do you feel is the top priority currently facing the school district?
Communication is the top priority facing, not only our school district, but also our community at large. I feel that it is the responsibility of every board member to listen to the community they are elected to represent and be open to the communication that they receive. I also think that it is the responsibility of every community member to do the same.
The focus of my communication, as a school board member, will be the same that I will expect every district employee, and community member, to practice as well. That premise will be based on positive communication at all times. I am not saying that we need to only communicate about positive happenings in our district and our community but that we need to practice respectful, courteous and professional behavior when we communicate with one another about something as important as public education in Sedona. As an elected official, I will never allow any difference of opinion to result in personality conflicts which would upset the day-to-day operations of the school district, and for that matter, any long range planning of our district as well.
Q: What is your opinion of the recent restructuring of the schools within the district?
There has only been four weeks of instructional days since the school year began on Aug. 3. With that in mind, it is difficult to determine the short-term and long-term outcomes of the restructuring decision that was made on March 23, in the Sedona Performing Arts Center. However, the feedback I have received from multiple sources has been very positive, especially concerning the newly formed Sedona Red Rock Junior High School serving all seventh- and eighth-grade students at one location. It is something that we as a district and community need to continue to observe, but most importantly, it is something that we as a district and community need to continue to support.
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?
Once again, adequate funding from the Arizona state legislature is needed to repair multiple holes in every school district across the state of Arizona, including Sedona. If funding public education were a priority for the Arizona state legislation for public schools we would not have as much public scrutiny surrounding problems in our district. The SOCSD can and needs to continue to improve and work cohesively with the funding levels we are allocated towards creating positive outcomes for all students. If legislative funding would approach adequate levels, our district would have the ability to create a more competitive salary schedule for teachers, increase much needed technology for all of our students across the district as 21st century learners, and improve the morale of all of our district employees.
