Stephanie Vanos:

Voucher schools are private schools, often religious, that receive taxpayer money but can choose their students and policies and have minimal accountability and transparency.

Charter schools are technically public schools; they are meant to be innovative and educate underserved students. However, they are often a means to profit from public education funding through real estate ventures.

Traditional public schools are your neighborhood public schools. Magnet schools are public schools with specialized programs that offer choice and are completely within the public school system.

Jeni Grieger

My understanding is that the money follows the student. Wherever the student goes, the allotted money goes where they attend. For private schools, the school has to accept the state money, and not all private schools accept it.

Stephanie Vanos:

1. We must advocate for better funding from the state. We are 50th in teacher pay in the nation, and there is very little that a school district can do to raise teacher pay when they are that underfunded.

2. We need to offer better benefits to teachers. That may be a big solution like allowing them to opt into the state health care plan, or it could be a smaller solution such as providing schedule flexibility and free child care.

3. The best thing we can do to recruit and retain teachers is to restore support and respect for their professionalism. We need to stop micromanaging teachers and trust their judgment in building relationships with their students and constructing relevant, engaging lesson plans.

Jeni Grieger:

I think we should pay teachers , the ones on the front lines, the most money, then principals, and the people at the county office should be at the bottom.

We need to get every student reading in order for teachers to be able to teach. If we continue in this pandemic of illiteracy, we will not be able to hire and retain teachers. The foundation of our education system is broken, and it must be fixed by getting all students reading.

Stephanie Vanos:

Families have always had opportunities to be involved with the selection of curriculum and materials. If there are competing parental and educational issues, my guiding question would be, “what’s best for the student?” Parents always have a right to guide their students’ education, but individual parents do not set standards for the entire community. Public schools also need to ensure that students are prepared for the workforce and college. If a parent objects to a particular assignment or material for their own student, educators are always good at providing alternate assignments that still meet the student’s learning objectives.

Jeni Grieger:

Let's keep the main the thing the main thing. Focus on the fundamentals of learning, not ideology, because it will always be conflicting. We need to use science backed proven methods to teach our students how to read, do math, science, social studies, arts, music, physical fitness.

Stephanie Vanos:

My law degree and experience as an attorney are critical to understanding the nuances of the law and will allow me to ensure that policies have a positive impact on our students. Through my leadership of the Education Committee for the LWV Orange County and as a member of the LWV statewide Education Action Team, I have a strong grasp of public education issues. I have formed critical relationships as a member of non-profit boards and through my advocacy experiences. These relationships will help me understand the issues and will be useful in finding the right resources to solve the right problem. Being a mom to three girls in public schools is critical to my understanding of how students experience their learning environment.

Jeni Grieger:

I was a classroom teacher for over 10 years. I have volunteered in our local schools for over 10 years. I effectively taught all types of students, from all different backgrounds.
I helped save our local Title 1 Schoo from being taken over by the state. I helped get a principal removed when that principal was allowing terrible things happen to students.
I helped get the principal at our local magnet school establish practices that benefitted students physically and emotionally. These are just examples of the many things I have pursued for students and teachers for over 20 years. Local action, not legislation has brought much needed change to our local schools.

Stephanie Vanos:

At heart, I’m a policy nerd. I love researching issues, learning how things work, and discovering the why behind everything. I want to make things better and solve problems by listening to a wide variety of stakeholders and community members, and finding the best solution that fits the situation. In every decision I make, I will put students first, value the professionalism of our educators, and focus on real problems not made-up issues.

Jeni Grieger:

I've always used facts to make decisions in the public school setting. I have many relationships with people from differing political views, and religious views, and have always been able to unite and get others to work together for the good of students, teachers, and schools. This practice will continue.