School Board - Place 3 Profile: Sarah York

1. Name: Sarah Peers York 2. Age: 40 3. Family: Spouse- David York, Children – Cruz age 7, Jacelyn age 5, and Dax age 3 4. Education: Krum High School, Tarleton State University – BBA in Human Resources Management 5. Profession/Company: AutoNation for 12 years 6. How long have you been a resident of Sanger? 5 years 7. If elected to a seat on the School Board, what are your goals and objectives? One of my main goals is to assist our district in continuing to build a culture where we attract, hire and retain excellent teachers and staff: Marketing all the positive aspects of our district. I am familiar with what it takes to attract talent and keep them engaged. When you have teachers who love what they do you will have students that will benefit from that. I hope to be a good listener for the citizens of Sanger and to be a cooperative and supportive board member. I want to work with the others on the board and with the superintendent to make good policies and decisions for our school district. I know that the superintendent and principals are the ones who are the school leaders, yet I still want to be a part of making Sanger ISD the best district it can be and one of the best districts in North Texas. 8. Why do you think you are qualified to serve on the School Board? First, I would point out that I have a solid business background. I understand finances, marketing, and human capital management. I have 17 years of management experience and have learned the types of skills in team building, cooperation, and diplomacy that will help me to be successful as a board member. Second, beyond my business background however, I am also an involved parent. I am eager and enthusiastic about our district, about the school where my own child currently attends, and I believe strongly in the teachers of this district and want to be someone who represents the great stories of what’s happening in our schools. We need people who are willing to stand up as CHAMPIONS of public education in general, and we also need true PUBLIC SERVANTS who want to hold our system accountable to doing what is best for kids. 9. Do you believe any new school security measures should be enacted in Sanger ISD? If so, where do you believe financial budget cuts should be made to fund any new measures? Just like all of the community, the safety of our kids, teachers and administration is extremely important to me. The state mandates more fire drills than “active shooter” drills we need to set the standard by increasing these type of safety drills more than the required number by the state. We also need to work with our administration and community leaders to find other creative ways to keep our schools safe. Some of these ways include what other nearby districts have done including more SRO’s for our campuses and or allowing approved staff members to obtain and utilize CHL’s. Funding for these type programs is more than warranted, as you can’t put a price on the safety of our children. The board and administration needs to take a close look at the budget and I believe with responsible spending we can find the funding for whatever safety measures we deem necessary. 10. What do you believe are the most important projects to be completed in the next two years for Sanger ISD? One of our immediate needs is to give our students opportunities to be “future ready”. We need to give our young adults a wide variety of trade opportunities that will enable them to be career ready post-graduation, if college is not in their future. Making smart choices in the programming and other electives we offer at our campuses, that it is engaging to students as well as rewarding to their bright futures. I want to provide Sanger kids the very best opportunities out there. 11. Is it important to you to keep the property tax rate from rising for the residents of Sanger ISD? As a taxpayer, I would love for my taxes never to rise because I understand what it means to raise a family, to pay for a mortgage, and to live on a budget. At the same time, I realize that our schools are primarily supported by local property taxes. It’s the board’s job to ensure that our students and teachers have what they need, both in terms of facilities and also in terms of instructional resources and educational experiences. It’s definitely important to me to keep property taxes as low as possible, but as a board member, I would have to weigh that against what it is that our children need to be successful and competitive. They are our highest priority. Even if a taxpayer or a business owner doesn’t have children, the success and growth of a community is highly dependent upon the quality of the school system. It’s basic economics. 12. What do you believe the role of the School Board should be relating to SISD administration? As a School board trustee in Sanger ISD, you are 1of a 7 member board and it is important for both trustees and the community to understand that school board trustees hold no individual authority. It is each trustee’s responsibility to bring to the board the concerns of parents, students and supporters of the SISD and to consult with them on the board’s multi-year plan. It is through the process of collaborating and engaging in joint decision making as members of the board that trustees work with the values, priorities, and expectations of the community to translate them into policy with the current administration. 13. What 2 specific things would you most like to see changed pertaining to the school system? It is really tough to narrow the scope to just 2 things. Safety/Security of our schools is very important as mentioned above, and I can’t remove that from my top 2 priorities. (Outlined on question 9) I also believe that updates to some of our facilities are overdue. We are outgrowing some campuses and others have much needed repairs. Our community, students and teachers deserve to have the facilities, tools, and other assets needed to provide a learning environment for all levels of education from K-12 and beyond. Updating our campuses will also assist us with teacher retention as well as assist us with recruiting other great teachers from other districts. Together I know we can build on the great foundation of our district and make it a safe and productive working and learning environment for all to experience. 14. What are your most important overall goals for Sanger ISD? If elected to a seat on the board, it is my goal to be a long standing member of this board and our community. My goals are to be a voice for our great citizens, students and teachers for years to come. When we as a community identify a need for our district I want to help voice that need to our administration and provide them with the ability to make changes to policy and procedures to provide for the need. Our current generation and future generations have ever changing needs to stay focused on learning. As a forward thinker and by maintaining a pulse of the needs voiced by the community, I know together we can make our district one of the best districts in North Texas. Lastly, I have 3 children, one in first grade at Butterfiled and another enrolling in Kindergarten this fall. I am invested in the future of this school district because it directly impacts my family. In addition, my husband and I love this community. We are invested here and look forward to building a long life here in Sanger. I hope to be a positive and energetic voice for young professional parents like myself and to serve all the children and families of Sanger ISD for the long term.