Sara Poer

VOTE411 - League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette

Education: MFA Photography

Twitter: @sarapoer

Why are you running for the school board?
Our district deserves board members who listen to them. The current board has yet to respond to WL CARE and during the reopening plan didn't listen to parents.

What in your view is the current school board doing right in its guidance of the district during the Covid 19 pandemic? What are your recommendations?
They could be doing so much more, and most of what they did is the result of a large group of parents organizing and calling them repeatedly.

What safety and security issues should the school district be addressing?
The WL Police should be removed from the buildings. Data shows that they do nothing, but harm Black and POC students. Instead they should have counselors/therapists available at all the schools that help with mental health (There should also be appropriate ratio of therapists to students). There should also be a clear path for students to report title nine violations without fear of repercussions.

If elected what are the most pressing issues you want to address during your first or next year of service?
I have two main goals for my time on the board. To implement all of the WL CARE demands, and to implement the Indiana Arts Commission PACE plan.

J&C - Sent by Dave Bangart

Name: Sara Poer
Age: 33
Town: West Lafayette
Occupation: Limited Term Lecturer, Artist, Mother
Education: MFA Photography
Past elected positions, if any: NA

Why are you running?
Our district deserves board members who listen to them. The current board has yet to respond
to WL CARE and during the reopening plan didn’t listen to parents at the beginning.

What are your connections with the district? (Parent, graduate, taxpayer, etc.)
Parent, taxpayer

Name two of your top priorities for the district? And how will you handle them?
Top two priorities: Addressing and implementing the WL CARE plan, and implementing the
Indiana Arts Commission PACE plan.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for the district? How would you propose to solve or
deal with it?
The biggest challenge for the district is people being afraid of change. They see their good
ratings and are afraid to change anything, but our district can be better than it is now. Things
don’t always have to be like they have been.

How do you rate the performance of the current West Lafayette Community School Corp.
superintendent and administration?
Dr. Killion is willing to talk, which makes me hopeful. I hope he will be willing to make bold
moves to improve the lives for all students in our district. I don’t like the current lawyer they
have, he quoted false information at some of the meetings over the summer, and that is
unacceptable.

How do you rate the district’s handling of the coronavirus shutdown and reopening? What, if
anything, should the district do differently going forward?
They should have looked for community participation from the beginning. It says community
school corporation in the name, but doesn’t reflect that. I have heard from many Jr. and Sr. High
School parents that e-learning is not going well. Teachers are using different platforms,
communication isn’t clear. There needs to be set standard practices for e-learning. This will
make things easier in the event we have to meet virtually again this year.

Some students and alumni have challenged the district’s curriculum and hiring practices,
demanding what they called “anti-racist education.” Do you believe their criticism of the district
was fair and on point? What should the district’s response be?
Their criticism is completely accurate. They should implement all of the asks of the WL CARE
group.

Name two specific things that separate you from your opponents and why they matter.
The first thing that makes me stand out is that I’m an artist. Creative problem solving is what I do
day after day. Our district needs creative solutions to problems. Secondly, I’m not afraid to
speak my mind. People want direct answers instead of being fed some canned response. I will
speak up for people in this district. I’m not afraid of the criticism that comes from being a woman
who speaks her mind. To that end I want you to vote for Yue Yin over me. Our schools have a
huge Asian student population and our board is currently all white. We need more diversity.

West Lafayette Education Association

1.Why are you running for a seat on the West Lafayette Community SchoolBoard?
I believe that I could help represent the public by listening to the public and being available to hear the concerns.

2. What is your experience with public education?
I was educated within the public education system from Kindergarten to my Masters Degree. I currently teach at Purdue University, which is a public college.

3. What has the district done well over the last four years?
The new WLIS is a great building that will serve the district well. They also renovated the Elementary school with as little disruption to the school children as possible.

4. What has the district done that you would change?
Their handling of the re-opening plan in July was extremely poor. They only published their first draft one day before voting on it. They also didn’t listen to parent concerns at that meeting and passed it anyway.

5. What skills do you possess that you feel would make you an effective board member?
I’m not afraid to speak my opinion, and I am extremely honest. It’s atypical for a woman to have this personality so many people find me abrasive. This might be off putting to some people, but I have found it helps me get things done.

6. What are the three priority issues you think the board should address and why?
1. The WLCSC Alum’s petition about diversity inclusion needs to be addressed and implemented to create a better education system.
2. The district should implement the findings in the recently published study about art in classrooms. Found here.

3. I would be shocked if we could get those 2 things done in my 4 year term.

7. How should the school board work with the West Lafayette Education Association?
I honestly don’t know that much about the Association, and my daughter is in her 3rd year in the district. So maybe I could work with them to help increase their reach.

8. What other information do we need to know when making our endorsement recommendation?
I am a practicing artist as well as a lecturer.