The measure of leadership is accomplishing the greatest good in times of limited resources. Jim Barr's "compassionate conservativism" will strive for cost-saving business practices without forgetting the human face of our school district's mission.

All students should leave our schools college-bound or occupation-ready. We should expect each and every student to succeed. We must recognize and nurture the capabilities of each child, providing special programs for "gifted" and "exceptional" students, but never letting those students "in the middle" fall "through the cracks." Our schools must prepare every student for college or a career.

Our programs must provide opportunities for all students: strong academic programs, strong vocational programs, strong fine arts programs, strong athletic programs, strong band programs, and a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. We need to evaluate our total program's effectiveness in achieving a quality school system. We need to point to the Bay County School System with pride and know it is second to none.

Recent brain studies make it clear that students learn best when their hands are active and their minds are engaged. Our classrooms should be busy with "real world" activities that teach "real world" skills like creative thinking, problem solving and decision making.

I pledge to use every possible conservative measure with school expenditures. We need to guarantee that each child will get a day's worth of learning for every school day. We need to guarantee that each child will get a dollar's worth of learning for every dollar spent. We must invest our resources wisely. We must focus on what works and abandon programs that do not.

The biggest push in education reform today is to put "reading first" in the curriculum. We should teach reading—along with other basic skills like math, writing, critical thinking, public speaking, and team building—in all courses. We do not have to sacrifice teaching the arts and history or physics and philosophy to teach basic skills. We simply must integrate the training of basic skills into every learning opportunity.

Every day our world grows smaller. We confront new cultures, different ideas, and uncommon customs, not just on television around the world, but in the faces of students in our classes. I promise that Bay District Schools will welcome diversity. We will celebrate it. We will learn from one another that which is best in all of us. Under my leadership, no community will be ignored and no child will be left behind.