Eric Anderson: 2025 candidate for Emmons Elementary District 33 board

Bio

Office sought: Emmons Elementary District 33 board (Vote for 4)

City: Antioch

Age: 48

Occupation: Line service technician

Previous offices held: None

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

I feel there is a lack of transparency by the administration and lack of accountability by the school board to the administration.

What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring the curriculum?

By monitoring the curriculum, the school board ensures the administration/staff is pursuing the best educational results for the students and that the district is meeting or exceeding state and federal educational mandates. The school board also hears recommendations for curriculum changes/updates and approves them based on the vision and direction of the district constituents and students best interest.

Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

Currently, I have no issues with the curriculum but look forward to the chance to evaluate it on a more in-depth way to help our students excel.

How do you view your role in confronting policy or curriculum controversies: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents — even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

As a veteran of 29 years reading, developing and interpreting policies and directives has been a part of the majority of my life. Should differences in policy or curriculum arise, it is each school board member’s responsibility to be able to respectfully and clearly convey those to the board and ultimately come to a majority agreement to further the district objective.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions for your school board.

For years while in the military, I was responsible for writing and interpreting policy for over 300,000 members while getting the approval and input from the other team members within the program and our superiors.

This is not unlike engaging with the parents/public within our district and focusing their wants and needs for the district into an actionable plan to update policy and vision for the district’s current and future students.

My style for such a setting would be an attentive listener (listening to hear and understand not to respond) while being a fair but firm advocate for best for the district.

What is your assessment of the school district's diversity and equity efforts? Do you support the continuation or enhancement of such programs, of would you rather see them diminished. Please explain your reasoning.

I am unable to make an assessment of these efforts as I haven't seen these programs in effect. I would rather see an improvement in showcasing these efforts in the district.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

Being fairly new to the district I bring a fresh approach and unbiased outlook to the district.

What’s one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

I would fully support activities and curriculum that supports both creative expression (arts) and physically activities. The district has both currently however I would like to support and enhance these in whatever capacity we can including an extensive effort to get more parents involved in every aspect of the district from attending sporting events to school board meetings to class projects.