Platform | Avery for PAUSD

Avery’s Platform

Opportunity and Equity for Every Student

Strong Support and Open Pathways: We must start by delivering the early reading and math interventions needed to close the achievement gap.
Keep Honors Options: At the same time, we must preserve the honors opportunities that keep all learners challenged. Maintaining honors options does not add extra cost.
Retention: When a district restricts options inside our public schools, acceleration doesn't disappear—it just gets privatized. Families who can afford outside classes and private tutoring pay to keep their kids moving forward, while less-resourced students get left further behind. We need to focus on raising the floor for everyone, not lowering the ceiling. Equity is best served when students stay in the public system.

Academic excellence and equity go hand in hand. True equity is not about forcing everyone into the same box; it's about meeting every child exactly where they are to help them reach their full potential.

Fiscal accountability & Legal reform

Scrutinizing Spending & Outside Consultants: I will push to examine major vendor contracts, directly questioning expenses like the $500,000 on a no-bid math placement test that other districts administer at no cost. I will push for proper competitive bidding to ensure we get the best value.
Empathy Over Legal Antagonism: We must shift away from a culture of legal antagonism toward empathy and early conflict resolution. Our unusually high legal bills are driven by a preference to fight rather than listen—including paying out $30,000 in legal fees for refusing to fulfill standard Public Records Act (PRA) requests. Addressing challenges in Special Education or student safety through open communication avoids costly disputes that drain resources into outside lawyer fees. By listening to families early, we can protect district funds and champion collaboration over litigation.

Despite increasing tax revenues and declining enrollment, our district faces a looming budget crisis. I will push for an independent financial review to ensure taxpayer dollars are managed with full transparency, free of unnecessary overhead, and focused entirely on the classroom.

Evidence-Based Policy & WellNESS

Stress, Bullying, and Wellness: Preventing student crises means addressing root causes with proven practices. Academic pressure is real, but we must equally prioritize protecting vulnerable students from bullying so every child feels safe and valued.
Honest Metrics: Pushing unprepared students into Algebra to boost enrollment numbers isn't a success—it sets them up to fail. We must measure actual learning, not just fill seats for PR.
Classroom Technology: Tech should enhance teaching, not replace teachers. We spend heavily on unproven programs like i-Ready, despite clear evidence that overusing classroom tech harms student focus.
Listening to Families: Parent and student feedback is a critical barometer. The district must treat the lived experiences of our families as real evidence of our success or failure.

We must approach every decision—from curriculum and expensive vendor contracts to mental health—with absolute honesty and the persistence to ask 'why.' I will pull at the threads until we have the full picture. District policy must be rooted in real evidence, rather than chasing unproven educational fads.

Restoring a Culture of Respect: Our frontline staff must be treated as trusted experts. I will support our new administration in building a collaborative environment where educators and classified professionals feel fully supported in voicing concerns and advocating for their students.
Prioritizing Fair Pay through Smart Budgeting: I will push for an independent audit of the district's budget to identify inefficiencies. By reallocating those funds toward fair compensation, we can ensure we are maximizing our current resources before asking the community for more.
Support and Safety: Every staff member deserves a safe work environment. When complex behavioral challenges arise, our staff needs to know the administration has their back.

SUPPORT, SAFETY, AND RESPECT FOR EDUCATORS AND STAFF

A teacher's working environment is a student's learning environment. With new district leadership in place, we have an opportunity to turn the page and restore a culture of trust. Our educators and classified support staff are the heart of our schools, and to keep great people in our district, we must focus on three core priorities: