AASD Candidate Jim Bowman

APPLETON SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE

Jim Bowman (I)

Campaign Website: www.jimbowman4schoolboard.com

Personal Statement

I am Jim Bowman, Coordinator of Fox Cities Advocates for Public Education.

My formal education includes a Masters in Statistics and an MBA from the University of Michigan. At Thilmany Paper Mill, I served as Director of Quality Assurance.

I seek re-election to the Appleton School Board because I want to help prepare our students for their future. Upon graduation, they will enter a world full of opportunity and risk. With the support of family, teachers, and the larger community, every student can succeed academically, socially and emotionally. I want our schools to lead this effort.

I want to install reason as a primary method of reaching decisions on public education. Currently, school boards feel influence from groups who seek to advance a cultural ideology.

I also want to restore the separation between private and public schools. School choice has value but the public subsidy needs to be phased out.

Do you support using COVID precautions such as wearing masks in school and requiring vaccinations of eligible students and staff? Explain

I support the precautions currently in place in the AASD.
By an overwhelming margin, residents are most concerned with the safety of children in school and their ability to learn during a disruptive pandemic. I believe that three steps will reduce this threat:

  • Push vaccination to a higher level. That result together with natural immunity will move the school district closer to herd immunity.
  • Requiring vaccination may be necessary but it’s a last resort and we’re not there yet.
  • Invest in high efficiency ventilation systems in schools to reduce the concentration of air-borne viruses.
  • Achieve consensus in our community on the science of COVID-19 and methods to control the virus on a continuing basis.

Do you support teaching fact-based and accurate history of events that have and continue to shape our nation? Explain

My answer is yes. Events in the nation’s history contain both promise (e.g. “All men are created equal” as stated in the Declaration of Independence) and pain (e.g. the enslavement of four million African-Americans). When these events are accurately explored and discussed in K-12 schools, students can more easily understand and appreciate their country and its complex history.

What are your thoughts about the AASD referendum that is proposed for November 2022?

I plan to support the referendum, as approved by the Board. We need a new elementary school to serve a growing population on the north side of Appleton. I like the benefits of moving 6th grade to middle schools. I also support reducing class size in Grades 1 and 2. There’s solid research that suggests that smaller class sizes in the early elementary grades help students learn math and language. These gains then continue throughout the student’s K-12 educational experience.