Tom Appelbaum, Candidate For Parkway School Board

Biographical Information

• Name, Age, Address: Tom Appelbaum, 47, 12739 Cypressway Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146

• Occupation: Attorney

• Education: Graduate of Parkway North, BS – Missouri State (Geology), MBA – MaryvilleUniversity, Law Degree – St. Louis University

• Family (spouse/children and their schools): Wife – LaDonna. No children (just dogs).

• Years lived in the Parkway School District: I have lived in the Parkway School District my whole life.

Brief Background:

Prior to law school, I worked as a geologist and with computers.  When I became an attorney, I decided to open organize a professional association of energy auditors and got legislation passed that will help make buildings more sustainable while increasing economic development. I organized the Welcome Home the Heroes Parade to honor returning Iraq war veterans, and have helped form two veteran support nonprofits. Community involvement led me to initially run for the school board.

Reasons For Running:

My reason for initially running was out of support for my community, and that has not changed. But I have learned so much about the District in my first term I am compelled to run for a second term. Things were just getting starting with Project Parkway at the beginning of my first term. It is crucial that the work continues on this. Ultimately, though, when I am able to contribute to efforts such as installing solar panels in a way that will save the District money – and the kids recognize this, I really appreciate the opportunity toserve.

Questions:

• What qualifies you to be a Parkway School Board member?

I feel that the most important qualification for Parkway School Board is to be an engaged and informed community member. In my first term, there were a number of issues the district dealt with that I had particular insight on because of my experience as an attorney. Having an MBA and experience with information technology gave me a particular frame of reference to draw upon in analyzing these issues as well. Going into my second term I will have the benefit of knowing the issues and personnel of the district that I did not have starting my first term.

• Do you feel Parkway Schools are as reasonably safe as they can be in the wake ofthe Newtown school shooting? What is the most important thing you would like tosee the district do moving forward with regard to school safety?

School safety policies should always be reviewed to assure that kids are as safe as theycan be, but I feel confident that the district as a whole has been diligent about providinga safe environment for the students. This fits a goal of Project Parkway, so was part of a comprehensive review that took input from stakeholders throughout the district. Moving forward, partnerships with local police, including visible interaction with police at grade schools would add to the level of security for children. Current policies regarding visitors should also be enforced.

• Identify the most significant area where you disagreed with the majority decision made by the Board of Education over the past two years and tell us why?
There have been a number of tough decisions for the board in the past two years. The biggest mistake in my opinion was the decision to implement a three tier bus schedule with only a 30 minute turnaround between tiers. This turned out to be impractical and was causing students to be late to school and bus drivers to be rushed. To reconcile this issue,it was necessary move start times and start high schools earlier. While the decision was based on research and necessity, the subsequent change was not fully vetted before thepublic in the manner intended.

• Is there a program or area of the school district budget that should be more closely scrutinized when it comes to evaluating possible budget cuts in future years?

Any area of expenditure that does not directly impact instructional resources for students should be scrutinized the most when considering budget cuts. These areas have taken a significant proportion of the cuts of the past two years and have been scrutinized quite a bit, but maintaining fiscal priorities with the district requires diligence, particularly in a time of decreasing revenues.

• Do you support the merger of continuing education classes and programs with the Rockwood School district?

I believe that this is a topic that requires additional review. The sharing of some continuing education resources between the districts could certainly make sense, especially in a time which resources are so scarce, but this issue was prematurely brought before the board and there was not enough due diligence on the impact of merging to some of these programs,so we did not vote on this and gave it additional time. I am a big supporter of continuing education and other community outreach efforts by the District and feel that the District is an underutilized resource for the community.

• What is your process for establishing priorities when it comes to budget cuts which could impact student instruction?

When dealing with something as difficult as budget cuts, it is imperative to get input from all stakeholders within the district. Parents, teachers, and administrators should be consulted for priorities and ideas for where any cuts would have the least amount of impact. Whatever is closest to the classroom (related to instructional services) should get highestlevel of protection from cuts, but nothing is off limits, if it makes sense. As difficult as budget cuts are, it is good to review the district for efficiencies on a continual basis.

• What do you desire to change in Parkway?

I would like to see Parkway close the achievement gap among those various groups identified and currently labeled as the “gap group”. This of course is an issue for education in general and Parkway has performed well in this regard comparatively speaking, but all districts should aspire to this. I also think there should be more consistency throughout the district for curriculum and facilities. Each high school pride themselves on individuality and the district has great diversity, but a Parkway diploma should carry the same high standards no matter which high school a student graduates from.