2015 PSD Board Election Questionnaire

Coloradoan Editorial Board, Fort Collins, Colorado

Nate Donovan, District B
Thank you to the Coloradoan Editorial Board for stressing the importance of civic
engagement and voting in school board elections. Whether we have a choice of
candidates or there are unopposed races, it is important to consider the qualifications,
background and experience of those who seek to serve and make decisions in the
public interest. I look forward to meeting with you. Nate
www.natedonovanPSD.com ; natedonovansbd@gmail.com ; cell 970.213.9200
1. As PSD has grown, we have seen school of choice has become limited at many
sites. How do you preserve that choice in a climate thats made it difficult to
support it? Weve heard from some parents the district doesnt advertise the
limited availability well enough; theres not actually choice.
In a growing District, maintaining school of choice comes at a cost that local
taxpayers must be willing to support. That choice can be preserved in the shortterm by limited buildout at existing schools, and better informing parents and
guardians of the menu of options, urgency of early application, and importance of
advocating for the best educational opportunities available for their students.
The phrase school by chance may be a reality, especially for those who seek to
choice into a neighboring school district. In the meantime, prioritizing availability
according to a schedule makes good sense.
There is currently a squeeze on choice options as we deal with the rapid influx of
students and families. Ultimately, preserving choice is one that our community
should support as a tool to give each student opportunities for an education that
suits their needs.
2. The district has a long-term plan to deal with growth in the district. However, new
schools are years away. How do you deal with that growth today? Modular units?
Later start times?
I support looking at the range of options for dealing with growth in the short-term
by utilizing existing buildings. Modular units have a place, and we may need to
look at staggered school days at some sites. Later start times would come at a
financial and logistical cost that I think would be difficult in the short term. One
estimate is that moving high school start times to 9:00am would require purchase
of 40 new school buses and hiring many more bus drivers. When I resigned as a
PSD bus driver to run for the school board, the District faced a shortfall of 10-20
bus drivers entering fall semester 2015, and we are still struggling to cover
existing bus routes. There are no easy or inexpensive solutions.

3. The school district will soon put a bond to the general public to pay for
construction of several new schools and needs at others existing. Does it go far
enough? How will you sell the hundreds of millions of dollars to those who dont
have kids in the system?
There is always a balance between bond and mill issues between maintaining
educational quality and the tax burden that allows families and the economy to
thrive. I dont know if the proposed bond goes far enough, yet we have to keep
property taxes at a reasonable level. I think this community values its public
schools, recognizes that the public interest is served by a quality school system,
and that they want their tax dollars to be used wisely. Senior citizens in particular
tend to recognize this, and the key is reminding others that quality schools are in
their self-interest as well as the general public interest. As we age and our
individual families no longer have kids in the school system, I think it is important
to shift focus and reframe the discussion to recognizing that the 30,000 children
in the District are OUR communitys children, and we need to educate them well.
4. Whats the top priority/goal for you as you consider taking a seat on PSDs
school board in the 4-year term to come?
My top priority as I consider serving on the PSD School Board is helping students
and families experiencing poverty get the best education for children to have a
productive and satisfying life. The student achievement gap or opportunity gap in
our community is a real concern for me.
In my time as a school bus driver from 2013-2015, I saw the stark difference
between the struggles of students who are hungry and living in a cold trailer
home and those from more affluent areas of the District who had concerns such
as what level of Arsenal soccer they would achieve. I will always remember the
bright-eyed students full of potential on my Putnam Elementary Blue Spruce
Drive bus route who took home a McKinney supplemental food backpack once or
twice per week. They should have just as much opportunity to shine as other
children in the Poudre School District.
The broader goal, though, is balancing the need to educate every child, every
day with decisions about allocating our limited public and private community
resources used in that effort. I am just as concerned about providing opportunity
for the children attending and striving at their neighborhood schools as I am for
children with special needs, or for students like my own sons who had school of
choice options and contributed to an excellent educational environment at Harris
Elementary, Lesher Middle, and Poudre High School.
5. What does student success look like to you at the conclusion of a students
senior year in high school?

Student success to me is a child who has developed a love of learning, curiosity.

skills to help them make a difference in the world, ethical and emotional
intelligence, self-reflective and empathetic nature, and one who has set goals for
themselves. There are also the District Ends, which I think are valuable as well.
6. What can you do as a board member to evaluate and improve on the number
and time spent on mandatory testing?
I can use my skills in advocacy as a parent, lawyer, and former legislative
committee legal counsel to work with state and federal legislators to help shape a
sensible system of testing and evaluation. I will also continue to listen to
students, parents, teachers and administrators as we try out the new changes to
mandatory tests. As a school bus driver in PSD, I saw the stress during testing
week from students, parents, teachers, and administrators. It seemed like a far
cry from the old days of the standardized testing that I took seriously as a student
for a couple of days each year. I do not support encouraging parents and
students to opt out of the tests, because I think this just harms the interests of all.
7. What will you do to engage the significant block of the public that doesnt have
kids in school in this election?
The children educated by the PSD community are OUR children, and I will
continue to speak out and make this point. Good schools are the anchors of our
strong neighborhoods and families, whether we or others have children or
grandchildren attending our schools. I have engaged people without current
schoolchildren during meetings I attend as part of my community volunteer work.
As I go door-to-door talking with voters, I seek a cross-section of people who tell
me their priorities for K-12 education. Seniors raising school children and
grandchildren are on the rise, and seniors tend to see the value of education
more consistently than some other members of the public.
8. Should PSD work toward free all-day kindergarten for all?
Yes. I support PSD working toward all-day kindergarten for all. Early childhood
education and mentoring is critical to student success. During my time as a PSD
bus driver transporting pre-K through 12 th grade students, I saw the growth in
socialization and learning of the youngest children on a daily basis.
9. Should PSD consider a year-round school calendar?
I support consideration of a year-round school calendar in PSD. Educational
outcomes tend to improve when we eliminate the summer drop-off in retention of
skills learned. This should be studied carefully, however, as the cultural changes
and short-term capital costs (such as HVAC systems in every school building and
hot school buses), and longer term operations and maintenance costs will be a
significant shift from our current model.
3