Candidate Q&A: Red WIng School Board: Kramp

Paul Kramp

Age: 55

Residence: 3450 Wild Turkey Lane, Red Wing

Family: Wife, Nancy, and two sons

Education: Bachelor of Science, South Dakota State University

Public Involvement: Currently treasurer of Red Wing School Board, past chairman and vice chairman Red Wing School Board, Goodhue County Education District, ProAct Board, Community Reinvestment Fund Loan Advisory member

Work: President Southeast Region Alliance Bank

The district has been faced with extensive budget cuts in recent years. Considering more cuts may lie ahead, what specific budgetary items would you look at trimming?

The school like any household, business or governmental entity needs to maximize efficiencies. If it gets to the point where we need to make budgetary cuts, we will need to prioritize and make cuts from the bottom up on that priority list. Input from the entire community needs to be considered in making those decisions. The majority of the school budget is made up of salary and benefits, so in order to have the biggest impact on balancing the budget we will need to address staffing models, salary and benefits.

The district is tackling a well-documented struggle with diversity issues stemming from the notorious 2009 Wangster Day incident. How necessary do you think the Office of Civil Rights' investigation was regarding racial sensitivity in the district?

As a current School Board member I was kept well informed of the events surrounding this incident. In my opinion, the entire school body really stepped forward and took decisive action in addressing this distasteful incident. I was extremely impressed with how the students took a leadership role in showing that something positive can come out of this type of behavior.

Red Wing has and will continue to embrace inclusiveness, respect and understanding of all individuals and when we do stumble we have shown that we can pick ourselves up and learn from mistakes on our own.

If elected, the current operating referendum will expire during your term in office. List the reasons why you would or wouldn't support a new referendum calling for additional per-pupil funding.

I'll continue to support a strong Red Wing School District. A well-run district is a major contributor for a successful community. This equates to jobs, stable and increasing real estate values and quality of life services. The district needs to be good stewards of the resources the community gives and use those resources judiciously.

Given current school funding, communities are being asked more to provide a more of the school's revenue source. We cannot take this community support for granted. The community should hold the board, school administration and school union leadership accountable for how local tax revenues are utilized.

Bullying-related issues in schools have captured the national spotlight in recent weeks. Describe how much of a role you think the district should play in preventing and reprimanding bullying.

Bullying has been around as long as the human race has existed. The school will and should play a significant role in preventing and reprimanding bullying; part of the school's vision statement is for all students to become respectful, responsible and productive citizens. This vision statement is taught and enforced daily in the school.

The school can only do so much. Everyone needs to be vigilant in preventing bullying. And it needs to start at home. The school cannot always prevent bullying from happening but the school can set a good example and provide an environment of positive role models.

The district is taking a serious look at Q Comp, a state plan that ties teacher pay to student achievement. Would you support such a plan?

I am in favor of a system that evaluates performance. However, the system needs to be fair, well defined, have measurable objectives and consistently implemented. Good employees want a scorecard to know if they are meeting or exceeding expectations. For some, a formal evaluation will create some discomfort, but meaningful evaluations will allow for improved compensation management, effective staff development and training and have a fair process to remove those who aren't cut out for the job. We can track how well individual students are doing from year to year and we can look at what works and what doesn't.

Tags: red wing school board, elections, education