By John Dobberstein, Editor
There will be an election for the Broken Arrow Board of Education this year, as two challengers have emerged to take on incumbent Jerry Denton in Zone 5.
One is Kate Williams, who moved to Broken Arrow from Michigan in 2010 and has two sons in the district at Sequoyah Middle School and Early College Academy. Her family transitioned into the district in 2019 from Holy Family Cathedral School, where she served as vice president and president of the Home and School board.
Williams said Broken Arrow was the family’s top pick for public schools, “because of the outstanding teachers, facilities and opportunities it provides our students.”
Williams graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Tulsa and teaches composition at TU and Tulsa Community College. She is also a business owner – her company, People First Content, works with businesses worldwide to create content ranging from website and email copy to white papers, research articles and full-length books.
Williams has previous board experience as the secretary for Oklahoma Women in Technology.
Also on the ballot for the Feb. 11 primary election is Denton, and Bruce Lamont.
The Broken Arrow Sentinel caught up with Williams to talk with her about her candidacy for the Board of Education.
BAS: What are some of the big reasons you decided to run for school board? Why get involved?
Williams: The most important reason I want to run for the school board is because currently nobody on the board serving that has students enrolled in the school. There’s no parents of current students. I feel like that’s kind of a key thing missing. I have two kids in the schools — so one, I’d like to be more involved in the school district. Then two, I’d bring that parents’ voice and bridge that parent gap on the board.
I think we need to do a better job working together with other districts too. In teaching high ed I’m seeing what’s happening with the kids coming out of all these local schools and I’m getting a good feel for the things we’re doing great, and there are a lot of things we could keep working on.
BAS: Where specifically do you feel a parent’s perspective is needed in the Broken Arrow school system?
Williams: I do think the school board’s doing a great job but doing the research and not just jumping into things. But I just have this overall feeling that one of us isn’t in the conversation. The board’s going to make a decision but there’s no actual parent on the board that’s going to be a voice for the people who have to deal with it, whether it’s going to kids up early or finding ways to take off work on Friday or whatever it is.
I think just that day to day, how are these decisions are impacting the households and impacting the students, impacting the parents, all these extra things we need to be thinking about. I don’t want to put the board down. I think they’re doing a fantastic job of not jumping into anything. But having that extra parent voice would help parents feel more comfortable and it might bring some added thoughts and perspectives.
BAS: What are some other priority issues you want to advocate for and address if elected?
Williams: One is focusing on student outcomes, getting us out of being 49th in the country. We need to raise our standards. So how do we not focus on the distractions coming from some of the legislature in our state? How do we get teachers to stick around? How do we get more regular teachers instead of relying on the emergency certified teachers?
I know there’s a lot of things outside of our control, but again, how can we work with other groups to advocate for it? Maybe we can work together with other districts and become a louder voice.
And then inclusivity, making sure all students are welcome in schools. I know there’s concerns about bullying and mental health as well. We’ve had nine suicides in our district since 2020. I’ve noticed the current board takes it very seriously. But again, having more respect and more conversations is important. There might be more things that we could be doing or more ways that they’re being impacted that aren’t so obvious.
BAS: There have been some initiatives floated by lawmakers and State Supt. of Public Instruction Ryan Walters that are controversial. Where do you come down on this, or do we need to worry more about our own district?
Williams: I think it’s important to pay attention because even if something isn’t technically legal now, who knows what’s going to happen. And so that’s how we do need to be advocates. About the Bibles, I know these kids have had classes where they learn about different religions, and so that’s fine. How are we spending our money though? That’s a huge concern for me. If we’re already using Bibles and certain religious texts to teach about religion around the world, I don’t see why we would need to spend all that money.
I do think though, that all of us parents, teachers, students, people in the communities, always must be paying attention. And as far as I’m concerned, if it doesn’t lead to better outcomes for our students, it’s not something that we need and we should be fighting against it.
BAS: Growth in the school district is a major issue, with the constant redistricting and challenges put on facilities and staffing. The issue of building a second high school hasn’t been address in a while. What’s your feeling about growth in the district and how it should be handled?
Williams: It’s a big concern of mine and a lot of parents. I know that there’s been conversations about having a second high school. I think that’s something that used to be revisited every few years. If I get on the board it would be one of the top things to know more about.
But I do know the school district has done a good job of branching out with satellite campuses. So Vanguard is great. The Early College Academy is growing. I’ve got one son in it and one applying for it right now. If a second high school proper doesn’t make sense, we still must find ways to ensure students have the tools they need on career paths. Maybe it’s building more partnerships like we have at TCC and Tulsa Tech.
I don’t know for sure that a second high school makes sense. I do believe though, we need to continue having conversations to make sure that our students aren’t falling through the cracks and that they are having opportunities and that we’re not getting overwhelmed either.
Even a second high school won’t do any good if we can’t get teachers to fill those classrooms. That has to be among our top priorities is getting permanent teachers, attracting them and retaining them.
BAS: What other challenges do you think are important to tackle with our children’s education?
Williams: I think an important thing is improving communication between Broken Arrow and other districts. And my relationships at TCC and TU have helped build that relationship. Also just with parents across districts, through sporting events, through our kids’ activities.
Because I’ve been talking to some other people on other boards just getting a feel like, what’s it like? What do you recommend? What are your concerns?
A consistent thing I hear is we don’t hear a lot from Broken Arrow. We don’t know really what’s happening over there. I think there’s opportunities to bring our districts together to be more involved so we can be more of a singular voice when we are doing things like advocating for legislation. That’s something I can bring to the board that’s currently not as strong as it could be.
Leave a Reply