Tali-Faris-Hylen

Candidate Name: Tali Faris-Hylen
Age: 43
Candidate for [Elected Position]: East Lansing Board of Education
Candidate Website: www.votefortali.com
Candidate Contact for Public: votefortali@gmail.com
Are you registered with any party? If so, please share your party affiliation: Democrat
Please share all your social media accounts
https://www.facebook.com/TaliFarisHylenforELBOE
https://www.instagram.com/votetalifarishylen

Please include a high quality photo of the candidate.
1. What motivated you to run for the position you are seeking election to?
As an active volunteer within East Lansing Public Schools and the City of East
Lansing for over a decade, I feel as if this is the natural progression of my service
to the community.
Our educational system in the United States is in crisis and I felt the pull to dive
deeper to advocate for our students, teachers and staff. While I feel ELPS is on a
positive trajectory; I want us to continue to build on this and reflect our thoughtful
community.
2. What is your vision for the public body you want to serve on?
I want the ELPS BOE to continue to be a reflection of our progressive community
that seeks equitable representation of all students, with parents/caregivers
aligned as educational partners.
3. How does your vision differ from that of your opponents?
I feel my vision is line with the majority of my opponents.
4. Funding for schools has been a consistent concern for nearly three decades.
Proposal 1, passed in the 90s was supposed to level the playing field in funding
assuring that districts with distressed property values would receive comparable
per pupil funding. That has not been the case. If elected, how will you address
the under funding of schools?

I’m grateful we have a governor prioritizing education in this state, putting forth a
budget with the largest per student investment in Michigan history. We have to work
on the local and state level to ensure we have people in office that work to protect
public education and every child’s right to a quality and equitable education, and that
includes funding.
This is more a statewide lobbying effort, one that I’m committed to as it is not lost on
me that neighboring districts are suffering, further growing the opportunity gap for
those children.
5. Has school choice, which allows students and parents to apply for and attend a
different school district than the one they live in, been a success? Why or why
not?
This is a very complex question and it’s been both for different reasons. I believe
all kids deserve the same opportunities no matter what disrict they live in and that
they shouldn’t have to look outside their home districts for the supports all
children have the right to. However, I want all children to feel supported
throughout and if their home district is not in line with their personal needs and
goals that will drive them toward success, I believe school of choice is a very
viable option. I want all SOC students within ELPS to always feel their needs are
being met.
6. Proposals in Michigan have long sought to use public dollars to pay for private
school tuition and costs. Do you support vouchers for private schools? Why or
why not?
No. I support public dollars going toward public schools.
7. If vouchers are approved, public schools may see a decline in enrollment. How
would you close the funding gap by a reduction in per pupil funding?
I will thougthfully research and answer this question thoroughly if this is happens.
As far as I understand however, as long as class size remains the same district
wide, we should be ok when it comes to adequate funding.
8. Educators have been under scrutiny over LGBT youth support, LGBT history, the
American history of communities of color and more. In addition, school libraries
are pulling books off of shelves in public school libraries and public libraries.
a. Please share your perspective as you pertains to providing safe schools
and education for LGBT youth. All young people deserve to see
themselves represnted in their sexual and reproductive health education. I
am endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan as a Sexual

and Reproductive Health Champion and I will continue to work towards
policies that attain a true freeedom of sexual and reproductive health for
all.
b. Please share your perspective about integrating the history of
communities of color into curriculums in the public schools. I believe in the
honest teaching of history that is reprsentative of all people. For so long,
historians that write text books have represented only a small
demographic of people and much of history has not been accurately
portryed. I believe we can no longer rely on textbooks alone and need to
study and learn of the lived experiences of people of color. When people
work to suppress the accurrate teachings of history to protect only certain
children, what I see and hear is that the children whose history is in
question are not worthy of being protected. And that is completely
unacceptable to me.
c. Do you support the removal of books some find objectionable from public
school shelves and public libraries? Why or why not? No. Book bans are
misguided attempts to try to suppress the right we all have to explore new
ideas and to learn and think for ourselves.
d. If you support such removals, at what point does the purge of
objectionable books stop? When it is the Quran? When it is the Torah?
The Nag Hamadi? The Bible? What policies will you put in place to
monitor and assess removal of books?
e. If you do not support the removal of objectionable books, what policies will
you support to stop the removal of books from public school libraries?
I would love to work on policy that prevents any future attempts on book
bans within ELPS.

9. There has been a split on how COVID was responded to by schools, and other
government bodies. Please answer the following questions:
a. Did you support the shut down of schools during the COVID-19 crisis?
Why or why not? Yes. I believe in the reason behind the shut down to
mitigate risk. I understood the value of our kids being back in person when
appropriate and I truly longed for it daily, but I respected public health and
safety. I also acknowledged the place of privilege I held by being able to
work from home during this time (to help aid in my children’s education)
that not everyone had.
b. There has been a marked loss of educational gain as a result of the shut
down. How will you address this problem? I will continue to work to
address the opportunity gap that only grew throughout the pandemic by

looking at the data and helping to determine where gaps are, in the hopes
of adding additional supports for studens.

c. Did you support face masks? Why or why not? Yes, to protect ourselves
and greater community.
d. Do you support the COVID-19 vaccine? Why or why not? Yes. I believe in
science and vaccinations for our own health, but also to help protect the
most vulnerable in our society.
e. Do you support vaccination for all students in public schools? Why or why
not?
My family is fully vaccinnated but I also believe in having a choice.
f. There has been a growing mental health crisis among our youth. It was
present before the pandemic, but experts warn it has gotten worse since
the pandemic. If elected, how will you address the mental health needs of
our students?
I will continue to advocate for all mental health supports for students and
staff. I have a daughter that suffers from an anxiety disorder and while I
have always felt supported, I will work to help navigate the offerings with
other families that might not know what is available to them within ELPS.
I think it’s important to de-stigmatize mental health issues and will always
work to build up our district as a safe and welcoming place where all
children feel supported and seen.

10. There have been a number of school shootings, with deeply tragic consequences
for students, teachers and administrators alike – as well as communities. If
elected, what will you do to address the school violence crisis, including school
shootings?

I believe we need to continue to invest in relationship building throughout. If
you’ve had the privilege of witnessing our student advocates interact with our
kids, you see how affective these relationships are. If you have seen our
teachers focus more on relationship building vs. “classroom management” you
see the difference it truly makes.
We need more adult per child ratios and support for teachers who are the first to
note distress. In this vein, I support the hiring of more general education social
workers and student advocates.
Additionally, I am pro preventative school discipline vs. punitive discipline to
support students struggling. I also support the development of healthy school

cultures that work empathetically with children while addressing underlying
behavioral concerns including trauma, poverty, and academic issues. ELPS staff
has taken a lot of Professional Development to support this and as our district
leans in, I’m grateful we are in place where our administrators understand how
important this is.
As far as addressing school violence issues, I am a member of the national
group Moms Demand Action, and will continue to seek ways to support their
initiatives as they fight for public safety measures to protect people from gun
violence.
11. Elections have become a serious concern for some voters. Please answer the
following questions:
a. If you lose your election, will you accept the results? Why or why not?
Yes. I believe in our process at the integrity of the polls.
b. If your election is close and you chose to pay for a recount, will you accept
the result of a recount? Why or why not? I would not choose to pay for a
recount.
c. Much has been made about the 2020 election. Do you believe Donald
Trump won the election? Why or why not?No. I believe in our process at
the integrity of the polls.
d. Do you believe there was widespread election fraud? Why or why not?
No. I believe in our process at the integrity of the polls.
e. Do you believe leaders in Washington are involved in a secret pedophilia
ring? Why or why not? No.
f. Do you believe the Jan. 6 Capitol incident was appropriate in light of the
election? Why or why not? No. I believe in peaceful protesting, but this
was violent and a misguided coup.

12. Are you a member, or have you ever been a member or donated to any of the
following organizations:
a. Socialist party - no
b. Rock the Vote -no
c. The Democratic Party - yes
d. Any Democratic Candidate for Office- yes
e. The Republican Party- no
f. Any Republican Candidate for Office- no
g. The American Taxpayers Party-no
h. Any American Taxpayer Party Candidate for Office-no
i. The Heritage Foundation-no
j. People for the American Way-no

k. III Percenters- no
l. Proud Boys-no
13. Please share with readers and voters your qualifications for the position you
seek.
I’ve been volunteering within East Lansing Public Schools since 2013.
I’ve held the official roles of Marble’s Council Secretary, President and Co-
Founder/Secretary of Equity Team. I was also instrumental in changing the name
from Marble Parent Council to Marble School Community Council to encourage a
more inclusive group.
I began chairing Marble’s Fun Run in 2015, eliminating a third party organization
(along with a huge fee that they took so that all money raised went to Marble). In
2018, I worked with the P.E. teacher to revamp the event into an obstacle ninja
warrior course, and it’s since become the Marble Muskrat Movement Mayhem
(M4), an annual fundraising event.
After noticing a need for more support in the Marble cafeteria, I began
volunteering during breakfast every day to greet children, help them with
breakfast and encourage them to finish in order to make it to class on time. We
did this from 2015- March 2020 (due to COVID resttrictions.)
I served as the Communications Manager on the YES for East Lansing Schools
Bond campaign in 2017, managing team communications/social media, speaking
with community members at forums, and canvassing all of our neighborhoods.
It’s this work that helped to pass the Bond to rebuild five elementary schools and
renovate one.
I work with MacDonald Middle School administration and staff on equity initiatives
and am Co-President of Council.
I’ve organized personal needs drives at both Marble and MacDonald and have
helped plan three documentaries/panels at East Lansing High School to promote
community engagement.
I served as co-secretary of the Bailey Community Association Board from 2019-
2021 and understand neighborhood needs/concerns in relation to our schools.
I can speak with knowledge and understanding on behalf of the district because
I’ve been in it, working behind the scenes, for a decade.