Kath Edsall

Candidate Name: Kath Edsall
Age: 62
Candidate for [Elected Position]: East Lansing Board of Education
Candidate Website: N/A
Candidate Contact for Public: kathedsall@yahoo.com
Are you registered with any party? If so, please share your party affiliation: Democrat
Please share all your social media accounts: Facebook
Please include a high quality photo of the candidate.
1. What motivated you to run for the position you are seeking election to?
If elected, this will be my third term. During my tenure, we have done some good things to
support teachers and students and I hope to continue to be a part of this work. I/we have
supported teachers in contract negotiations and health care decisions. We have written policies to
protect marginalized teachers and students. We created a mental health advisory board and
brought our sex education advisory board into compliance. Both have led to additional supports
for our students. We have added counselors and student advocates to help students navigate
issues surrounding mental health and safety. Through professional development, we are
supporting teachers as we all learn how best to support racially marginalized students. We have as
a goal to hire a more racially diverse teaching staff and the superintendent has hired a
significantly diverse cabinet and administrative staff. We passed a bond that rebuilt five and
significantly remodeled our sixth elementary building to improve the working/learning
environment. It is my hope to continue to do more.

2. What is your vision for the public body you want to serve on?
To continue the work we have been doing. (See above)
3. How does your vision differ from that of your opponents?
I have no idea.
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?
Currently, most schools are getting the same per pupil funding. The problem with equal is that it
doesn’t address the greater needs for school districts that have more kids living with trauma,
racism, poverty etc. Furthermore, while there have been significant increases in funding, it is
lower than it needs to be. While addressing the underfunding of schools is not a required duty
of a Board of Education member, I have contacted my legislators and participated in public
discussions about options to increase funding.

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?

I feel that the quality of education a child receives should not depend on the zip code
his/her/their parents can afford to live. While I view schools of choice as a stop gap measure to
assure some students a higher quality education, the long-term goal must be to bring all districts
up to the same educational level so schools of choice is unnecessary.

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?

I do not support vouchers. As taxpayers, we should know that certain standards are being met
when we pay for public education. We are also here to educate all students. Vouchers allow
discrimination on who can attend a school and allow private school to circumvent public school
standards.

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?

If fewer students were attending ELPS, we would still have the same per pupil funding, but we
would have less total funding. Having fewer classes but keeping class sizes as they are now
avoids most major budgetary issues.

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.
During my first term, we added protections to include gender identity and gender expression.
We have added sex education curriculum specific for LGBTQIA+ students. We are working on a
diverse book collection for elementary aged students.

b. Please share your perspective about integrating the history of communities of
color into curriculums in the public schools.

We are currently working on equity in our schools from every angle including curriculum. Just
this last year we updated our procedures around curriculum review, adopting new curricula to
include doing an equity audit on each one.

c. Do you support the removal of books some find objectionable from public school
shelves and public libraries? Why or why not?
No, because who gets to decide what is objectionable and what is not. Who draws the line?
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?
Any policy that prohibits the removal of books.
9. There has been a split on how COVID was responded to by schools, and other
government bodies. Please answer the following questions:

I supported the shut down due to COVID until there was a vaccine available and both students
and staff had time to get it and build immunity.

b. There has been a marked loss of educational gain as a result of the shut down.
How will you address this problem?

The district held summer programming the last two years. It was differentiated based on the
needs of the child. Teachers are also very good at differentiating curricula to meet the needs of
our students based on the Tier 1-3 support structures already in place. This will be an ongoing
need and process.

c. Did you support face masks? Why or why not?

Yes, facemasks were shown to decrease the transmission of the virus. We needed the kids to be
back to face to face learning and so we also needed to protect teachers and students any way
possible.

d. Do you support the COVID-19 vaccine? Why or why not?

Absolutely. It’s science and I am a scientist.

e. Do you support vaccination for all students in public schools? Why or why not?

I feel that right now, given how politicized the virus became, that voluntary immunization is the
best choice. Hopefully, soon, we can come to an agreement about required Covid vaccines.

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?

We have already implemented curriculum (TRAILS at the high school and Second Step for
younger kids), added social workers and student advocates, created a mental health advisory
board and put suicide hot line numbers on our student IDS.

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?

The supports listed above, that are in place to address mental health issues, are also in place to
give kids at least one adult to talk to if they are struggling or if they need to report someone
else. Our buildings have secure entrances, and the new elementary buildings have lockdown
doors for each wing. However, this isn’t an individual school issue. This past summer the school
board passed a resolution asking our elected officials to pass legislation tighten gun access so
the weapons that cause so much harm are severely limited.

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, we live in a democracy, and I believe in the integrity of our election process.

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?

Yes, because I believe in the integrity of our election process.

c. Much has been made about the 2020 election. Do you believe Donald Trump
won the election? Why or why not?

No, he lost by seven million votes as well as a landslide in the electoral college. I believe this
because I believe in the integrity of our election process.

d. Do you believe there was widespread election fraud? Why or why not?

No, because it hasn’t been proven despite many attempts to do so in court as well as recounts,
and I believe in the integrity of our election process.

e. Do you believe leaders in Washington are involved in a secret pedophilia ring?
No
Why or why not?

I believe sex trafficking exists, I believe pedophilia exists and it is possible someone in
Washington is participating in these (ieMatt Gaetz), however, there is no proof that this is
happening on a large scale.

f. Do you believe the Jan. 6 Capitol incident was appropriate in light of the
election? Why or why not?

No, January 6 was an insurrection started by the then president and his followers because he
couldn’t handle losing. Those involved should face the appropriate consequences.

12. Are you a member, or have you ever been a member or donated to any of the following
organizations:
a. Socialist party
b. Rock the Vote: Maybe donated, I can’t remember.
c. The Democratic Party: Member
d. Any Democratic Candidate for Office: Donated
e. The Republican Party
f. Any Republican Candidate for Office
g. The American Taxpayers Party
h. Any American Taxpayer Party Candidate for Office
i. The Heritage Foundation

j. People for the American Way
k. III Percenters
l. Proud Boys
13. Please share with readers and voters your qualifications for the position you seek.

In addition to my answer to the first question, I am the parent of 8, foster parent of an 11-
month-old and have had one or more children in the ELPS district for greater than 25 years. I
have participated on many district committees as well as other community volunteer work. I am
passionate about making education work for all students and supporting our teachers.