Meet Dianne
Good Friday, 1964, Anchorage, Alaska. I was 4 ½ years old when the 9.2 earthquake slammed into my family’s house. Somehow, we managed to make it out to the gravel road even though the ground was swelling around us like ocean waves. The trees were almost touching the ground and then snapping back up. Four terrifying minutes later, it stopped, and we realized we had all survived.
Each of us has indelible experiences in our lives; that earthquake is mine. It proved to me, even at that young age, that we live in uncertainty. We plan, we expect, and we hope, but certainty is never ours.
My family rode out that earthquake in the Dimond area of Anchorage where I was born. Our house was just down the road from my grandparents’ 160-acre homestead. Several of their children and grandchildren still live in some of the houses in the many subdivisions that now divide the property.
I eventually left Anchorage to go to college in Arizona where I earned a master’s degree in educational leadership and taught English in Phoenix high schools. I preferred the challenge of at-risk youth and taught at several schools specializing in that population including a boys’ detention facility.
Eventually, I realized that I was not a desert-city dweller, and that I preferred the more pastoral feel of where I grew up. But that was not Anchorage anymore, so I chose the Mat-Su Valley.
I was fortunate to teach at both Houston High and then Colony High where my favorite classes to teach were American Literature, the Bible as Literature, and essay writing.
In 2018 the Valley educators elected me to be president of the Mat-Su Education Association for 4 years. It was an honor to lead in the negotiation process and to work closely with the district to assist in meeting the needs of all the members.
Why I am Running
I am running for Mat-Su School Board because I want to bring transparency and trust to the decisions that profoundly affect our students, parents, and staff.
This June 7th, after watching many years of school board meetings, I had finally witnessed enough. The Board again changed policy with little or no explanation. After many community members spoke to the proposed policy changes regarding teachers and counselors, every Board member except one declined to justify their vote to the public.
Voters deserve to know not just how a board member votes, but WHY they vote that way. How are constituents to know whether their board member is using sound reasoning? Instead, they expect us just to trust them.
I also want to mend the relationship between the employees and the Board. Employees do not feel heard, valued, or trusted. This district has an incredible group of dedicated educators who work both in and outside of classrooms. The fact is, our community benefits when our board and educators are on the same page. I will endeavor to bring our educators, board, and community together to find solutions that work for everyone.