Ann Zimmerman
Non-Partisan | Kansas
Candidate Profile*
Moderate
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Ann Zimmerman
Party
Non-Partisan
Election Year
2023
Election
General Municipal and School Board
Race
Salina Public Schools USD 305 Board of Education, At Large
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, BS in Elementary Education, 1979
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, Juris Doctorate, 1988
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
League of Women Voters, Salina, KS, Past President, current Board Member and Vice Pres., Kansas Women Attorneys Association
Former Regional Representative, Heartland Dispute Resolution Association, Former President and Board Member
Musician's Union Local 1000, Traveling Singer-Songwriters, Member, Sunrise Presbyterian Church
Lifelong Member, Kansas Bar Association, Member, former Dispute Resolution Section President
Salina Initiative for Restorative Justice, Founding Member and current Steering Committee Member
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Current School Board Member and Past President, Salina Public Schools, 2015-2023
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
Article about the candidate.
Participated in the Salina USD 305 School Board Candidates Forum (9/30/2023)
*Please note: this information was received by iVoterGuide after panel evaluations occurred and is for additional educational purposes only.
QUESTIONNAIRE*
*Additional information was received after the evaluation was assigned and was not considered in the Panel Evaluations, therefore it is for additional educational purposes only.
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should be a resource for instruction or services in the school.
Neutral
Abortion is a challenging topic to discuss. Students, especially in high school, should be able to have discussions about any and all topics that affect their life and health - they should be comfortable having these challenging discussions with each other and with their teachers.
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Neutral
When life begins is a challenging topic to discuss. Students, especially in high school, should be able to have discussions about any and all topics that affect their life and health - they should be comfortable having these challenging discussions with each other and with their teachers.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Disagree
History shows that healthy economies have thrived with various economic models. Free enterprise and private property have not always been a part of some of those models - for instance, Native American nations and some other traditional civilizations. Students should be able to discuss all the possibilities and compare the outcomes of each.
School districts should be able to use taxpayer money for lobbying the state legislature.
Agree
School district money is almost exclusively taxpayer money. If legislators are to be well-informed about their own public schools, then school staff must have the freedom to discuss school-related information with the legislators, which means, in effect, lobbying. Of course, school board members can also educate their legislators, and since school board members are volunteer, that would not involve taxpayer money.
What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?
For our adults to be wise, well-informed, critical-thinking citizens rather than sheep to be led by the nose, we need good education. It is in our state and country's best interest to fully support excellence in education, so funding that education is money well-invested. If we abandon the funding of education, then children and young adults will be taught whatever the richest want them to know. That is unlikely to be a full, well-rounded education.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
At school, students should be able to speak freely and civilly about matters of conscience and faith, including Christianity.
Agree
Students must have practice in discussing challenging topics. Schools provide an opportunity for students of differing religions and ethnicities to get to know each other and to practice respectful discussion of their similarities and differences.
School districts should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Neutral
People of goodwill disagree on the issue of LGBTQ rights. That issue is one of the challenging topics students, especially in high school, should be allowed to discuss in school with their teachers and fellow students without insult or contempt.
EDUCATION
What is the function of the local school board?
The school board sets the vision, mission and greater goals of the school district and hires the superintendent to carry out those goals/mission/vision. The board then evaluates how well the superintendent is succeeding in that job. The board may steer the sup't by setting performance objectives or may decide that the sup't is inadequate and must be replaced.
Who should have the authority to set curriculum and determine resources used in those curricula?
The superintendent determines the curriculum and resources in line with direction from the state school board.
When should parents be restricted from speaking in school board meetings?
If a parent or member of the public becomes abusive or makes personal attacks in the school board meetings, they will be required to leave. If they have complaints against particular staff members, those are not allowed in the public setting of the school board meeting. In our district, parents are urged to discuss concerns closest to where the concerns are happening - that means discussions with the teacher, coach, librarian, principal or other staff member. School board members do not make the day-to-day decisions that most parents are concerned about, so talking to the board is not always very helpful.
Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): Mathematics, Information Technology, Science, Political Activism, Personal Finances, Gender Identity, Physical Fitness, American History, Critical Race Theory, Language Arts, Art & Music, Vocational Learning, Sexuality, Foreign Language, Social Emotional Learning
I cannot rank these. They are all important, except that "Critical Race Theory" does not belong on the list, as it is not taught in elementary or secondary schools, and generally not in undergraduate university settings, usually only in graduate school. If I had to put one item first, it would be reading. If a child can read, they have the opportunity through reading to learn nearly everything else.
Which more closely matches your view of America's founding principles? A) Liberty and equality. B) Slavery and racism.
Liberty and equality (I would put them in the opposite order - equality, then liberty) were aspirations of the United States from its founding, and we have come closer over the centuries to their realization. Slavery and racism were part of the nation's reality at the time of its founding, but at that time, most people didn't think they were wrong.
What does "equity in education" mean to you?
Equity is a word that has been in the legal lexicon since before the 1600s - it was part of British common law before any Europeans came to North America. I am a lawyer, so I have been learning about equity since law school. Equity means fairness. Equity in education means that each student, regardless of background, income, race, gender, religion, etc., has the opportunity to succeed and to receive a rich education that does not put barriers in their path based on characteristics over which the student has no control.
Written parental consent (opt-in) must be obtained before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) or Social Emotional Learning (SEL).
Disagree
Every human is to some extent a sexual being. Students need information about sexuality. Parents should be able to opt-out if they don't want their children to gain this knowledge, but "opt-in" means the child of any parent who just isn't paying attention misses out even if their parent has no objection. Opt-out allows concerned parents to keep this information away from their child.
The loss of local control in education is too high a price to pay in exchange for federal dollars.
Disagree
Federal dollars pay for crucial services like food at school, reading for students with extra challenges, and other crucial services. Fed. dollars do come with a lot of requirements, but the total federal dollars is small compared to state and local rules/dollars determined right here in our state. Without fed. dollars, we would have more hungry, illiterate children. We can handle some strings to help those students. And with fed. dollars, poorer states don't fall so far behind rich states.
Parents are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and should be able to freely pursue whatever educational options they deem best for their child.
Agree
In my experience, parents with good information most often choose to send their children to public schools.
School boards are accountable to parents and taxpayers.
Agree
Once elected, school board members only have one term - parents and taxpayers don't have to re-elect them.
Do you believe students should have access to materials that graphically depict and describe sexual acts?
Choose not to answer
School materials must be appropriate to the age and maturity of the student. When students are at an age that they can (and some do) get pregnant, a visual aid may help educate them in knowing how to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and emotional pain.
All print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review.
Neutral
Requiring all classroom materials to be posted online or other such publicly available sources is too heavy a burden for individual teachers, who already are not adequately paid and have not enough time in a day. Parents who want to come in and discuss material with their child's teacher can, in the classroom, look over materials to be taught.
Do you believe print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review, including those without children enrolled in school.
No
Parents should have access if they come into the classroom.
VALUES
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I have grown up in the Christian church and have a deep spiritual belief.
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Neutral
In Kansas, the issue of gender in sports is dealt with on a case by case basis by the Kansas High School Activities Association. It should remain that way.
No school official should be involved in the sexual transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.
Neutral
School staff should approach this issue in communication with the child's parents and medical professionals.
No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent.
Neutral
There are a few instances where the parent of a child is destructive to the child. In nearly all cases, it is good to involve the parent.
Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?
All responsible adults should treat sexuality as a healthy, natural aspect of people. I wish it were more openly discussed and not kept as a dirty secret. Of course it should all be done at a level appropriate to the age and maturity of the child.
If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- Physical and emotional health outcomes; contraceptive methods; consent; abstinence; sexual orientation and gender identity; human anatomy/the reproductive system; abortion methods and side effects; stages of pregnancy and fetal development; sex acts and pleasures of sex
I am not an expert in sex ed.
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Choose not to answer
Morality is an aspect of every religion.
I support allowing public middle and high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Neutral
In Kansas, decisions on this topic are delegated to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. I agree with leaving it that way.
Biological males should be allowed in female locker rooms and bathrooms.
Choose not to answer
No school official should be involved in the social or medical transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.
Neutral
This is an issue schools deal with in communication with the child's family members.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Agree
Identification is necessary, but not necessarily a photo ID, especially in small communities where people know each other.
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
A candidate's personal moral values are relevant when considering a candidacy for elective office.
Agree
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Choose not to answer
I am in favor of healthy, happy, well-educated students coming out of our schools.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Did not answer
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
Did not answer
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
Did not answer
I have voted in every election since I was 18.
2ND AMENDMENT
Teachers who are licensed to carry should be allowed to carry guns at school.
Disagree
If law enforcement comes into a school and sees a person with a gun, how will they know that is not the assailant?
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Under what circumstances (if any) should schools be allowed to require vaccinations?
Did not answer
I support mask mandates.
Neutral
Depends on the severity or pervasiveness of the disease and how effective masks are against spread of the disease.
All official open meetings should be live streamed, recorded, and have transcripts available online for public access.
Neutral
Streaming is good, recording for later watching is helpful - but each of those costs in equipment and technology. Transcripts require significant cost of time and wages. All these may be prohibitively expensive in some circumstances, but they are quite useful if they can be done.
All votes should be roll call votes and recorded in meeting minutes.
Disagree
Whenever there are recordings, viewers can see from a raised-hand vote who voted which way.
