Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Ideally, public funding should be: - attached to the student, not the type of school; - directed by the parent, in whole or part, to be used wherever and however; - funding real education, not systems or bureaucracy; - should stop at 12th grade, and not continue into higher education as the question here mentions.

The primary work of a school board is to provide community oversight and accountability of the school’s operations to ensure they are in alignment with the community’s values and priorities. In that light, the primary work of an individual school board member is to listen to the right voices, investigate potential operational infractions, foresee dangers to the district’s mission, prioritize resources for strategic success, speak effectively for the best ideas to build coalitions of agreement, and to identify and empower effective champions to execute healthy solutions to achieve the district’s goals. A great board member is partly an investigative journalist, part accountant, a community leader, and a constant learner. Seeing both the forest and the trees is a necessary skill to advance the long-term strategic interests of the organization without being swayed by individual urgent matters, yet you have to be able to dive into details at a moment’s notice to get work done.

The school board should reserve authority over this area (not the superintendent), under the design constraints of state law and the influence of the priorities and values of the local community.

Almost never. Only in the case of repeatedly-demonstrated disruption or manipulation of productive, respectful conversation. A parent's speech would have a reach a point of inhibiting the speech of other parents or board members MORE THAN ONCE before restricting speech should be considered.

Language Arts, Mathematics, Vocational Learning, American History, Art & Music, Science, Physical Fitness, Personal Finances, Information Technology, Foreign Language

A.

The real definition of equity means making all students the same (uniformity), eventually to the lowest common denominator. Almost all differences of performance or outcomes do not have mythical systemic racism at their root but are instead rooted in God-given differences in the amount and kinds of talents and opportunities given to various children.

Strongly Agree

Yes. I would go so far as to say that most of the “counseling” type programs that are infused into the school day should be relegated to after school hours and be optional by default. Schools can provide the facility where these topics can be taught after school hours, and at the parents’ own expense. The main school day should be exclusively focused on academic and vocational core subjects instead of special topics.

Agree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

No

Agree

I only chose "Agree" rather than "Strongly Agree" because of the technical difficulty of making all these materials "easily" accessible for public review. I philosophically strongly agree that these materials should be easily accessible for public review, but there is some considerable administrative burden to ensure this happens on a regular basis (at least for it to be "easily" accessible).

Strongly Agree

We should begin by not adding any new vaccines to the required schedule, and reports of adverse effects (whether or not the vaccine has been used for a long time) should be investigated and the policy reviewed with any pattern of adverse effects on children. I do not support adding new vaccines to the current Oklahoma schedule to match new recommendations from the CDC. We do not have a public health crisis currently which merits the addition of new vaccine requirements, and to the degree children have been required to take more and more vaccines, we are witnessing more long-term mental, physical, and reproductive problems potentially caused by the more recent additions. At minimum in Oklahoma, we should not add more vaccines to the list than what is currently required to attend school. The CDC in particular has lost all credibility to make medical recommendations when they recently published – without equivocation – that men can become pregnant. I read this pronouncement directly on the CDC website and verified it in its documentation. Since male pregnancy is an inviolable biological impossibility, in good conscience I have to severely question the scientific merit of every pronouncement from the CDC. Oklahoma legislators should instead consult direct the results of clinical trials or the recommendations of other medical groups not named “CDC.”

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

No.

Strongly Agree

Very Conservative

I do not have public interviews of my political views yet, but you can get a sense of my worldview and priorities from this brief interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jared-buswell-transformed-hearts-transform-nations/id1533512825?i=1000586341216

Jared Buswell is the Board Chair of Favor International, a $7 million African education nonprofit transforming war-affected communities with leadership development and economic empowerment. He began serving as a volunteer web designer in 2012 and worked every position from partner development to legal and accounting so that now Favor is 20x financially larger today. On the board, Jared is responsible for advancing and protecting the strategic vision of this donation-supported movement. Locally, Jared owns an award-winning virtual tour and commercial photography company. Recently he started two additional nonprofits training individuals to discern and implement their unique vocation journey and legacy planning. Jared is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, completing programs from four different departments. After graduation, ORU hired him to teach interactive media, graphic design, and soon the senior mass communication capstone course serving international humanitarian projects, until he launched his VR photography small business in 2009. His diverse education experience includes designing online courses, writing curriculum, training the 2010 federal census workers who surveyed west Tulsa, and assisting an oral education project for Afghanistan's first presidential election. Jared is a National Merit Scholar, a Google Trusted Photographer, certified life design coach, and a 15-year resident of west Tulsa. He and Janice are nearing 17 years of marriage. Additional skills and experience that contribute to my potential service on Tulsa’s school board: Nonprofit board service since 2016; Board Chair of a complex international education nonprofit since 2018 (with a one-year sabbatical in 2022): This experience in board leadership equips me with the ability to listen to diverse opinions from around the world, prioritize strategic goals, and wrangle busy, talented people to accomplish great work. Intellectual accolades (such as National Merit Scholar) and experiences (such as finishing Calculus 1, 2, 3, and Differential Equations by age 17) from my very positive public school K-12 experience: These experiences help me view educational reform from a position of health (what actually works), rather than only fixing what is apparently wrong (temporary Band-Aids that don’t address root issues, or new-fangled ideas that create two new problems for every one they solve). Small business entrepreneurship, particularly in VR photography: This experience of photographing over 2,000 places for hire in eight states equips me with the knowledge of what issues diverse industries face and how they operate. I am an on-the-ground expert knowing many of our regional companies and what they need from an educated workforce, as well as having walked the difficulties of starting and running my own small venture that I am still operating 14 years later. Life alignment coaching, gifts and strengths identification, personality assessment, and human development research: My research and coaching certifications equip me to know key principles of unlocking human potential that will help guide my decisions in which paradigms I suggest adopting or avoiding in public education. Raising funds and logistical support for trainers and educators serving populations in war-affected villages in South Sudan and surrounding countries: this experience working with international educators in the most desperate of situations makes me unintimidated by excuses of economic disadvantage for causing low academic performance. Varied education specialist experiences, from teaching at the university level (including a senior capstone source), to designing a university degree program, to producing online courses, to writing curriculum, and studying educational design: these experiences help me appreciate and ask the right questions of the instructional design aspects of our school district. Experience growing a nonprofit organization to 20 times its original size over a period of 11 years: in that work, I learned principles of donor development, legal oversight, accounting systems, and employee management that will be useful while serving on the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education. What differentiates me from the current school board members: I’m the only candidate coming onto the school board with extensive board experience. I have the unique ability to know a little bit about just about everything (this skill is surprisingly useful on a board of a large, complex organization like TPS to ask educated questions about a wide variety of topics). I come to the position with an extensive, comprehensive understanding of the purpose, potential, and history of education. When I advocate for or against a position, it is not only because of a value or from good judgment (which are essential), but from an informed position of knowing the philosophical and practical foundation of why I believe what I believe.

Jesus is God Incarnate, the King of kings, and Lord of all. He is the centerpiece of history, which is redemptive in nature. The Kingdom of God was Jesus' primary topic of teaching (not personal salvation), and so this topic is my day-time business and most important area of inquiry. Because my faith is Kingdom-minded, I am naturally able to see and participate in the value of what God is doing in almost any denomination or local context, without violating key principles. I believe in God's global family of faith and invest in sharing the Gospel to people who have not had the opportunity yet to hear and participate in the life God has prepared for them.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

I would love to work for a district where we can clearly say to any employee that if you don't affirm the biological SEX of a minor child, then this district will not affirm your paycheck.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Parents are the responsible party to teach this topic. I do not believe there is a one-size-fits-all appropriate age to teach it, but parents know when their individual children are ready. In fact, values, attitudes, and information regarding sex education are gradually instilled over many years, not all at once.

Generally sex education should be left to the parents because the topic is strongly intertwined with values. Since this question is a required answer, I will list the following provided topics: stages of pregnancy and fetal development; human anatomy/the reproductive system; abstinence;

Strongly Agree

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams

Strongly Disagree

We must require photo ID for all voters at all times, no exceptions.