Kevin Walsh

 Walsh has expressed support for afterschool programs, such as “Lights On After School”[3]. He has also advocated for the continuation of “robust” programs in the arts and music [5]. Walsh hopes to make data-driven decisions to be the most informed about school board policies. He also supports the 3 minute time limit on citizens who address the board [4].

Walsh hopes to provide individualized academic resources to students and create targeted support to help them recover from obstacles created during the pandemic [2]. 

Walsh opposes lowering teacher standards to combat the teacher exodus. He supports Kyrene’s increase in teacher pay during his time as president of the board and wants to continue it [2].

Walsh is concerned about the amount of students acting out in school and hopes to grow Kyrene’s investment in mental health. Walsh hopes to continue funding mental health counselors at every school, and wants to hire more counselors to help students’ emotional needs [2].

 Walsh wants to focus on early literacy for youngest students in the Kyrene District. He also hopes to define students through assessments, and other ways outside of test scores [4].

Walsh supports keeping uniformed school resource officers on middle school campuses, and wants to provide them with training in de-escalation and prevention. To ensure maintenance of security, Walsh hopes to use controlled campus access, video monitoring, and partnerships with law enforcement. He also wants to continue efforts to eliminate bullying, support student mental health, and identify early warning signs [4].

Walsh hopes to continue the Capital Master Plan to manage capital spending funded by bond proceeds. He hopes to continue to spend these funds on repairs in a transparent fashion, and supports actions by the Arizona government such as the Building Renewal Grant fund, but has advocated for more funding. Walsh supports greater per-pupil funding from the state government, and opposes expanding private school vouchers [6]. 

Walsh wants to facilitate communication between teachers and parents regarding what is being taught in the classroom [6].