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Kathleen Richards
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Kathleen Richards ran for election for an at-large seat of the Higley Unified School District in Arizona. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Richards completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Kathleen Richards earned a bachelor's degree from the Catholic University of America in 2001.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Higley Unified School District, Arizona, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Higley Unified School District, At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Higley Unified School District, At-large on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tiffany Shultz (Nonpartisan) | 18.4 | 16,307 | |
| ✔ |  | Sara Jarman (Nonpartisan) | 17.6 | 15,669 |
| ✔ |  | Scott Glover (Nonpartisan)  | 17.5 | 15,540 |
 | Kathleen Richards (Nonpartisan) | 17.2 | 15,244 | |
| Marc Garcia (Nonpartisan) | 16.9 | 14,980 | ||
 | Duane Francis (Nonpartisan) | 12.1 | 10,751 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 293 | ||
| Total votes: 88,784 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Richards in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kathleen Richards completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Richards' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Kathleen Richards has been a proud Gilbert resident and HUSD parent since 2016. She and her husband of 19 years have two daughters ages 12 and 9 who have attended HUSD schools since their Early Childhood Education starts. Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Music from The Catholic University of America and is an ASU Gammage Teaching Artist trained in The Kennedy Center Arts Integration Method. Over her 20+ year career, Kathleen has worked as an arts educator in and out of schools, a performing artist, a non-profit fundraiser and Development Director, a grants administrator and program manager and a software sales engineer. Kathleen is currently an active HUSD volunteer, a substitute teacher through ESI and teaches private voice and acting lessons. She has participated in various HUSD focus groups and most recently served on a Citizens Committee focused on assessing district needs and the possibility of placing a bond & override on the district ballot in November 2024.
Kathleen is an active participant in board meetings as a parent and tax payer and has engaged with administration regarding concerns and successes both at a school and district level. HUSD needs leaders who will work to retain and recruit students and teachers, who will strive to maintain academic excellence and someone who will work with parents and the community to strengthen relationships and communication. Kathleen looks forward to using her education skills and community ties to serve all HUSD families.
- Students and teachers are at the core of the work that happens in every school. Without these two components, there is no education. We need to understand what drives families to choose HUSD for their educational journeys, and we need to remain competitive in order to retain them. Similarly, we must be competitive with our offerings for teachers, making sure that HUSD recruits and retains the best educators to deliver for our families. We cannot ignore the needs of our families and teachers if we want to maintain the highly rated status of our district and continue to expand our offerings as our district continues to grow.
- Parents play a key role in the education of their children. It is important to ensure that, as a district, we are doing the work to ensure that we provide effective and quality communication for happenings district wide as well as site by site. Education is at its best when parents and educators share a strong partnership built on respect for each others roles in the process. We need to continue to hold all parties accountable, administration, teachers, students and parents in this relationship. Without mutual accountability from all parties, our students cannot possibly achieve peak performance as the future leaders of our communities.
- We need to make sure our schools are adequately funded. Arizona currently operates with a funding structure for public schools that relies heavily on taxpayers, and does not adequately fund our schools at a state level. We have the lowest per pupil funding in the US. While many taxpayers balk at the idea of additional taxes, we also cannot afford the ramifications of underfunded schools. We must invest in the future of our community, both locally by approving bond and override measures, and by demanding our legislators adequately fund public education. These actions enable our schools to provide the skills needed to shape the leaders of tomorrow, as well as ensure our communities continue to be highly sought after and respected.
Public education is my number one passion in the policy sector. As a long time educator, and now parent, I see every day how far a dollar is stretched to make so much possible. Magic happens in classrooms each and every day with amazing, highly trained educators and our kids -- and it is our job as parents and community members to ensure that those educators have the resources they need to help students thrive. Whether that be in the area of supplies, infrastructure, curriculum, mental health, arts or athletics, we must continuously advocate to strengthen our public schools for the future of our state and country.
Communication first and foremost, which is a two way street. It is as important to listen as it is to be heard. As a school board member, we must listen to the concerns, accolades and questions of our community and ensure that they are being handled appropriately. It is also important to make sure that the board processes are accessible to the community in a variety of ways. We live in a world where people receive important information from a variety of sources, and we must work to ensure we are utilizing the right channels for our community.
Respect is another key principal for an elected official. While we may not all agree on all matters, there must be respect for the process, for the expertise of others, and for the mission of our educational system. Along with respect comes accountability for all parties involved. No educational system can fully exist with out keeping all parties accountable, and those parties include the administration, teachers, students and parents. With mutual respect and accountability we can demonstrate true leadership to our students, and help them reach their fullest potential.
Respect is another key principal for an elected official. While we may not all agree on all matters, there must be respect for the process, for the expertise of others, and for the mission of our educational system. Along with respect comes accountability for all parties involved. No educational system can fully exist with out keeping all parties accountable, and those parties include the administration, teachers, students and parents. With mutual respect and accountability we can demonstrate true leadership to our students, and help them reach their fullest potential.
I am a firm believer in finding the good and looking for magic in each day. It may seem like a Pollyanna viewpoint, but when we make an effort to seek out the best in a person or situation, we often find it and then some. I believe that my belief in our community, our students, teachers and families and my strong ties within make me accessible, relatable and a "get it done" leader.
The role of a school board member is clearly defined into three parts.
1. Hiring of the Superintendent
2. Setting policy & approving curriculum
3. Approving budgets
Every tax payer within the boundaries of HUSD is a constituent of the HUSD school board. We must provide our community with solid education for the students in our care not only to serve our mission as educators, but also to ensure the value of living in our community. When schools in the area thrive, so do the taxpayers in the value of their homes.
As an arts educator, I would love to see our district expand more from STEM to STEAM on all campuses. I have had the unique opportunity at our own elementary school to support teachers with a drama club since 2022. This outlet has drastically improved behaviors, focus and academics for numerous students. It has helped several of our kids find a sense of community where they had been struggling, thereby improving mental health. The presence of the arts in daily instruction has been a documented aid in testing and improving general testing scores. There are so many areas from confidence, to community, to critical thinking and mental flexibility that increasing arts access creates. I would love to see more of our schools take advantage of what it could do for their student populations.
I fully support the continuation of our current override as previously approved by our community. In addition, in order to ensure the safety and quality of our academic offerings and infrastructure needs, I support an additional bond that will provide the finances necessary to expand our Williams Field HS campus that operates above capacity, improve our aging transportation department, and provide necessary safety and technology upgrades to all our campuses, along with necessary maintenance of aging buildings.
In addition to this support, I will continue to advocate for better funding at a state level. We are currently at the lowest level of per pupil funding in the nation, and it shows. We cannot continue to allow the do more with less mentality to rob our students of the best education possible at the K-12 level.
In addition to this support, I will continue to advocate for better funding at a state level. We are currently at the lowest level of per pupil funding in the nation, and it shows. We cannot continue to allow the do more with less mentality to rob our students of the best education possible at the K-12 level.
School safety is a huge concern for every parent. As a mom myself, I make sure to send my children off to school with extra care each day so that no matter what the day might bring, they know they are cherished and loved. We must look at the communication protocols that exist as a district to ensure that parents are kept as in the loop as possible when potential danger exists. We must also make sure that we are advocating at a state and national level for the common sense safety structures that will ensure our kids come home each and every day.
AZ has a dismal ratio of counselors to students. We have placed the burden of mental health needs on teachers, which is drastically increasing the teacher burn out rate. Our campuses must have professionals focused on assisting our students and teachers with their mental health needs. These same experts and professionals must not have a caseload of 1000's of students when serving multiple sites, but should be able to work on building relationships with not just the students but the families as well. The theme of partnerships and accountability continue here, as we must shift the mental health responsibilities to individuals with the appropriate training and give those same experts the space and time to actually provide the services and communication necessary to protect the students and teachers. This comes down once again to funding. This is a moment where I look forward to leveraging my background in grants and funding to help our district find ways to grow our counseling team to more adequately serve our population.
What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back?
A stick.
A stick.
Save our Schools
Gilbert Chamber of Commerce Pro- Business Designation
Gilbert Chamber of Commerce Pro- Business Designation
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 10, 2024
