URIAH'S RECORD
LEADERSHIP
​Uriah has been an effective voice for progress on the School Board.
- Served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair.
- Served on the Policy Workgroup, Board Budget Committee, Governance and Operations Committee, and the Executive Committee.
- Helped lead the effort to hire the new Superintendent.
- Successfully advocated for the creating of the Enrollment and Retention Committee, serving as a member of its Steering Committee. This committee saw a 20% increase in applications to targeted schools.
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TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Uriah has worked diligently to make the work of the Board more transparent and accountable.​
- Wrote the district's new budget policy, which gives the SPPS community more influence over spending decisions.
- Successfully proposed a change to the structure of Board meetings to expand opportunities for public comment.
- Successfully advocated for the livestreaming of Committee of the Board meetings.
- Led the opposition to the adoption of an anti-democratic governance model.
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STUDENT CENTERED
Uriah has kept student wellbeing at the forefront of his work.
- Created the Board's new governance model, which includes the development of goals designed to improve student outcomes and district operations.
- Successfully advocated for Narcan to be made available to school professionals so that students may be given life-saving care in the event of an overdose.
- Has been a consistent advocate for lower class sizes.
- Prevented a premature end to the mask mandate during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Supported the construction of gender-inclusive bathrooms throughout SPPS.
- Assisted in the development of and voted for SPPS's culturally-inclusive smudging policy.
- Voted to make Juneteenth a district holiday.
- Started the practice of editing district policies so they are written in a gender-inclusive manner as they come up for review.
- Voted to adopt the first new math curriculum in 20 years, selecting the one that seemed the best fit for our diverse study population.
- Successfully advocated for the expansion of yellow bus service to all high schools.
- Supported SPFE's proposal to restore snow days.
- Assisted in the development of and voted for new gender inclusion policies for students and staff.
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PROGRESSIVE VALUES
- Successfully Advocated at the Capitol for Paid Family Medical Leave as well as Unemployment Insurance for School Workers.
- Supported pro-worker project labor agreements.
- Wrote the resolutions that made SPPS the first school district in the country to divest from fossil fuels and private prisons.
- Voted to support funding for the construction of solar panels on SPPS buildings.
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NEXT TERM
Uriah is running for re-election to continue this work. In particular, he believes that he needs to stay on the Board to make certain the changes he has helped to put in place are successful. He wants to make certain the budgeting process and the new governance model are taken care of and improved. And he wants to help guide the work of the next SPPS Superintendent so that the community's vision for this hire is fulfilled.
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