2018 Maryland election results

Kenneth A. Kiler

Kenneth A. Kiler
  • Non-Partisan
  • Age: 67
  • Residence: Manchester

About Kenneth A. Kiler

Education

BA in Mathematics, Washington College 1972 15 +/- hours and student teaching for Teacher Certification, Western MD College 1974

Background

Maryland Army National Guard 1972-1980 1st Lieutenant Graduated with honors from Officer Candidate School and Officer Basic Course in Field Artillery C J Miller, Inc. 1974 – 2004, Vice President 1978 - 2004 Stewart & Tate, Inc. York, PA Executive Vice President 2005 - present

Questionnaire

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1
Teacher pay
Given the financial situation facing CCPS and assuming no significant changes to state funding formulas or commissioner funding support, where does improving teacher salaries rank as a priority for you and why? If you believe it needs improvement, how do you propose doing so?
Kiler: Evaluating and improving teacher salary is one of the top priorities. Based on MD DOE 2017 – 2018 Salary Schedules, Carroll is right in the middle for starting salary, slightly above average at 10 years, but above 75% of the other counties for maximum salary. We need to look at bumping up the starting salary and staying consistent with increases. A year ago we took a good step forward with teacher salaries. We need to continue to monitor that honor the steps. We need to responsibility manage the budget to meet these priorities while maintaining our current tax rates.
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2
School safety
In light of current school shootings and security discussions, what do you believe are necessary steps CCPS should take to ensure the safety of its students? What are your thoughts on School Resource Officers? Crisis counselors?
Kiler: Securing our facilities is an important issue. I do not feel that teachers should be armed. But, the school properties should not be “gun free zones.” Our local police should have a presence at our schools, supplemented by well trained, and armed, School Resource Officers. In past years, we had Crisis Counselors assigned to schools. To stay proactive, we need Behavior Specialists, at each school, who can work with both students and families.
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3
Curriculum
In previous years, there have been discussions about CCPS graduates having to take remedial math and English classes at Carroll Community College. Do you believe CCPS curriculum is rigorous enough and what specific improvements would you like to see made at the local level?
Kiler: Since my children attended Carroll County schools in the 90’s, I have heard of many students having to take remedial math and English classes at college. In some ways, the curriculum may not be rigorous enough. But, we also need to guide students, who are planning to attend college, to take the correct courses to prepare. Unfortunately, some students do not pick that path until too late in high school. We also need to encourage more parental involvement. With family support and the correct guidance in school, I also know many CCPS graduates who tested out of freshman math and English at many colleges.
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4
Career/Tech
What further steps if any should the district take to improve career and technical education offerings?
Kiler: I think we have good career and tech offerings. We do need to constantly evaluate them and stay current with technology. We need to make sure that the maximum number of students can take advantage of the options available. We do not need a new building. Many of the current classes could be in different buildings that are currently not being efficiently used. We need to use available classroom space at Westminster and also around the county at other high school facilities. This would free up space in the current Tech Center to expand capacity for the programs that are not functional in a traditional classroom space. We also need to look at how students can apply and be accepted into these programs. Traditional academic standards for acceptance do not always apply to the opportunities at the Career and Tech Center.
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5
PARCC
What are your thoughts on PARCC and standardized testing in general?
Kiler: PARCC and standardized testing are necessary evils. They do provide accurate measurements of student performance, to some extent. They are accountable, structured and objective. But, do they measure student progress and proficiency over time? Has testing grown to the point that it causes more stress and uses more classroom time than is justified? We need to understand that data from test results are great tools, but not the only tools. They do not measure social skills, work ethic or resourcefulness which are traits also needed to be successful. We need to constantly evaluate the classroom time and monies spend on testing versus the results gained. Much of the testing is worthwhile and useful. But, we cannot let it get out of hand.
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6
Diversity
How important is improving the diversity of the CCPS workforce and how would you proposing doing so? What would be appropriate goals for diversity hiring?
Kiler: Improving the diversity of the CCPS workforce is very important. Adding qualified teachers of color to any school system is a plus. It is interesting that while the percentage of minorities in the CCPS workforce is only about one half the percentage in the county population, the percentage of minority students is much higher. The CCPS has improved the percentage of minority hires in three of the last five years. But, more needs to be done. Having worked in construction for many years and dealt with preset goals, I feel they are not effective. There are too many outside factors. But, CCPS does need to consistently grow the diversity of their workforce. Hiring managers need to expand their recruitment efforts to more schools that have a larger minority enrollment. We need to find more incentives for minority teachers to come here, possibly through extra-curricular opportunities or community programs.
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