My family

Jay Shelley

Timpanogos School Board

Ask Jay's AI

About Me

I am an involved father, and my wife and I have 5 kids in both public and private schools, so I’ve seen the best of both worlds and seen what we can improve. I have a Masters of Accounting from BYU and studied entrepreneurship. I’ve spent my career in public accounting, four technology startups, and investing in public and private companies, so I care not only about being fiscally responsible, but also about the value we receive for money spent. As PTA Treasurer at Cascade Elementary I implemented changes that have been organically adopted throughout our PTA council and even the Utah State PTA Treasurer has confirmed that the way we are accepting Venmo payments is in compliance with their “No Venmo” policy!

Check back. More details coming soon.

I want to help negotiate the split of Alpine’s assets, set up our district with more transparency and accountability, and encourage increased parent-teacher involvement. I will work to implement creative solutions that will incentivize administrators to be in touch with what’s happening in the classrooms and reduce school closures, while saving financially in a significant way. Sound impossible? Let’s talk.

Check back. More details coming soon.

Most importantly, our children need to like school and thrive academically. We have a huge opportunity to improve the educational lives of our children, let’s not squander it! I'd love to talk with you! Please text or call me at 925-231-5196. Show more

We moved from California to Utah in 2014, just before our oldest entered elementary school. We chose to move to Utah for two reasons. First, we wanted to provide our children with the best opportunities for an excellent education. Second, we wanted to avoid a move in their most formative years, so we looked for an educational community that we felt would meet their needs through their entire educational experience.

My cousin teaches in Utah’s Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program. She believes enrolling children in a DLI program is a fairly easy step a parent can take that will pay dividends throughout a child’s life. She cited a number of reasons we should enroll our children in a DLI school. She told us children naturally learn languages more easily when they are young, and the constant game of charades teachers have to play to communicate in the classroom is really beneficial because learners are receiving both audible and visual queues, which is much more engaging and effective. Our conversations sparked my interest, so we started our home search by visiting the Chinese immersion schools in Utah County. After our visit to Cascade Elementary, we decided it was the best fit for our family. We even purchased a house within viewing distance of the school.

Over time I became so involved in my career that even when I was home I was not very present, or involved in our childrens’ education. This all changed when I was asked to be a “Watch DOG” by my first grader. The Watch DOGS program seeks to involve fathers by encouraging them to help out at the school one day during the school year. My child’s teacher, Mr. Abbott, asked me to sit in the hall and help students who were struggling with math. I spent a short five minutes with each student. It was simple, but I saw first hand how helping with the little things can make a difference – for teachers and students alike. Our teachers have an enormous challenge educating so many children at once, all while managing classroom logistics and minutiae. After this experience, I became more involved in my children’s education.

Years later, a friend with an award-winning business start-up was struggling to identify his target customers. In order to overcome this problem, we began reaching out to anyone who had used his platform. During our phone interviews we would ask who else they believed could benefit from using the platform. Frequently we would hear that Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) would love it. We learned that the next week was the Utah PTA Leadership Convention. We were able to set up a booth at that convention, and signed numerous PTA units. In my free time, I was given permission to attend some of the classes. In doing so, I learned of the many challenges PTAs face and I committed to serve if the chance arose.

A few weeks later, I volunteered when Nalani Young, our PTA President at Cascade Elementary, sent out an email looking for a PTA Treasurer. Someone else volunteered just before I did, so I served the following year as PTA Treasurer with Aimee Monson as our PTA President. The following year, I became PTA treasurer.

As treasurer, I was responsible for managing funds. However, I was also able to find a way to reduce some of our fixed costs. For example, instead of using the State PTA’s preferred insurance provider, I moved to another provider which reduced our cost by half but still provided the same benefits. I shared this information with our PTA Council and most of those schools followed suit.

Another improvement came as Cascade was coming out of COVID, we could see our teachers were in need of additional support. I recommended we allocate a significant portion of our PTA budget to help teachers with supplies they needed. The PTA Executive Committee agreed. To request supplies from the PTA a teacher simply submitted a half-page form telling us what they needed and how it would benefit their classroom. It was a simple set of creative solutions that helped teachers feel our love and support. And they were thrilled to receive packages delivered daily to the school office.

The next year, I served again as Treasurer, but this time with Rachel Hall and Karen Clarke as the Presidents. During this year our prior PTA President, Aimee Monson, suggested we do our Teacher Grants through DonorsChoose, a website that allows businesses and individuals to match contributions made by parents for supplies teachers request. I quickly adopted the idea and figured out how to get alerts whenever there were 3x matches. I also figured out how to opt out of the default platform fees DonorsChoose charges. In addition, I asked our Principal and PTA to agree that rather than splitting the very small amount of money we were getting from AmazonSmile and from Smith’s cashback evenly between the PTA and the school, I wanted all the AmazonSmile money (which at the time was less than Smith’s) to come to the PTA, and the school could have the Smith’s funds. I also received a commitment from the PTA that we would only use AmazonSmile funds for Teacher Grants.

During my required seven minute presentation to the school to review the budget, I took 90 seconds and guided the parents step-by-step to sign up for AmazonSmile. Funds started rolling in. Despite a 40% reduction in fund from the PTA, because of AmazonSmile and DonorsChoose matches, we were able to nearly triple the impact for teachers! I love finding creative solutions to complex problems. It is especially fun when the solution benefits teachers and students. So often decisions don’t have to be linear if we work together and think outside the box.

I love finding solutions when others don’t see a way. For example, I called PayPal to get card readers for collecting payments at the Cougar Crawl. I asked if there might be a way to avoid paying $80 per card reader because we were officially a 501(c)(3). When they looked into it, they said we could get three free card readers if we showed proof of our nonprofit status. Then, we had conversations about other benefits we could access. We set up a PayPal Giving Fund account to receive donations, including by credit card, without paying credit card processing fees—this saved us $400 per year. I also learned we could accept Venmo payments through the Zettle card readers, and the Venmo payments would be processed through our PayPal business account. I knew that Utah PTA had banned the use of Venmo, but I understood the reason for the ban was that there wasn’t a compliant way for PTAs to have a business or personal Venmo account. So, I began accepting Venmo payments with our card readers through our PTA’s PayPal account because we were complying with both the spirit and the letter of the Utah PTA guidelines.

At the end of my two years as Treasurer, I contacted Utah PTA and was asked to email information about the improvements we made to the State PTA Treasurer. On July 14, 2022, PTA Leadership responded to my email, stating that reviewing what I sent them about our process for accepting Venmo was “at the top of [their] list to verify the process and to make sure that it fit within the scope of [their] policies and procedures.” Since I was no longer Treasurer and didn’t receive further communication, I assumed they had updated the PTA Handbook after verifying the process.

A little over three years later, as I began running for School Board, I decided to look at the Treasurer’s Handbook to see the changes that had been made. To my dismay, they still had a “No Venmo” policy. So, I reached out again to the State Treasurer on July 4, 2025, by email, and on July 16, I received confirmation that, as long as we didn’t open a Venmo account (which we didn’t), we were in compliance with Utah PTA’s “No Venmo” policy.

I hope that Utah PTA Leadership will take the time to review this process, since they said over three years ago that it was at the top of their list! In the meantime, if you’re in a PTA and are interested, you can follow my lead and accept Venmo payments, while being fully compliant, by using a PayPal account and a Zettle (now called "PayPal POS") credit card reader that you can get for free.

After serving for two years as the PTA Treasurer and receiving the Outstanding Volunteer Award, I was asked if I would be the PTA President, but I felt like it was time to let others serve in that capacity, so I oversaw the nominating committee to recruit a new president.

The more active I became in our children’s education, the more I began to realize how each of our children had their own strengths and challenges. I also saw that education shouldn’t be a one size fits all solution. For example, our first grader was told by an older sibling something that was interpreted as if they got to the twelfth level of the online learning app Lexia, then they could skip to the 12th grade. This child did hours of Lexia every evening. By third grade the teacher reset my child back to the 1st level of Lexia because she said it was impossible to be at the 20th level. Our child went through all the levels again. As you can imagine, this child became very bored in school. For the next three years we would learn at parent-teacher conferences that teachers loved our child in their classroom. This child would help the teacher by assisting other students who were struggling. While teaching is such an amazing way to reinforce learning, helping other students for three years without learning much of anything new was detrimental. We needed something more for this child.

Another child struggles with executive functioning. At parent-teacher conference we heard that this child would creatively distract the other students and wouldn’t stop until the principal was called. Our child struggled to sit still in class and was growing a complex of feeling stupid, even though this child has great intellectual gifts. After doing an amazing STEM Fair project and winning first place at the district and state level, our child’s self-perception began to change. However, we still struggled with so many other things. For example, math was challenging because teachers required that all answers be submitted through Canvas, and the answer for each math problem had four dropdown style answers. If students mess up any one of these, the computer doesn't help them learn, it just tells them they are wrong, which makes them feel dumb without helping them learn. Math took three to four times as long as it should, and forced our child to solve a math problem one way–the teacher's way.

These challenges, and more, forced us to make some difficult decisions and critically examine each child’s way of learning and the education he or she was receiving. Over the course of a couple years, we moved three of our five children to a private school–each for different reasons. We feel like it’s been the best solution, but not without its drawbacks.

Here are the benefits we’ve seen for our kids in private school:

  1. The school doesn’t promote technology unless it significantly enhances student learning.
  2. Smaller class sizes results in teachers spending more time on each student's individual development.
  3. Teachers are trusted to build excellent curriculum and are often asked what they want to teach, which results in inspirational teaching for both the teacher and the student.
  4. Students participate in evaluating new teachers before they are hired by doing a mock lesson and offering real feedback. Students feel trusted and engaged.
  5. Teachers view their job as assisting parents in their role to educate their children. It’s incredible the amount of input the school accepts from parents.
  6. The lack of cell phones inside the classroom means students are more focused on learning and aren’t subject to peer pressure and distractions in class. They’re able to be present.
  7. Uniforms allow students to be judged for their character rather than by the clothes they wear. This has been a huge advantage for one of our children.

The private school knows very well that each year they may lose their students. They care immensely about creating a great experience so their "customers" will return.

Here are just a few of the things we miss and loved at the public schools:

  1. Some of teachers at the public schools were the most incredible teachers we've ever had, and our kids miss them a lot. We ought to honor and reward the most incredible teachers!
  2. Public schools are already paid for with tax money so they are essentially free to attend.
  3. We love having community schools close to our home. No school commute and having their friends living nearby are really big.
  4. Opportunities to participate in team sports are often better at public schools. It’s taken us time and effort to navigate this at the private school.
  5. Language Immersion - this has been really challenging because we moved to Utah to a large degree to do Chinese Immersion. We would love for our kids to continue at least until they take the AP Chinese Exam.

The decision to stay in public school or to move to private school has been difficult for each of our children and has weighed heavily on my wife and me. Public schools need to give parents and students reasons to stay–currently they act too much like a monopoly (not held accountable for poor results/low satisfaction). I believe public schools can outcompete private schools, charter schools and homeschool. However, we need to take steps to do so, especially considering the addition of the Utah Fits All Scholarship. Let’s give parents and students more reasons to choose their local public school!

So, what can we improve upon or change to make the decision easier for families to choose our public schools? I have listed a few of those ideas on my platform. Ultimately, we are taking a huge step forward with the division of Alpine School District, allowing for more local control. However, we need to be deliberate in taking the best of what we currently have from ASD, and introduce improvements that benefit our students and teachers. We need purposeful ideas, policies and direction that will encourage the love of learning, challenge them to succeed beyond the classroom, and improve our world by looking outside themselves. Let’s do our best for the good of our children and our community, so families will want to move to Orem, Lindon, Pleasant Grove and Vineyard. Let’s make our school district the place families want to be, because our schools are the optimal places of learning and assist students in becoming their best versions of themselves!

Platform

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS: We can keep more schools open, while reducing costs, and incentivize administrators to understand first-hand the issues in our schools. Show more

Most everyone I’ve met agrees that we want:

  • Our new school district to be fiscally sound and not be constantly increasing taxes
  • Keep our smaller community schools open and reduce school closures
  • Administrators who listen to parents, teachers, and students

Because we won’t have an administrative office after the split, we could put ⅓ of the administrative offices in some unused rooms in a school that has had a declining student population, and do that at three different schools. This would:

  1. Utilize the buildings we already have, and eliminate the problem of where we should house the administrators
  2. Help keep those in administration directly in touch with what’s going on in the schools rather than moving them to an office away from what’s happening in the classrooms, which helps them see what's happening daily
  3. Saves our new district the cost associated with building offices and prevents tax increases

Where most people see insurmountable problems, I look for creative solutions.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT: Teachers, students and parents all benefit when we work together. Show more

Unfortunately, there’s been a trend in schools of parents becoming critical and scrutinizing teachers, and teachers requesting to have less parental involvement in classrooms. This results in parents not understanding how to best help their children at home, and not having firsthand experience seeing the incredibly difficult job teachers do.

It further results in lower test scores and increased costs, which leads to increased class sizes and hiring more teacher aides.

Students benefit most when they have the support of both teachers and parents. Parents can better provide support when they are able to observe classes and be directly involved both at home and at school. Teachers do best when students and parents are both involved in the classroom and care about what’s best for all.

When we break the cycle of distrust between educators and parents and work for the good of children, we achieve the best learning outcomes for students, more sanity for teachers, and a fiscally responsible school district.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: Cost of education is rising, while learning outcomes have been diminishing. Show more

Because Alpine is one of the largest school districts in the country there were financial benefits of scale for administrative costs. When we split we will lose the administrative financial benefits of scale, and will need to be cognizant to operate efficiently to prevent expenses that directly impact students’ education.

We have three important decisions to make that will directly impact the trajectory of financial responsibility in our new district:

  1. Negotiating the division of ASD assets.
  2. Setting in place administrative policies that will shape our district for years to come.
  3. Hiring a financially responsible Superintendent and Business Administrator.

These decisions will determine taxes for all our residents, both those with children attending school, and those who don’t have children in public schools.

In our new district we can achieve high learning outcomes and do it cost effectively, but it’s not going to happen unless we are deliberate and think creatively about both.

TRANSPARENCY: What results are we getting for the taxpayer money we’re spending? Show more

Principals know. For example, our children are in the Chinese immersion program and I’ve asked the Junior High Principal for details regarding students’ how many students stick with the program after elementary school, and about students’ performance on the AP Chinese Exam. The principal shared a large amount of data with me, which was very effective in helping our children determine how they wanted to proceed in the program. Additionally our Principal knew which teachers were able to take a class of struggling post-covid students and meet them where they were – at about half a grade behind – and helped them get half a grade ahead, all within a single year. They know the educational outcomes so why don’t parents?

We need to recognize and reward teachers who are this amazing, and we ought to be much more transparent with how we are doing at educating.

I believe we have a responsibility to be transparent not only financially, but also with the results achieved, and we should recognize teachers who are so amazing. When our new district is established on a foundation of transparency and driven to help students achieve, we’ll naturally attract the best teachers and administrators who are happy to be recognized for their amazing contributions.

EXCITEMENT FOR LEARNING: How excited are our children to learn? Show more

Our children are our future - they will be our doctors and lawyers, our electricians and plumbers. Their education and excitement for learning is critical to our collective future. Unfortunately, when I ask children what their favorite subjects are in school it’s uncommon that I find anyone who mentions a core academic subject. All too frequently I hear jokes or comments like: “Schools are made of bricks, and prisons are made of bricks” (followed by a look that says, don’t you see they’re the same) - what a shame! We can, and must, do better for our children.

I believe in a future where children are excited to attend school, and excited to learn! This isn’t rocket science. The surveys Alpine has done through the years need to be more than lip-service and fake listening. Students have amazing ideas and contribute to the direction of our schools, but currently ASD has primarily listened only to the State and those who sue. We haven’t even gotten to really collaborating with parents in an effective way, and really we should be going past just parents and also involve the students in a much larger way than I’ve ever seen in public education.

We ought to listen to our children to create an environment where they want to learn, rather than obligatory learning.

Discover more about my views and platform through an interactive AI I’ve trained: AI.jayshelley.com

Experience

Public School Volunteer Experience

  • Watch DOGS
  • School Parties
  • PTA Treasurer
  • Bi-weekly Reading assessments with 5th graders
  • Battle of the Books Coordinator
  • Nominating Committee
  • Teacher Grants
  • Science/STEM Fair
  • Clothing Drive Fundraising
  • Spirit Wear sales and printing
  • Eliminated fees from donations through PayPal’s Giving Fund
  • Got free Zettle card readers
  • Lowered PTA insurance costs
  • Got Venmo payments accepted in our PTA and received confirmation from the Utah PTA Treasurer that we were in compliance with their “No Venmo” policy
  • Maximized funds to teachers through DonorsChoose and AmazonSmile

Private School Volunteer Experience

  • Field Trip Chaperone
  • Recruited Track Coach
  • Chaperoned for 2 week Choir Tour
  • Mock Trial Assistant Coach
  • Advocated for Chinese Classes in Middle School and receiving approval from administration

Relevant Degrees and Experience

  • Master of Accounting from Brigham Young University
  • Took all entrepreneurship classes offered in undergrad and MBA programs
  • Managed software development teams in four startups (our new district is in essence a new startup)
  • State and County Delegate twice, and Pre-cinct Vice Chair once
  • Investing in Public and Private Companies
  • Worked with ASD’s Paul Lewis to improve parent statements on bullying and technology
  • Thoroughly evalauated Prop 2, including 30 minutes asking Todd Peterson questions on stage, and spending 3 hours in a 1:1 deep dive with Jason Sundberg in my home on school finances to make an informed decision during Prop 2. While I'm definitely in favor of smaller school districts, Prop 2 wasn't a well formulated plan in my opinion, it was a wish, and you don't mess around with education. I'm thrilled with the solution we've arrived at. Now we just need to do our best to transition well. As George Washington said in Hamilton: "Winning was easy young man, governing is harder!"

Share Your Ideas

To share your ideas, comment on others' ideas, and upvote the best ideas, use the full webapp: jayshelley.fider.io

Frequently Asked Questions

Browse through these questions from other voters organized by topic to learn more about my candidacy and vision for our school district.

About Me & Background

Q: Why are you running for School Board? Show more

A: I’m running for School Board because PTA members, from my time as PTA Treasurer, urged me to step up because they believe I could make a meaningful impact. Before registering, I reached out to two of the three other candidates and asked, “What are two things you think Alpine School District did well that we should keep, and two things we can improve as we start our new district?”

Their responses left me underwhelmed—most candidates seemed uninterested in real change or seizing the incredible opportunity we have starting a new district. That confirmed my decision to run. If the community wants me to help shape our new district, I’m happy to serve. However, if voters prefer the status quo, I have other things I’d love to do with my time and our family feels like we’re navigating schools well for our children.

Q: What is your background in education? Show more

A: We five children in both public and private schools, so I’ve become deeply invested in education, because its critical to their future. Over the years, my involvement has grown through volunteer roles, allowing me to contribute meaningfully to our schools and community.

Public School Volunteer Experience:

  • PTA Treasurer
  • Watch DOGS volunteer
  • School party organizer
  • Bi-weekly reading assessments with 5th graders
  • Battle of the Books Coordinator
  • Head of PTA Nominating Committee
  • Led Teacher Grants
  • Science/STEM Fair volunteer
  • Organized clothing drive fundraiser
  • Coordinated Spirit Wear sales and printing
  • Collaborated with Betty Shaw and Karen Beebe at UTA PTA to enable Venmo payments, secure free Zettle card readers, eliminate PayPal Giving Fund donation fees, reduce insurance costs, and maximize teacher funding through DonorsChoose.
  • Worked with ASD’s Paul Lewis to enhance parent statements on bullying and technology

Private School Volunteer Experience:

  • Field trip chaperone
  • Recruiting track coach
  • Chaperone for a two-week choir tour
  • Advocate for Chinese language classes in middle school
  • Mock Trial assistant coach

These experiences have helped me have a deep understanding of our schools’ needs and a passion for fostering collaboration among parents, teachers, and students to create the best possible educational environment.

Q: What differentiates you from the other candidates and/or board members? Show more

A:

  1. Masters in Accounting and experience finding 100k missing during an audit, as well as collaborating to catching a financial fraud.
  2. Public & Private education school experiences. Half of our children are in public school, and half are in private school. I've been surprised to realize that the things that makes private school compelling for most people have nothing to do with finances, it has everything to do with policies and mission; these are absolutely things public school can do but public schools need to value doing what's best for students as if their funding depends on it. Currently far too much of what I see in public schools are attitudes and actions nearly identical to when a business has a monopoly. I don't blame the people in public education, it's about incentives when working for a government entity. It won't be easy to change, but I think it's absolutely possible through structuring incentives differently in our new district.
  3. From talking with the other candidates I don't feel like others see innovative opportunities. I believe they're likely to continue operating nearly identical to how Alpine operated. I'd like to see a very significant increase in transparency and accountability, along with involving the community and students in coming up with more creative ideas to difficult problems, rather than simply thinking linearly and spending more money. Creativity loves constraints, and unfortunately most people do not spend enough mental effort or spend the time to creatively collaborate. If you think more money is the solution, you haven't identified the problem.

Q: Who is supporting your campaign? Have you received any endorsements of note from elected officials or organizations? Show more

A: I personally paid the $50 filing fee, and haven't spent any other money. I've had some offers for sponsorship and I'm happy to be endorsed, but I will remain accountable to:

  1. What's best for the students
  2. What's best for all other stakeholders (teachers, community, parents, etc)

I won't be bought through money or endorsements. I want to be persuaded and convinced, not bought or beholden to anyone or any group other than the best good for students and stakeholders.

Q: What other relevant experience do you have (public service, councils, boards, working with others, large scale finances, etc)? Show more

A:

  • Masters of Accounting from Brigham Young University
  • Took all entrepreneurship classes offered in undergrad and MBA programs
  • Worked at High Net Worth Individual Tax Firm
  • Oversaw accounting of 15 million revenue business
  • Managed product development in three startups (our new district is in essence a new startup)
  • State and County Delegate two times
  • Investing in Public and Private Companies
  • Identified fraud at two private companies and also embezzling money in another

Q: The Alpine School district has a long history of working collaboratively with the Alpine Education Association. In your new district, would you continue this tradition of collaboration? Show more

A: If it's in the best interest of students and stakeholders, then yes, I love collaborating with others. If AEA isn't focused first on the best interests of the students, then no.

Q: How long have you lived in the area? Show more

A: 11 years

Vision & Leadership

Q: What do you feel would be your role as a board member? Show more

A:

  1. Negotiate the split of Alpine's assets
  2. Hire the best Superintendent we can to set us on the right path forward
  3. Work with other board members to set policies that incentivize the best outcomes in our district

Q: How will you ensure that you represent your constituents? Show more

A: I will represent our constituents effectively by focusing on open communication and collaboration:

  1. I welcome ideas from everyone and believe the best solutions emerge from listening to all perspectives on an issue.
  2. Before any vote, I will share my thought process in writing, making it publicly available and inviting feedback and alternative viewpoints.
  3. When appropriate, I will use surveys or polls to gather constituents’ opinions and understand their reasoning.

I firmly believe the best ideas come from working together. Time and again, others have shared ideas far better than my own, and my role as a school board member will be to champion the best ideas that create the greatest positive impact for our students and community.

Q: What is your vision for the new school district? Show more

A: Our schools must support parents in their sacred role of educating their children, and our new school district must prioritize this partnership by empowering families, not sidelining them, in the educational process. Children are our future, and they deserve to love learning. Too often, schools stifle students’ natural curiosity. Our district should not only actively listen to parents and involve them as much as possible but also take student feedback to heart. I envision students contributing to teacher hiring and evaluating new course materials. True engagement of parents and students requires unwavering transparency. I’ve noticed a troubling trend of parents overly scrutinizing teachers and teachers pushing parents out of classrooms and volunteer roles—a dynamic I want to reverse. When teachers and parents collaborate with the student’s best interests at heart, we achieve the strongest learning outcomes.

Q: What do you feel are the greatest assets in our new district?Show more

A: Our dedicated teachers and engaged parents are our district’s greatest assets. The ability to shape our own future as a new school district is also a huge asset - both a tremendous opportunity and a significant responsibility.

Q: I am in my school’s PTA presidency and cannot use Venmo as an acceptable payment platform. The state of Utah pta treasurer has told us it is not approved. Why is it one of your running points?Show more

A: As treasurer at Cascade Elementary, I faced a challenge: we didn’t having working credit card readers and our Cougar Crawl was coming up. Determined to modernize, I reached out to PayPal for help. They offered new card readers, but at $80 each, the cost was a hurdle for our nonprofit budget. I asked, “Any deals for a school like ours?” Their response was a game-changer: “You’re a nonprofit? We’ll send you three card readers for free!”

That alone was a win, but the real magic happened when I dug deeper. While exploring the card readers’ features, I discovered something surprising: they could process Venmo payments without needing a Venmo account—personal or business. This was huge! Utah’s PTA rules strictly prohibited schools from having Venmo accounts, and most treasurers assumed Venmo was off-limits entirely. But I’d found a way to follow the spirit and the letter of the law, while accepting Venmo. Using PayPal’s point-of-sale card readers, we could accept Venmo payments while staying 100% compliant with regulations!

Excited by the discovery, I shared it with the Utah State PTA Treasurer. After some push back, they confirmed we were fully compliant. They haven't yet updated the PTA Treasurer's Handbook, but I'm hopeful they will include this workaround, ensuring every school can benefit. By thinking outside the box, I didn’t just solve our school’s problem, all schools across the state can benefit - even before the Handbook is updated. It’s a perfect example of how I tackle challenges: find a solution, then share it to lift everyone up.

If you're in the PTA and want more information, email me so you can also begin accepting Venmo even without Utah PTA updating their policy.

District Operations

Q: What do you feel are the greatest challenges facing our district?Show more

A: Over the next decade, as enrollment declines and school choice options expand, managing finances will be critical. That said, I’m confident we can make it work. I spent three hours with Jason Sundberg at my home, diving into the details of Prop 2’s numbers during the vote. While I recognize the challenge, I believe we must think creatively about solutions rather than relying solely on linear approaches.

Beyond enrollment and finances, building our new district brings other hurdles, like recruiting and retaining top teachers. With the district split, teachers will have more nearby districts to choose from. We must make our district a stable, attractive employer to keep the best educators.

Inevitably, we’ll face legal battles, political obstacles, and public confidence issues, especially in the early years. By addressing these challenges with transparency and collaboration, I believe we will be able to build a great new school district.

Q: What are your thoughts on potential school closures? Show more

A: I love tackling difficult problems by thinking creatively and exploring all possibilities. Often, we can solve one issue by addressing another. For instance, I believe we can reduce school closures, cut costs, and ensure our new district’s administrators stay connected to daily classroom realities, all with one simple solution:

Since we won’t have a dedicated administrative building—it’s in American Fork—we could place about a third of our administrators in unused classrooms in a school facing potential closure, then do the same in two other buildings. This approach maximizes existing space, eliminates the need for a separate administrative office, and brings administrators closer to students. Imagine the financial savings and non-financial benefits, like fostering a deeper understanding of classroom dynamics. By embedding administrators in schools, where they work alongside and listen to students, parents, and teachers, we reduce the risk of out-of-touch administrative decisions.

That said, some school closures may be necessary. When they occur, we must involve the community as much as possible, collaborating to ensure decisions benefit not only our schools but also our neighborhoods and broader community.

Q: What are you looking for in a superintendent and business administrator? Show more

A:

  1. Honest
  2. Love for children and their education
  3. Deep understanding of education and trends
  4. Communicates transparently
  5. Balances long-term and short-term needs effectively
  6. Works well with teachers, parents, the board, and the community
  7. Creative problem solver
  8. Great listener and champions the best ideas

Q: What innovative ideas do you hope to bring to the new district? Show more

A:

  1. Reducing school closures by putting administrative offices in school buildings.
  2. Have administrators teach one class to keep relevant and in touch with students.
  3. Directly involving students in hiring, curriculum, and any decisions they want to help with - it's their education.
  4. Using technology when it benefits student learning, not only because it makes it easier for teachers.
  5. Increasing collaboration with parents and the community rather than removing them from classrooms.

    6. My "innovative" ideas are certainly not the most important. Ideas are a dime a dozen. The most important thing is fostering an environment where the community will share their ideas and we can champion ideas from everyone.

    Q: What ideas do you have to encourage those who have left public education for alternatives to come back? Show more

    A:

    When I originally answered this question I assumed this was talking about teachers who have left public education. In hindsight I believe this is actually more focused on students. We are that family because we have half of our children in public schools and half in private schools. I'd really like to outcompete the private schools. Public schools have many advantages, like:

    1. some of the most amazing teachers that we really miss
    2. free to attend
    3. closer to home
    4. friends living nearby
    5. sports programs are generally better
    6. language immersion

      7. We have to play to our advantages to make students and parents CHOOSE our public schools over the alternatives. In my opinion most of that comes down to good policies, especially related to:

      1. Technology needs to be used to enhance the educational experience. Currently it's all too frequently used to make grading easier on teachers, at the expense of students' education.
      2. Curriculum: we need to trust teachers so they can teach what they love, rather than forcing curriculum on them that they aren't excited about.
      3. Teachers should be evaluated by students before hiring, and periodicly. One Principal I know would love to have one "free" fire each year, to prevent the red-tape they have to jump through.
      4. Our Cell phone policy can make a major difference in students engaging with classmates and teachers.
      5. Involving parents in major decisions. School counselors, teachers, administrators and parents should all work together for the good of students. No one trusted adult should take advantage of a situation to undermine other adults who are important in each student's education.

        6. In addition to all these ideas, one of the top reasons we made a change was because it felt like we were having to augment the education our kids were receiving as soon as they got home through music, sports, homework, and tutoring which left no time for our family to do other things that mattered. Students should come back from school as better members of our families, rather than needing significant decompressing from an extremely anxiety-inducing day at school.

        While I haven’t fully explored this issue and I’m not yet certain it’s a top priority, my approach would mirror how I’ve tackled challenges in businesses: listen deeply and find creative solutions. I’d reach out to former educators who left for early retirement, private schools, charter schools, or homeschooling and ask them to share their stories. By asking thoughtful questions, I’d uncover the root reasons for their departure, especially non-monetary factors, as people often cite money when deeper issues—like feeling valued or heard—are at play. After gathering these insights, I’d reflect on them, often finding clarity during everyday moments like gardening or washing dishes. Solving complex problems isn’t about sitting in an office—it’s about listening closely to people, thinking deeply, and letting ideas emerge naturally.

        Q: What ideas do you have to encourage those who have left public education for alternatives to come back? (Original Response) Show more

        A: To encourage families and educators who have left public education for alternatives to return, I’d tap into the power of community involvement and genuine listening. Some of the best teachers I’ve known were adjunct faculty or volunteers. I’d love to invite skilled community members—retirees, parents, or professionals—to contribute by teaching classes, mentoring, or reading with struggling students. There are countless ways to engage our community’s talent and passion.

        While I haven’t fully explored this issue and I’m not yet certain it’s a top priority, my approach would mirror how I’ve tackled challenges in businesses: listen deeply and find creative solutions. I’d reach out to former educators who left for early retirement, private schools, charter schools, or homeschooling and ask them to share their stories. By asking thoughtful questions, I’d uncover the root reasons for their departure, especially non-monetary factors, as people often cite money when deeper issues—like feeling valued or heard—are at play. After gathering these insights, I’d reflect on them, often finding clarity during everyday moments like gardening or washing dishes. Solving complex problems isn’t about sitting in an office—it’s about listening closely to people, thinking deeply, and letting ideas emerge naturally.

        Q: What principles guide your policy decision-making? Show more

        1. What is best for the student, not only in the short-term, but in the long-term as well?
        2. How can we best support our teachers to do what's best for the students' education?
        3. Transparency - let's be as open, inclusive, and honest as we can.
        4. Fiscal Responsibility - we need to operate on a sustainable path and not spend before we have the funds available.
        5. Receiving the best value for money spent - oftentimes people assuming costs are whatever they are, but when we collaborate we can find significant cost savings AND get the best goods and services.

          6. Q: What will you do to ensure that you and the board are being transparent with the community? Show more

          A: I will advocate for publishing not only the required detailed financial statements, but also establishing robust reporting on learning outcomes from the outset of our new school district. By prioritizing comprehensive transparency from day one—sharing more data than has been typical in the past—we can set a strong precedent. It will be difficult for future administrators to reduce transparent reporting without sparking community concern. This approach, rooted in the belief that sunlight is the best disinfectant, ensures our community stays well-informed and engaged, fostering trust and accountability in our schools.

          Q: How do you feel about diversity of thought vs reaching consensus and compromise on the school board? Show more

          A: This is a great question! I strongly value diversity of thought as the foundation for innovative solutions, but I also recognize the need for consensus and compromise to move forward effectively. The best approach involves two phases. First, a divergent thinking phase where all ideas are welcomed, no matter how unconventional, and everyone feels safe to share without fear of judgment or dismissal. This creates a space for creative, bold solutions to emerge.

          Then, we transition to a convergent phase, where we carefully evaluate ideas to identify the most promising ones. This involves scrutinizing proposals, prioritizing those worth exploring through experiments or further research, and collaboratively refining them. I’ve taught this process at DevMountain and in various companies and groups to foster productive collaboration while avoiding groupthink. By balancing open ideation with focused decision-making, we can harness diverse perspectives to build consensus that serves our students and community.

          Q: How would you approach controversial issues like books in libraries, religious beliefs, diversity initiatives, or school safety? Show more

          A: Books in School Libraries:

          School libraries should provide age-appropriate materials tailored to students’ needs. Not every book needs to be included in a school library, and if a student wants a book that’s unavailable, they can access it through the public library. For books with sensitive topics that are deemed appropriate for school libraries, I propose keeping them behind the librarian’s desk. This ensures they are not chosen accidentally but can still be accessed by students who intentionally seek them out.

          Religious Beliefs:

          Everyone should have the freedom to worship as they choose. Just as schools should not impose religious beliefs on students, they should also avoid pushing diversity initiatives in a way that feels coercive. I’m encouraged by Utah schools’ growing focus on safety, implemented in practical and effective ways, which supports a respectful and inclusive environment for all students.

          Q: How will you approach budget issues in our new district? Show more

          A: We shouldn't spend money we don't have, and we need to be wise in spending because such a large portion of taxes is for education. At the end of the day it's the lack of fiscal discipline that results in increased taxes for all of us. With that said, our children's education is extremely important and so is rewarding teachers for the incredible work they do.

          While I was the PTA Treasurer when we gave out Teacher Grants initially my committee was impressed with the great things teachers were buying to help in their classrooms, but upon further inspection, many teachers didn't realize we had those same supplies in the school louge for the teachers to use. I believe the same goes for any budget -- people oftentimes don't know they have access to other things and no one scrutinizes the purchasing, but we can and will review purchasing.

          Q: How do you balance keeping taxes low, fixing our building issues, and keeping class and school sizes low? Show more

          A: Balancing low taxes, addressing building issues, and maintaining small class and school sizes requires creative and careful solutions. As I’ve noted before, complex problems often have straightforward answers. One idea is to place administrative offices in schools with extra capacity, reducing the need for separate facilities while preserving school buildings and keeping class sizes manageable.

          I will treat taxpayer money with the same care I apply to my own, scrutinizing every expense and seeking cost-effective alternatives. In addressing building issues, I’ve learned that contractors often inflate estimates when plans are vague, but detailed and complete plans can yield significant savings by reducing uncertainty for contractors. I will proactively engage with contractors to understand how our district can streamline processes, save time, and cut costs, ensuring we maximize value while maintaining quality education environments.

          Q: I just received my 2025 tax bill for Alpine School District, showing an 11.5% increase over last year. That is more than double the current cost of living increase projected for this year. Consequently, other areas of my budget will need to be curtailed to afford the school district's extravagance. Fiscal responsibility needs to be a high priority in the new school district, recognizing from whom the funds supporting the district are coming. It is not a bottomless money supply. Show more

          A: You’re absolutely right that every dollar we spend needs to be treated like it came out of our own pocket. Currently 73% of all our property taxes in Orem go to educational spending. The 11.57% increase Alpine School District has levied is the second highest percentage increase of all taxing entities in 2025.

          My campaign is built around making sure our new Timpanogos School District stays lean, transparent, and creative—so we don’t just keep raising taxes.

          I hope you see that I’ve already got a pretty solid track record of being fiscally responsible, by using money on the highest impact spending, and not spending on what doesn’t work:

          1. TEACHER GRANTS: 3x-ing Teacher Grants, while decreasing funding by 40% — this is about doing BETTER for teachers WHILE reducing costs. Ask any teacher as Cascade Elementary how loved they felt - it was amazingly successful at showing our love for our teachers during and post-Covid. But getting those results AND decreasing the budget by 40% is how I like to operate.
          2. CAMPAIGN EXPENSES: I’ve spent $50 on the filing fee to run, and that’s all I’ve spent, other than 110 sheets of computer paper from home. Why? I don’t see any reason to spend money -- not mine nor the money of 'friends of my campaign' -- on glossy mailers or signs that just go into the trashcan and are ineffective. I've focused on what is effective, and did it with free tools and promotional offers. A week before the primary election results are finalized, all candidates will report their campaign expenses. Be sure to compare - which candidates spent money on what matters, and which will spent money on things that don't get results?
          3. One Idea I have for increasing teacher pay while decreasing expenses is recruiting the equivalent of “adjunct faculty" for junior high and high school. My favorite teachers were adjunct faculty because they had so much life experience that influenced our classroom discussions. My father has a PhD in Organic Chemistry and would be amazing, and there’s so many others who have had amazing careers. I believe many of these Baby Boomers are looking for fulfillment and community connection and would happily teach one or two classes, which would both increase student morale and help us save funds for full-time teachers, and prevent raising taxes.
          4. I’ve done the same in my personal life: I focus on getting the most impact out of the dollars I spend. Our family does HomeExchange, where we swap homes with other families and no one pays. We’ve done 40+ HomeExchanges now, including the Olympics in Paris last year, without paying anything for a place to stay. AirBNBs were going for $20,000/week, and we stayed for 2 weeks at no cost, as long as we fed her two cats!

            5. I will be as fiscally responsible as possible while getting the most impact for students and teachers as possible so we can all thrive!

            Education & Programs

            Q: What are your thoughts on programs like Special Education (Sped), Advanced Learning Labs (ALL), Dual Language Immersion (DLI), etc? Show more

            A: I’m a strong supporter of specialized programs like Special Education (Sped), Advanced Learning Labs (ALL), and Dual Language Immersion (DLI). Each child is unique in their needs and superpowers. My wife and I have children who are all over the board from advanced and needing faster paced learning, to needing some accommodations.

            Our five children have thrived in Chinese Dual Language Immersion, which has been an incredible experience for our family, enriching their education and cultural understanding. We’ve also worked with a speech pathologist and completed ALL testing, giving me firsthand insight into the value of tailored educational support. We've had one advanced kid and one who has superpowers and learning to harness them. One of our friends had such an incredibly difficult time with a kid who is so obviously on the spectrum because ASD took 3 years to agree to an IEP - that can't be happening!

            I believe these programs are vital for meeting diverse student needs. Often, students who face the greatest challenges in school have the highest potential to become future leaders. Our new district must prioritize providing every student with the resources and support they need to succeed.

            Q: Describe how you would provide quality education for a diverse student population: i.e. the gifted and talented, the standard student, special education, the academically challenged, English as a Second Language (ESL) and cultural differences. Show more

            A: I care a lot about this. We have a child who is on the spectrum, we have a child who tested at the 15th grade level in math and 17th in reading while in 5th grade, and all of our childen are in the Chinese Immersion program. Some of our children more closely fit the mold of a "standard student." We have ESL students as neighbors who we care a lot about.

            Each child is so unique, and education ought to accommodate and meet each child where they are. How do we do this? Let's start with the baseline of what we currently have with ASD - I believe many things have gone fairly well and ASD has cared, but the areas I see for significant improvement are:

            1. It's far too difficult to get an IEP today for many students. I know of some who have spent years working with ASD and after a massive amount of struggle they've finally gotten and IEP when their child's case is about as obvious as it gets. It's SO hard on families with the district fights against the parents in getting their students' the help they need. This ought to be much more collaborative.
            2. How come my student's teachers didn't have any sense that our child was completely bored in school, or that he was FAR ahead? How come he was asked for 3 years to help teach everyone else in class and help with their math? This is awesome that teachers are employing the children to help others, but 3 years of this is far too much. We're underserving children who excel, and this is a shame. Educators know very well that children who are bored in school and never have to do homework because it's so easy struggle severely in college because their work ethic is not developed. We can and should identify cases where students are bored. This isn't hard to do, but takes a little effort.
            3. I understand that teachers can't suggest to parents when they suspect a child is on the spectrum, but I believe there's more we can do, even without an IEP, to help accommodate those who struggle with executive functioning and we don't have to wait until after they fail.
            4. I'm sure there's plenty more we can do and I will absolutely encourage more individualized education, but also in fiscally responsible ways.

              5. Q: Do you think our public schools are adequately funded? Do you have ideas on how the district can increase revenue? Show more

              A: I don't think schools will ever feel adequately funded, and comparing to other states, we're less funded.

              1. Creativity loves constraints and I don't believe the answer to all problems is more funding. I realize this is very idealistic to say. We have a larger K-12 population than most states, and we also have a lower income earning tax base than many states, so we need to be careful in raising funds responsibly.
              2. We can increase outcomes without increasing funding if we're creative. For example, my neighbor is retired and has helped children with their reading at the school every week, but our school has decided to terminate that program with volunteers. Additionally, my favorite teachers have been unpaid adjunct faculty who care about their subject matter and want to give back. I believe there's lots of opportunities to increase educational experiences like this without increasing funding. Theoretically if we were able to recruit volunteer experts in their fields to teach a class or two, there would be more funds to increase pay for the teachers we have.
              3. I'm not currently in the know on what can be done, but I'd support merit-based bonuses or pay options for the best teachers. This would have to be done very carefully because teachers know that a huge amount of excellent learning outcomes happen when teachers are assisted by involved parents at home helping their children, so we don't want to encourage a situation where teachers want all the best students/homes.
              4. I'm sure there's plenty more we can do and I will absolutely encourage more individualized education, but also in fiscally responsible ways.

                5. I have a history of supporting teachers in our school by creative means and will absolutel champion means to help teachers as best we can. I'm not yet involved in the details enough to know what can be done, but maybe there's some emergent opportunities that will arise and I'm excited to help find them, while collaborating with others to do the best we can for our teachers.

                Q: What is the best way to address differences of opinion on the board or between the board and the administration? Do you believe that school board members should be involved in the day-to-day administrative decisions of the school district, or would you prefer to be involved in policy decisions, leaving management to the managers? Show more

                A: I believe the board is different from the Superintendent and don't have to be involved day-to-day, but ought to have a relationship of respect where they can work collaboratively together. The Superintendent and Business Administrator have big jobs, and I would hope they would leverage the board to help in research and finding solutions when they don't have the time to really go deep into important decisions. Ultimately the board is responsible for hiring and firing the administration.

                How would I address differences? Conversation and persuasion would be the first step. If at the end of the day the Administration doesn't agree with my opinion or the rest of us as a board, but they can explain their reasoning and measure results objectively, then I'd be happy to be proven wrong as long as the results are in the best interest of students and their education.

                Q: Describe your top three priorities, if you are elected to the school board. Show more

                A:

                1. EXCITEMENT FOR LEARNING: How excited are our children to learn? Our children are our future - they will be our doctors and lawyers, our electricians and plumbers. Their education and excitement for learning is critical to our collective future. Unfortunately, when I ask children what their favorite subjects are in school it’s uncommon that I find anyone who mentions a core academic subject. All too frequently I hear jokes or comments like: “Schools are made of bricks, and prisons are made of bricks” (followed by a look that says, don’t you see they’re the same) - what a shame! We can, and must, do better for our children.

                  I believe in a future where children are excited to attend school, and excited to learn! This isn’t rocket science. The surveys Alpine has done through the years need to be more than lip-service and fake listening. Students have amazing ideas and contribute to the direction of our schools, but currently ASD has primarily listened only to the State and those who sue. We haven’t even gotten to really collaborating with parents in an effective way, and really we should be going past just parents and also involve the students in a much larger way than I’ve ever seen in public education.

                2. TRANSPARENCY: What results are we getting for the taxpayer money we’re spending? Principals know. For example, our children are in the Chinese immersion program and I’ve asked the Junior High Principal for details regarding students’ how many students stick with the program after elementary school, and about students’ performance on the AP Chinese Exam. The principal shared a large amount of data with me, which was very effective in helping our children determine how they wanted to proceed in the program. Additionally, our Principal knew which teachers were able to take a class of struggling post-covid students and meet them where they were – at about half a grade behind – and helped them get half a grade ahead, all within a single year. They know the educational outcomes so why don’t parents?

                  We need to recognize and reward teachers who are this amazing, and we ought to be much more transparent with how we are doing at educating. I believe we have a responsibility to be transparent not only financially, but also with the results achieved, and we should recognize teachers who are so amazing. When our new district is established on a foundation of transparency and driven to help students achieve, we’ll naturally attract the best teachers and administrators who are happy to be recognized for their amazing contributions.

                3. CREATIVE SOLUTIONS: Here's one example of a possible creative solution to a big problem:

                  We can keep more schools open, while reducing costs, and incentivize administrators to understand first-hand the issues in our schools. Most everyone I’ve met agrees that we want:

                  1. Our new school district to be fiscally sound and not be constantly increasing taxes
                  2. Keep our smaller community schools open and reduce school closures
                  3. Administrators who listen to parents, teachers, and students

                    4. Because we won’t have an administrative office after the split, we could put ⅓ of the district administrative offices in some unused rooms in a school that has had a declining student population, and do that at three different schools. This would:

                    1. Utilize the buildings we already have, and eliminate the problem of where should we house the administrators
                    2. Help keep those in administration directly in touch with what’s going on in the schools rather than moving them to an office away from the what’s happening in the classrooms, which helps them see what's happening daily
                    3. Saves our new district the cost associated with building offices and prevents tax increases.

                      4. Where most people see insurmountable problems, I look for creative solutions.

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