Trevonia Brown-Gaither (D) - Forsyth County Board of Education District 1
Q: How important is it for the Board of Education to ensure children and families have access to healthy and affordable food? (1-5 scale)
A: 5
Q: How will you help combat rising food insecurity in Forsyth County and provide access to healthy, sustainable foods? (open-ended question)
A: We must continue to provide the free and reduced school breakfast and lunch program. Schools that do not have bookbag meal programs we need to find corporate sponsors to fund this program and lastly, as a system we must work with community organizations to provide food pantry's in our city food deserts.
Q: How important is it for WS/FCS to integrate local environmental issues like climate change into school curriculum? (1-5 scale)
A: 4
Q: As a Board of Education member, how will you ensure we are teaching about vital environmental issues like climate change? (open-ended question)
A: We must look at our current Science curricula from Elementary to High School to ensure that environmental issues are being addressed and the curricula must be revisited frequently to ensure that we are staying up-to-date with new arising issues. We also must ensure that our Science teachers are offered compensated opportunities to take get professional development in environmental issues.
Q: How important is it for the Board of Education to ensure educational and administrative buildings are energy efficient? (1-5 scale)
A: 5
Q: As a Board of Education member, how will you promote renewable energy and energy efficiency within WS/FC schools? (open-ended question)
A: All new construction must be designed and built so that renewable energy and energy efficiency is a design must. Due to limited funds it will be difficult to address renewable energy but we can ensure that we do all that we can do to promote energy efficiency such as changing all lighting to either motion detection or use of timers. This is just one example.
Q: How important is it for the Board of Education to ensure equitable and sustainable school transportation? (1-5 scale)
A: 5
Q: When elected, will you support allocating funds to update school buses to electric models? (yes/no)
A: Yes
Q: The City of Winston-Salem is currently working on a NCDOT-funded Safe Routes to School project to increase the number of students who bicycle or walk to, from, or at school. Do you support the Safe Routes to School project? (yes/no)
A: Yes
Q: How important is it for the Board of Education to support environmental justice curricula and actively address environmental racism in schools? (1-5 scale)
A: 4
Q: As a Board of Education member, how will you promote environmental justice within the WS/FC school system? (open-ended question)
A: Our environment is a priority of both our local and state government. I would encourage the lobbying of both our County Commissioners and our State Legislature to promote environmental justice within our communities because our students are made up of all sides of our county.
Q: How important is it that the Board of Education implement more recycling and composting opportunities in school buildings? (1-5 scale)
A: 4
Q: As a Board of Education member, what will you do to increase school wide recycling and composting? (open-ended question)
A: It is important that we ensure that all of our schools are recycling. We can start by ensuring that all of our schools are equipped with fountains that allow for the filling of personal water bottles and every classroom has recycling bins for the disposal of paper. Lastly, we must ensure that the contents of these recycling bins are actually being placed in recycle dumpsters.