Box Elder County - On July 1st, 2014 Box Elder County School District will welcome a new superintendant. Ronald Tolman comes to us from Rigby, Idaho, where he has served as superintendent since 2003. He has also served in Afton, Wyoming, as superintendent; as well as having years of experience teaching elementary school and working as a principal.
I spoke with Ronald Tolman about whether the District should look forward to changes. He expressed that although he will take a long measured look before making his report around mid-winter; the district is good and he doesn’t expect to see many changes. Then came the big question on many parents’ minds: what about Common Core? Is Tolman for or against? Mr. Tolman said that he could probably be best categorized as a conservative and while he thinks a national standard is generally a good idea, the federal government being involved is not. Tolman stated that local districts still need to maintain control and decide on curriculum and books. As far as the tracking that comes hand in hand with Common Core, he is against that and feels it is a separate issue than having a set of common standards.
Some might ask, so what if we just reject the federal funding? Get the federal government out of our school system altogether. Tolman agrees that while that might sound like a good idea, it is not something Utah can afford to do. Most districts rely on those funds and too many children would fall through the cracks without it. Tolman also assured me that he welcomes questions from the press and will always try to answer within a matter of hours and to be as transparent as possible.
