Carney, Amy

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
School Board
District:
Scottsdale Unified School District
Phone:
(480) 522-5200
Age:
51
Occupation:
Writer and Entrepreneur
Biographical Info:

Amy and her husband, Keith, have been married 24 years and have been blessed to raise their six children in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Their 21-year-old triplet sons and 19-year-old daughter are now in colleges across the USA after graduating from the 3 C’s in Scottsdale Unified School District. Their two younger sons (15 & 10) are currently educated in SUSD schools as well.

Amy is an author, freelance writer, and public speaker who also created a line of products helping busy parents create meaningful keepsakes. Running for the school board in Scottsdale Unified is an extension of her longstanding mission of strengthening children, families, and the community.

Amy is also an advocate and champion for foster care and adoption in Arizona.

Statement:

I am running for a seat on the Scottsdale Unified Governing Board because I am a Mom of 6 children educated in the district (2 still in SUSD schools) who had mistakenly paid little attention to our local school board and their power before Covid.

Our schools must focus on educating our students in core academic subjects and invest in strengthening their interests instead of their identities. We must keep divisive curricula and political agendas out of the classroom. Our students’ academic achievement is suffering because of the current misplaced shift to cultural issues over academics. Finally, we must see that more money makes it to our effective teachers and their needs to educate our students.

Survey

Response Legend

  • SSupports
  • OOpposes
  • *Comment
  • −Declined to respond
  • †Declined to respond, Position based on citation

Question Response Comments/Notes
1. Requiring school officials, including teachers, to inform parents about their child’s social, mental, emotional, or physical health S
2. Allowing parents to opt their children out of activities or lessons they find offensive to their personal, moral, or religious beliefs S
3. Increasing state and local taxes to provide more funding for schools and school facility projects O* I am currently opposed to asking our community to pay more taxes for anything during a time of high inflation.
4. Requiring signed permission from a parent before a student may participate in any sexuality related instruction, activities, or clubs. S
5. Allowing all parents to use tax credits, vouchers, or education savings accounts to enable children to attend any public, charter, private, homeschool, or online academy S* I support parents making the choice for their child's education, but I want to ensure that our public schools are a great option for families so they don't need to seek out other educational opportunities.
6. Requiring full-day kindergarten for all students O
7. Mandating sex education classes for 5th-12th grade students O
8. Allocating teacher pay raises based upon merit rather than providing uniform salary schedule increases based upon years of teaching or additional credentialing (e.g. masters degrees) S* I support an increase in all educator salaries and would love to see effective teachers earn more money based upon merit.
9. Implementing policies to allow students and faculty to use the restroom, locker room, and shower room that aligns with their gender identity O
10. Teaching what is known as diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI); social, emotional learning (SEL); or critical race theory (CRT) in public schools. O* I support some traditional SEL curricula for students who need it and whose parents have approved its use for their child, but it should not be mainstream blanket programming for all students. We must focus on academics.
11. Increasing academic (curriculum) transparency by requiring each public school to post online for parents and the public a list of all instructional materials being used in the classroom. S