Board member warns of screen time harms, criticizes assessment regime and points to enrollment shifts
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Summary
Leanne said increased digital instruction is linked to shorter attention spans and language delays in young children, criticized current assessment and accountability systems as time‑consuming and teaching to the test, and acknowledged enrollment declines tied to homeschooling and funding shifts.
Residents at a public Q&A raised worries about student outcomes, technology in classrooms, and falling enrollment. Leanne, a state school board member, said early‑grade screen time has contributed to reduced attention spans and language delays and urged a return to print reading and basics. “Kids don't have the attention span they once had. Kids are not reading novels... We need to get books back in kids' hands,” she said.
On assessments, Leanne criticized the state’s accountability approach—SAGE and federal requirements under ESSA—as time consuming and poorly targeted to classroom instruction. “We’ve created this whole expensive system that in the end probably hasn't moved education forward,” she said, arguing for more teacher‑led, local assessments that inform daily instruction rather than weeks of test prep.
Participants also raised enrollment concerns tied to homeschooling and funding. Leanne said data indicate a roughly 10‑year trend of declining enrollment and noted a funding adjustment this year she characterized as a roughly $77,000 reduction. She urged reducing reporting and regulatory requirements so districts can spend more time teaching and innovating.
Leanne also criticized commercial tech vendors seeking large sums to develop classroom tools and warned against using public schools as R&D for early‑stage companies.
