Heap, Ryan

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
School Board
District:
Chandler Unified School District
Phone:
(480) 252-9888
Age:
45
Occupation:
Electrical Engineer
Education:
M.S.EE ASU 2005, B.S.EE ASU 2003
Family:
Married, 4 children ages 18 down to 10
Religion:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Biographical Info:

Hi, my name is Ryan Heap and I am running for the CUSD board. I’m a 4th generation Arizona
native. My wife and I celebrated our 20th anniversary last year. We have four children in CUSD
I’m a 4th generation Arizonan. I received my B.S.EE and my M.S.EE from ASU in 2003 and 2005 respectively. I am currently employed by Cirrus Logic as a design verification engineer and have worked previously for General Dynamics C4 Systems, Intel, Microchip, Analog Devices – more than 16 years all in all in the silicon design and verification industry.

My wife and I moved to our home in SE Gilbert in 2007 because it is in the CUSD boundaries. We have 4 children. Our oldest graduated from CUSD last year and our other children are all enrolled in CUSD schools. We absolutely love the teachers and the education our kids have received in CUSD.

When I’m not at work and with family, I volunteer as a young men’s leader in my church planning and holding weekly activities to promote intellectual, spiritual, social, and physical goals. On Sundays, I routinely conduct Sunday School lesson discussions with youth.

I have a passion for mentoring our young people.

Statement:

CUSD is still Arizona’s premiere public school district but their enrollment has been declining the past 4 years. From just before the pandemic until now, the Average Daily Membership (ADM) has fallen 5.4% or roughly 2000 students – that’s two good size elementary schools worth of students! It’s easy to rationalize this drop with Chandler being land locked and the median home price north of $600,000 yet there’s more to the story when neighboring charter schools have seen double and triple digit growth over the same period.

There are 3 major areas that I will drive if elected:
1) Safety and accountability
2) Partnering with parents
3) Academics and vocations

Through these areas, CUSD halls and classrooms will be safe learning environments for ALL students, teachers, and staff. Parents will have confidence that their kids are learning academic fundamentals and engaged in programs that will set them up for a productive and successful future post high school. CUSD’s enrollment declines will reverse as parents of the Gilbert, Queen Creek, and Chandler municipalities choose CUSD first!

Endorsements:

AZ Women of Action

Survey

Response Legend

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

Question Response Comments/Notes
1. Requiring district and charter school officials, including teachers, to inform parents about their child’s social, mental, emotional, or physical health. S* Per A.R.S 1-601, parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. When a child approaches CUSD staff about any social, mental, emotional, or physical health concern, the district needs to inform the parents before providing any services in kind.
2. Allowing parents to opt their children out of activities or lessons that offend their personal, moral, or religious beliefs. S* Per A.R.S 1-601, parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. Public schools should focus on academic fundamentals and vocational skills and steer away from controversial social programs.
3. Increasing state and local taxes to provide more funding for schools and school facility projects. S* I support increasing state and local taxes to recruit and retain educators who love learning and who are successful in instilling that same passion in their students. It's important to note that merely throwing money at a problem is not how problems are solved. Any increase to state and local taxes must come with a plan, a plan that the tax paying public is on board with.
4. Requiring signed permission from a parent before a student may participate in any sexuality related instruction, activities, or clubs. S* Per A.R.S 1-601, parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. Sexual education offered in class, at activities or clubs must be made known to parents to respect their rights in the upbringing of their children.
5. Allowing all parents to use tax credits and publicly funded empowerment scholarship accounts to enable their children to attend any private, homeschool, or online academy of their choice. S* It's important that parents have education options especially where public schools aren't satisfying those needs. It's imperative that public schools identify the reasons for parents choosing other educational products and taking intentional and swift actions to address those need deficits. Ultimately, if CUSD has the best overall education product, parents will choose CUSD over charter schools or ESA vouchers.
6. Making available books and instructional materials that include sexually explicit images and themes in school classrooms and libraries. O* The focus of CUSD should be on the academic fundamentals that will set up the students for future success. Materials that include sexually explicit images and themes generally do not support academic fundamentals and could be deemed an infringement of ARS 1-601.
7. Acquiring parental consent for school faculty and staff to refer to students by pronouns that do not align with the student’s birth sex. S* Per A.R.S 1-601, parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. A shift in pronoun use is a sign that the child is shifting their gender preference and falls into the upbringing of the child which is a parental right.
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. master’s degrees) −* Teacher pay should not just be on merit but merit plus feedback from administrators and parents and years of experience. If Teacher pay is solely based on merit than there will be a tendency to teach to a test which isn't the express intent of public schools. School boards and administrators should identify pay scale that promotes top educator retention and recruiting.
9. Implementing policies to allow students and faculty to use the restroom, locker room, and shower room based on self-identification rather than biological sex. S* Per Title IX, to do otherwise could be deemed sexual discrimination. However, districts need to ensure the safety of all students and take proactive measures to ensure that safety such as installing non gender specific single stall bathrooms and changing rooms.
10. Teaching what is known as diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI); social, emotional learning (SEL); or critical race theory (CRT) in public schools. O* There's no evidence that districts that adopt DEI, SEL, CRT see an increase in student proficiency levels. These programs tend to create more division, segregation, and reverse racism. Without spending money, schools can adopt universal values such as empathy, kindness, understanding, and communication to help students from the various backgrounds co-exist on the same campus.
11. Requiring each district and charter school to post online a list of all curriculum and instructional materials being used in the classroom. S* Per A.R.S 1-601, parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. Parents are tax payers too and it is the right to know what is being taught on school campuses.