Thiry, Ray

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
School Board
District:
Tempe School District
Age:
41
Occupation:
Program Manager - Access ASU
Education:
Arizona State University: BM 2007, MM 2015
Family:
Husband and father of four children
Religion:
Christian
Biographical Info:

I am happily married and a proud parent of current and former Tempe Elementary School District #3 students. I was a music teacher in our public schools for 16 years, including eight years in TD3. I am now a college access manager at Arizona State University working to increase postsecondary enrollment among disadvantaged students. Born and raised in Olathe, KS, I moved to Tempe in 2003 to go to college. I fell in love with the area and I have chosen the valley as my home ever since. I am dedicated to the forward progress of Tempe, and the best way to strengthen our community is through public education.

Statement:

I am passionate about education, and I believe we should use our strengths to serve the community. I am a first-generation college graduate, and I know how significantly a formal education can change the trajectory of a family and our community. Our schools should be places where students and staff feel safe, empowered, challenged, and valued. We need more critical thinking, not less. We need more books, not fewer. We need to keep our tax dollars in our schools, not redirect funds to private entities. Diversity and differences of opinion are good things, and we must work together to ensure success for the next generation. To do this, we need dedicated leaders who will work for creative and equitable solutions.

Endorsements:

Save Our Schools AZ

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* Education is best when all parties work as a team to support all needs of children. Honesty and transparency are good things, and we should work together to serve each family the best we can.
2. Allowing parents to opt their children out of activities or lessons that offend their personal, moral, or religious beliefs. S* These sorts of policies have existed for years - students may opt out of saying the pledge of allegiance, for example. Teachers and administrators use professional judgement to determine appropriate content for students. Parents should share any concerns we may have about curriculum with school staff so we can discuss a fair and equitable solution. These situations are rare and they should be handled on a case-by-case basis. We should assume positive intent and professionalism from our teachers.
3. Increasing state and local taxes to provide more funding for schools and school facility projects. S* Arizona consistently ranks toward the bottom nationally in per-pupil spending and student/teacher ratio.
4. Requiring signed permission from a parent before a student may participate in any sexuality related instruction, activities, or clubs. S* This is especially appropriate in an elementary district.
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. O* Voucher systems lead to less funding for schools districts and they ultimately hurt more students than they help. Period. The median earner's property taxes aren't anywhere close to the amount of an ESA voucher so it's false to suggest a parent's school tax dollars are simply following their child. If tax dollars are used, there should be an expectation of transparency and accountability. Private entities shouldn't be allowed to take tax dollars away from public schools, and this includes charter schools as they are often run by private companies that take exorbitant management fees. School districts are a public service that should be funded just like libraries, police stations, and firehouses. I don't get to opt out of paying for the Tempe Fire Department simply because I think buying a fire extinguisher is just as good.
6. Making available books and instructional materials that include sexually explicit images and themes in school classrooms and libraries. O* This sort of thing isn't happening in our schools except in a few rare, unfortunate cases. Parents can trust teachers and librarians to do their jobs and provide age-appropriate materials for children. Schools are not where students access sexually explicit material. Smartphones and the internet exist.
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. O* As a teacher, I never had a problem calling a student by a nickname. I would not support a policy that requires staff to ask for or hide that information from parents.
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) O* I don't know how we would define "merit" in an equitable way. We rate schools based partially on test scores and grades, and we've seen numerous scandals involving grade manipulation nationwide as a result. How would a kindergarten teacher, PE teacher, librarian, and counselor compare when rating their merit? We should empower and trust trained professionals to evaluate teachers and provide support if needed.
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. O* Large restrooms are already weird. I don't like standing next to another man in the bathroom - it's gross. The solution is to provide more single stall restrooms that are gender neutral.
10. Teaching what is known as diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI); social, emotional learning (SEL); or critical race theory (CRT) in public schools. −* I taught for 16 years and I barely know what these are. They sound like trigger words meant to scare and divide. Teachers will teach state standards. Math will be math, PE will be PE, etc.This questionnaire is full of political questions meant to force candidates to take a political stance and divide voters. I'm not a political activist out to harm anybody - I'm just a dad trying to help out his daughter's school board. This is a non-partisan position and I aim to keep it that way.
11. Requiring each district and charter school to post online a list of all curriculum and instructional materials being used in the classroom. S* Schools already do this.