1. Tell us a little about yourself including why you are running and what goals you hope to accomplish

Bruner graduated from Kan. County public schools, grades 1-12

University of Charleston, Political Science BA,

WVU Master of Public Administration (MPA),

WVU Law School. (JD) Member of WV, KY, and FL Bars.

Have four children who graduated from Kan County public schools. I am running for the Board to help students be number one in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Improve students’ critical thinking skills, test scores, reading comprehension, physical fitness, financial literacy.

2. What do you see as the role of a Board of Education member?

To set clear goals with metrics to verify achievement of goals by deadlines.

What gets measured, gets improved. What gets monitored, gets performed.

Improve vocational education and add more courses.

Expand Junior ROTC programs

Improve civic literacy .

3. What qualifications and attributes lead you to believe you would be a good Kanawha County Board of Education member?

I and my four children received a good education from the Kanawha County public schools. All of us have college degrees, advanced degrees, and are employed.

My two sons are Army Infantry Officers with multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. One graduated from West Point and is a physician. The other a WVU ROTC graduate and was WVU ROTC Battalion Commander.

4. For Non-Incumbent candidates, what would you have done similarly or differently than the current Board of Education?

No masks

Teachers will receive a $15,000.00 pay raise immediately, and $5,000.00 increase based upon student achievement, measured by test scores and grades. My mother taught at Midway Jr. High School in Campbell’s Creek with two Master’s Degrees, and earned about $1,500.00 annually. It is time to “balance the scales”. As she said about her love for teaching, if you are a teacher, and if you in it for money, teaching is not for you.

Cut Elizabeth Street bureaucracy by 50%

Raise the “education bar”. Mediocrity makes you a loser.

To be the best in the world, you cannot be like the rest.

Performance counts. A won and loss record counts, so keep score.

Eliminate this WV snowstorm of paper teachers and staff have to complete by 50%, working toward 75%. Teachers want to teach-not be paper pushers.

5. Kanawha County continues to face declining enrollment. What considerations should be given in terms of school facilities and infrastructure spending?

Small schools are better to prevent students getting loss in mega consolidated schools.

6. What are your views on the impacts of the pandemic and what would you do to close the learning gap created by this crisis?

The polio epidemic of the mid 1950s before the Salk vaccine was much worse than the CoVid epidemic. Children today appear to recover from CoVid better and more quickly.

And they don’t have to wear the steel leg and arm braces braces. They do not suffer from total paralysis and confinement to an “iron lung” for life.

The swine flu, zika virus, Spanish flu, Rubella, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, West Nile virus, Whooping cough, measles and chickenpox before vaccines killed many more children than CoVid..To close the learning gap, I would support year around school with a longer school day.

In Japan, there is year around school and schools generally start at 8 AM and end at 5 PM (17:00 hours).

7. There are many ongoing pandemic-related challenges facing education, including teacher fatigue. How would you address these issues?

Job burnout and fatigue are serious problems. I would support paid year long sabbaticals for teachers.