EDITORS NOTE: 

The remaining two rounds of candidate questions and answers will appear in our Friday, October 25 edition.

GOSHEN COUNTY – “Well, good evening,” Jennifer Brummel of the Goshen County Education Association said. “I’d like to start on time tonight since we have a lot of candidates and a lot of information. I would like to welcome you to the school board candidate forum, sponsored by the Goshen County Education Association. One of our service projects is to provide the community with this forum so you can be informed voters when you go to the polls on election day. We are so glad you took the time to come or listen online.”

Brummel began by stating all candidates who filed for a seat on the board were invited.

“Rob Hunt got back to us about unfortunately about not being able to attend as he had a previous engagement that he could not reschedule,” Brummel explained. “Because of the large number of candidates, we had to structure it a little bit different this year.”

Brummel explained the different sets of questions the school board candidates would answer with the first question being answered by all candidates. Candidates were given 60 seconds to answer the first question which was the same. The candidates then would participate in three rounds of one random question each where they had 90 seconds to respond. 

“Next, we have a big pool of random questions, and we will pull a question from the pile and the first candidate will answer,” Brummel explained. “I’ll pull another question and the second candidate will answer. I’ll pull another question. Those questions might come back around again to a different candidate. Mrs. Fullmer is keeping track of that for us. Finally, there will be a one-minute final the last thing you want to say, I guess, so be thinking about that.”

The candidates were each given an opportunity to introduce themselves and explain to the public why they ran for a trustee position and then the association moved on to the individual question.  Brummel began random questions at the head of the table and worked down the line until all candidates answered a randomly drawn question.

Brummel: “What about our school district would you like to change by the end of your term?”

Travis Grosz: “That’s a tough question. Honestly, I think that you know we hear so much about test scores and all that. They’ve definitely come up and I’d like to see them up more. But honestly, I think what I’d like to see change is more of what is going on right now. I have had long discussions with Tennille and what they are working on and I think the OG program that’s been implemented is really good. The Eureka Math that’s been implemented is really good and I really want to see that keep going. You know, keep building and stick with that because you know, it is working.”

Brummel: “In what area of our educational system to you believe the board of trustees has the great impact?”

Dylan Hager: “I think over the last four years of sitting on the board, I think the biggest impact we had as a board is probably supporting the needs of the people in the trenches, either the students, the admin, the superintendent, the teachers that’s about our biggest roll in trying to work together as a team. Hearing everybody’s different perspective at the end of the day we should pretty much come together and decide what’s best for the school district.”

Brummel: “Are you familiar with the three initiatives focused on professional development for the Goshen County School District? MTSS, our multi-tiered system of support, PLC, professional learning community and the Leader in Me. Do you support continuing this work in the Goshen County School District?

Michael Harrison: “I do. I think all of those programs are great. I have seen with my kids with the Leader in Me, take advantage of that and step up to being a leader in their classes and in the community, in sports, so I think those programs are all great and I’d definitely like to see them continue and learn from them. You know, maybe pare with other schools that are doing the same or similar and see how it looks in those programs and see the benefits they are having with those programs and if we can borrow different aspects and things from them as well. But I definitely want to see those things continue.”

Brummel: “From your perspective, what is the biggest educational issues that Goshen County is facing?”

Ryan Larkin: “The biggest thing that I have gathered from talking to some different people around the district, different teachers, administrators, is that they need to feel supported. Not necessary from an ‘atta boy’ standpoint, but from the standpoint of, you know, these people are hired and put in place to make decisions and they should be able to make those decisions and feel like we have their back when they make these decisions. Granted if they are doing something that’s way out of line, they need to reel it back in but if we are hiring these people and putting them in place to make these decisions, we need to support them with the decisions they make.”

Valerie Lamb-Sharp arrived late to the forum and was given an opportunity for an introduction before the next candidate, Kelly Meeboer Strampe, moved on to answer her first drawn question. 

Brummel: “What role to you see professional development playing in improving teacher performance and student engagement?

Kelly Meeboer Strampe: “Professional development is so important because if our educators don’t have access to current and updated practices and information then we can’t keep up with the rest of the state and also the rest of the country so I think professional development is one of the most important things that we can provide. I think that making sure that that is easy for our educators to access is also really important, making sure that is a priority in the buildings with the administrators, making sure that educators have time to fit that into their schedules so that our kids can get the most up to date information that they possibly can, so I think it’s very, very important.”

Brummel: “What will do you to ensure that the board operates efficiently and effectively, avoiding gridlock and partisan. 

Jo Meininger: “Number one, we have to work together. We’ve got to figure it out, what is best for our students. We don’t need it for what’s best for me. What is best for our students and how can we work together? Get the teachers to work together, get the administration to work together but first to get something done we’ve got to figure out what was the gridlock. Maybe that Leader in Me piece, we can all learn, okay, was it me that caused the problem or was it someone else and you can talk through it. Usually, in a gridlock someone just shuts down. It’s their way or the highway so right then we have a problem. We’ve got to go and work together and say okay, what are some options and what can you work with and go from there and see how we can solve it. Again, we’ve got to make sure we are keeping our kids educated, move them on and get them jobs someday, I hope.”

Brummel: What do you feel is the primary function of a school board member?

Lena Moeller: “Good question. It’s been a lot of hard knock life or learning for me on the school board. First, when I came on, I thought we’re going to just save the world and how hard can this be? Right? But what I have learned being on this board is it takes a lot of time; it takes a lot of dedication and a lot of conversations. I think Mr. Kramer probably gets tired of his phone ringing every week, at least once a week, from me but I think that that’s critical. I think that as a board member it is our job to have those conversations. It’s our job to dig into the details. It’s not our job to sit there and be spoon fed information and be a ‘yes, man.’ I strongly believe that it’s important to talk to the individuals that are on the front lines that are having to you know put into place whatever it is that we are passing or the policies that we are asking them to live by, but I think that as a board member it’s our job to be educated before we make decisions.”

Brummel: “What differentiates you from the other candidates?” 

Diane Servantez: “What separates me from everybody else was the fact that I really don’t have a dog in this fight. I think every everybody here has the best interest of students and teachers in the district. I get to come in on a clean slate, my grandkids are barely coming into school, my kids have graduated and gone and I think the main thing is, I’m coming in with open mindedness and the ability to be very transparent with everybody that comes to me and to listen. One of my big things that I believe is the most important is communication and being honest and open with people and having a good credibility in yourself and showing that to your community. If you lose your credibility, then you lose everything and I promise that if I’m elected into this board that I will always be honest I will always be forthcoming and I will always be transparent.”

Brummel: “How will you ensure transparency and open communication?”

Kate Steinbock: “I think that it’s important to number one, listen. That includes listening to your constituents, the students, the parents, but also staff and faculty, the members of the board and being willing to change your mind when it’s necessary. Being transparent isn’t just about telling the truth. It’s about it’s about telling everything that’s going on and being open to saying that you were wrong about something and changing your mind and so I think we work as a team on the board and you can accomplish that.” 

Brummel: “How do you plan to support teachers and insure that they have the resources they need?”

Michael Tighe: “I think the biggest thing as a board member would be to make sure they have all the tools that they need. If we’re asking them to meet or exceed some of the goals we set as a district, we need to listen to what they’re saying they need they’re the ones that are on the front lines dealing with our children so we can’t expect to meet these goals if we haven’t done our part to make sure they have absolutely everything they need and our support.”

Brummel: “What are your top concerns and focus areas?”

Valerie Lamb-Sharp: “My top concerns and focus areas. My biggest concern right now is leadership. I believe we don’t have the leadership we need on the school board and without leadership we are not setting the tone for the rest of the school district. I don’t believe we have the teamwork we need. I do believe that’s a very strong part. We also need to take ownership of our scores that we’re getting on some of our tests with ACT and some of our state tests because if the board doesn’t take ownership of those and take and accept the responsibility and accountability for what’s coming out there, that nobody else is going to. If we don’t do it, there’s nobody else that’s going to. We also have to provide the tools that the staff needs so that they can then do what their jobs are as well as for the superintendent. I really think that what we are lacking right now is the leadership skills portion.”

Round two

Brummel: “Torrington and Goshen County have a history of diversity, rooted in agriculture and a wide range of socioeconomic background. As a protentional school board member, how would you support and meet the needs of these diverse populations within our community?

Travis Grosz: “That’s a tough one. I think with seeing the differences within like from Southeast and La Grange and Torrington obviously there’s, like you said, there’s a difference in the socioeconomic and I think each school has to adapt to what their students are and what their learning capabilities are. Not everybody’s going to learn the same ways and not everybody’s going to be able to do the same things, so you have to adapt as to what you are doing with each school in each area.”

Brummel: “You are one voice, but the board makes decisions. Can you speak to your ability to build consensus when your opinion is in the minority?”

Dylan Hager: “You know, I have been sitting on the board for four years and that has come up quite often. I sometimes like to refer to just what’s comfortable for me, so I use some different comparisons, like football for this one. It’s kind of like, you know, everybody on the football team is trying to go the same direction towards one end zone and score. Not all the time, all players don’t like the play that’s called. Just because they don’t like the play, it’s their duty as a team member to still put their best effort forward and help support the team and move towards the end zone.”

Brummel: “How does the role of a school board member differ from that of the superintendent and the administers?”

Michael Harrison: “I think that the role that school board member is helps support the administrators and the superintendent, to collaborate and work together. If we’re not working together then obviously, we’re to the contrary so I think that’s how differentiates the main role is that the school board helps support. We help make decisions and at the end of day we’re here for the kids.”

Brummel: “How will you as a board member, support Goshen County students in becoming productive 21st century citizens?”

Valerie Lamb-Sharp: “As a school board member, I would definitely be looking at the curriculum to help students to move forward into the 21st century. We need to provide them with the life skills as well as the academic abilities to meet their future needs. Some of them are going to college. Some of them are not but we need to make sure that they’re receiving the credit hours they made to move forward and the kind of classes that they need to move forward so that they can meet the goals that they’re setting for themselves. We need to make sure to try and provide those for them. I would say that we just we need to support our students we need to work with them we need to see what their needs are and move them forward with as best as we can with the services and resources that we have in place and if we have to add services then we need to look at that. There’s a lot of ways to collaborate with our businesses in town to get them some exposure to the types of work they’re looking at.”

Brummel: “As a school board member, how would you support the inclusion of special education students in Goshen County School District ensuring that all students receive the appropriate support and resources they need to succeed?”

Ryan Larkin: “I don’t know that there’s a silver bullet for that. I think one of the biggest things is being able to communicate with the special education teachers and special education department because they know their students better than any of the rest of us do. I think they need to be included in a lot of things. I know at Southeast, the ag teacher down there came in and worked with some of the special ed department the other day and just, I mean, little things like that make a big difference to those kids so it’s important to include them it’s important that they have an opportunity to interact with their students as well.”

Brummel: “How will you educate yourself if there is a topic in front of the board of which you have limited knowledge?”

Kelly Meeboer Strampe: “I am assuming that there will be some trainings involved in being on the board and so hopefully that will help get people up to speed in the whole, you know, once we’re involved in it, if there’s a topic that comes up. I am more than willing to do research and read up on those topics and really I think that I need to be knowledgeable about the local needs, state needs, and also national needs but as I said before I’m a lifelong learner and that is part of the reason that I’m wanting to be on the board and so I just don’t see any issues with being open to learning anything that I need to serve the school district.”

Brummel: “What is one overall educational priority that you would accomplish during your time in office and why?”

Jo Meininger: “I’d like to see my kids being ready to go out to the workforce. This is what I noticed, Torrington High School, we had four principles in the last four years. That doesn’t seem like very consistent to me, so I got to figure out what’s going on there. At one time at Huntley and cosmetology was started at Huntley. Not all kids want to go to college but they want to go to the workforce so in two years they started as a sophomore or a junior and then by the time they graduated as a senior they just had to go in the summer and they had a degree to be a cosmetologist so they could go to the workforce. Many who went to a trade school did end up going to college later because they wanted to do administrative type stuff so to me, I’m going to look at what are some other options. Not all want to go to college, and we need plumbers and we need electricians and stuff so we need to look at what are the other options that we have the EWC right close here let’s use it.”

Brummel: “What attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members?”

Lena Moeller: “These are good questions. I think I’m just going to go off of observation. I think that some of the best attributes for board members is the ability to listen, the ability to understand, the ability to see a different perspective. There are lots of times where we are faced with things that we just don’t agree with personal note, but it doesn’t mean it’s not best for the district as a whole. I think that a good board member needs to be able to put their own personal interests aside. This is not a political board. It is nonpartisan and it is so important that we look at the district as a whole. We’re faced, as a school board, with a lot of difficult decisions that could help one child but may negatively impact the rest of the school district. It’s really easy to sit here and say oh, yeah, I don’t make that decision, no problem. But I think it’s really important that good school board members being willing to put their personal views aside we do this district.”

Brummel: “How will you work to retain high quality teachers and address the issue of teacher burnout and morale?”

Diane Servantez: “I think one of the most important things a person can do on a school board or in your life is built positive relationships. I feel like a lot of times you get on a board or you’re a member of a certain group and you just stick in that little group. There are a lot of professional teachers out there that want be heard, that want to have their voice listen to, and I feel like when you build healthy relationships with teachers you learn from not just one teacher but you learn from all the teachers what the needs are. That’s something that you just can’t sit on the school board and be like ‘I’m on school board I’m making these decisions’ but not have healthy relationships with your community members and your teachers to know what the needs are of that community. I feel like that’s one of the most important things that I would do is to make sure that I build relationships with teachers to know what their needs and wants are and what do you need to be successful as a teacher and keep them around a little bit longer.”

Brummel: “What in your background leads you to believe you would be an effective school board member?”

Kate Steinbock: “Well, I like I said before, I’ve been in education my entire professional life and I think that not only my background in education makes me relevant as a school board member, but I think that I care about my kids and all of the kids in the county. I think that’s one of the biggest things is that you have to really care about the success of all of the kids and if you can create an environment where all of the kids can be successful in one way or another whether it’s through CTE or academics I think that that makes a great district and that’s how you could be more successful.”

Brummel: “What unique qualities do you bring to this role?”

Michael Tighe: “I don’t know if I bring anything unique. I know that I’m not an educator and I wouldn’t know the first thing about teaching students but as a mechanic I know that you don’t fix things that aren’t broke. A lot of times that doesn’t also mean you leave them completely alone either. I have the ability to see some of these things through to take the time and look at our test scores and see what’s working and see some of the things that might need fixed and some of the things that might just need adjusted. I think a lot of these things that we have started and a lot of the processes in the new curriculum or some of the newer curriculum they’re going to take some time and we’re going to have to see these scores to see how well they’re working and if each and every student is benefitting from them.”

Rounds three and four will appear in the Friday, October 25 issue of the Telegram.