The five candidates for Hays USD 489 were interviewed by the Hays Post. Their responses are being presented in a question-and-answer format. The other candidates running include: Kelly Ancar, Ken Brooks, Curt Vajnar and Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp.
Three seats are available on the board. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Age: 72
Occupation: Retired teacher and principal
What do you think qualifies you to run for the school board?
Qualifications for the school board are wide-ranging, because I believe everybody in the school district could be on the school board, because everybody has an ownership in it.
But myself, I worked for the school district as a middle school principal for 21 years, an assistant principal for three years prior to that. My wife is a retired teacher from USD 489, so I get her views. I have just been involved with education all my life.
I started years and years ago as a college student working for the school district as a bus driver, and so I've been a bus driver, a teacher, a principal and now a retired grandparent.
Do you have a child or grandchild currently attending Hays USD 489 schools or did any of your children attend in the past?
All of my children attended USD 489, and I have a grandchild who is an eighth-grader at Hays Middle School right now.
Why are you running for election?
I ran again because there have been so many good things in the four years that I was on the school board. This community worked so hard to pass the bond issue, and I've been observing the last two years off the board as that has progressed. We have Roosevelt and the Hays High projects done, but you have the new middle school, you have O' Loughlin, you have Wilson and you have the administration building. I want to be able to see all of these things come to a positive end.
Do you support the district's five-year capital improvement plan? And if not, is there anything that you would change about it?
The five-year capital plan is a changing document. Year one, year two, the closest ones are pretty much set, but year five can be changed as needs progress. Right now, I favor it.
I've been following the school board actions for the last two years, and I think Mr. (Ron) Wilson, superintendent, and Mrs. Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, and all the schools have done a good job of looking at what their needs will be, but nobody is sure where you're going to be in five years.
Do you support the plans for the remaining bond projects? If not, is there anything that you would change about those projects?
I think the plan is there, and I don't see any changes, but I know as they get into the different buildings, the different locations, there will need to be changes. That is something that day-to-day administrators will be able to bring back to the board.
How would you view your role as a school board member, oversight with administrators and teachers handling day-to-day operations, or the board manages all aspects of operations?
Being on a board is a learning situation, and I learned a lot the four years I was on the board. I have been able to be on the other side as an administrator and as a teacher. The day by day, that is why the administrators and the teachers are hired for their positions. Board members are there to set policy and to bring the community in and be the community voice.
Do you think the district is adequately managing its budget? If not, what would you change or cut?
The budget is one of those things that starts at the board meeting right after you set the budget. At every meeting, you're working on the budget for the next year. Because if it's salaries, if it's teacher in-service projects, different things like that, it doesn't wait until the board meeting right before you set the new budget. The superintendent and all the schools, the administrators work on the budget all year.
Are there any policies that you think should be changed? How would you change those policies if you had the ability?
I don't have a district policy that I'm running for or against. I believe over the years, the board, the superintendents, have done a good job of looking at policy.
I know we work through the Kansas Association of School Boards policies every year to make sure they are legal and to make sure that all of our policies are up to date. And that they are where we want them as a community.
So I don't have one, because the board, that's part of their responsibility, is to look at the policies every year and see if they need updating.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I am very proud to just be in Hays. I moved to this community over 40 years ago now, and the schools are what brought us to Hays.
The city of Hays was so important in our bond issue; the mayor, the city commission, and everyone who worked so hard to get the sales tax, which was probably key to helping our schools.
You have the university and the medical and HaysMed being so supportive of the school district. I am just proud.
Somebody accused me of being on a thank-you campaign. It really is. I want to thank the community for what they do for our school district, and the biggest thank you goes to our teachers, our staff, our paras. Teaching and education gets harder every year.
I visit with teachers, retired teachers, and those who are working harder now than they did five years ago, simply because of the various pressures associated with our kids and the numerous new things in education.
If I get the privilege of being on the board again, I want to be able to make decisions based on 'How does it affect kids?' Every decision, if I vote on something as a board member, I want to think, in my mind, 'Is it good for kids? Will it make them more successful?'
As told to Cristina Janney/Hays Post