Election 2010: PTA sponsors candidate forum

October 27, 2010

Four of the six candidates for the Broken Bow Board of Education participated in a public forum Tuesday evening, to answer questions, share their views, and inform the public on why they want to serve on our school board. Matthew Haumont and Tom Myers were unable to attend due to prior commitments.
Broken Bow attorney and Callaway school board member Juliana Jenkins served as moderator for the forum, and asked each candidate a series of eight questions. Prior to the start of the forum the candidates drew numbers to determine the order in which they would answer the questions.
The questions were prepared by the Broken Bow PTA, who hosted the event. Each candidate was given a time limit of two minutes to answer each question. Each was also given two minutes at the end of the evening to present closing statements.
The forum was video taped by BBPS and will be broadcast on the cable school channel (channel 3) continuously throughout the weekend, beginning after school Friday. It will also be broadcast in its entirety Friday at 2:15 p.m.
Below you will find each candidates answer, in part, to the questions asked by Jenkins, in the order in which they answered.

1. What is your vision for the Broken Bow Schools in the next 5, 10 and 15 years. As a school board member, how do you prepare for your future vision?
Tracey - “As we look out there over the next few years there are several things we have to consider. First and foremost is the education of our children. We ally know the buildings are a high priority, but that can’t be just my plan - it has to be all our our’s plan.
We need to come together as a community and decide our 5, 10 and 15 year plan.”
Don - “Education has been accused of lagging behind industry in terms of change. but I think that is changing. Everything changes - education is no exception. Education is shifting to focus more on learning, rather than on teaching. We have all kinds of challenges in the coming 5, 10 and 15 years - but our biggest challenge is educating our children for the future.”
Kevin - “Technology allows us to taylor our educational system to an individual basis. We are learning how to educate our students better, so no one falls through the cracks. The board has to work in a collaborative effort with the superintendent and the maintenance department to adapt to all the changes, while providing upkeep of our buildings.”
Bill - “My biggest plan is to be fiscally responsible. We need to make sure we have the money to do what we want to do - without burdening the taxpayers to do it. We do need to keep up with the times. But we need to do it without having to raise taxes.”
2. Currently Broken Bow has an interim superintendent. As you look for a new superintendent, what qualities do you think are most important and what experience level will you look for in a superintendent and why?
Don - “The first quality I would look for is leadership. This person needs to be very open with the whole community, staff and board. While a superintendent needs a good education background, they also need a good solid business background. The superintendent has to be a good financial manager.”
Kevin - “A leader, good communicator, open minded and someone who is very conscientious of the type of taxpayers we have in this district. I also think they need to be in touch with what is going on at the state level and the regional level. I think the board should be able to count on the superintendent being the eyes and ears from Lincoln.”
Bill - “I think we need to look at someone who is fiscally responsible, and who is willing to be a listener to what the people want.”
Tracy - “When looking for a superintendent I believe we need someone who can work with the community, and above all work with the board. Someone who is a progressive thinker - not someone who is going to just jump over the cliff, but who is willing to take chances.”
3. What in your opinion are the most positive aspects of the Broken Bow school system and how will you as a school board member continue to promote these positive things?
Kevin - “The most positive aspects I have witnessed is that we have a great school improvement process. We have a great administration and staff. I see enthusiasm and dedication from our staff - we don’t have a high turnover rate here.”
Bill - “I would say just our area. We are mainly an ag based community. Our kids are raised to learn - to excel to always do better. We’ve got a great bunch of teachers that help that along. Our teachers have learned to do the best with what they have.”
Tracy - “We have a great staff. Our technology is a terribly positive thing that allows all of our students to have those positive opportunities. Financially, our cash reserves have grown and our building fund has grown. We have opportunities outside our classroom that are very positive for our students.”
Don - We have a great staff who makes educating our children their highest priority. With programs such as the high ability learner program, the alternative school program and our ELL program, our staff works very hard to make sure every child gets the opportunity to learn.
4. Each child matters. Every day counts. That’s the motto of the Broken Bow Public Schools. Do you think the Broken Bow school system is achieving this motto - why or why not?
Tracy - “I don’t think it is a journey that has an end point - you can never look and say oh we’re there now. I think it is a goal we continually strive to meet. I feel we try to meet that through all the things we are trying to do.”
Don - “Despite what you have read in the paper, our primary responsibility is the child. We don’t deal so much with groups and numbers - we deal with individuals. That is a major strength we have.”
Kevin - “I believe we are working very diligently to live up to that motto. You see that every day around here with our teachers and administrators, so that no student falls through the cracks. The board sets policy - we are not just responsible for the money. Our job is to set policies and see to it those are carried out.”
Bill - “I think our staff is doing an excellent job to show that each child matters. It falls back to our staff. We can give them guidelines and policies to go by, but it still falls back to them.”
5. What do you think are the biggest challenges that the Broken Bow schools face when it comes to insuring a successful education for each student?
Bill - “Our biggest challenges right now, I’m afraid, are going to be financial. In uncertain times it is hard to plan too far ahead. I wish a guy could look ahead and see how much money we are going to have, but we can’t.”
Tracy - “I think the biggest challenge is to learn how to provide every student the opportunity to succeed - to teach our children to their style of learning. It doesn’t equate to money most of the time, it’s just learning how to do that.”
Don - “We have a philosophy of keeping our class size low. Both the board and the community have said they want that, especially in the primary grades. When our kids get to the high school level we want to make sure they are ready for ‘grade 13’. Every child matters - we really live by that philosophy.”
Kevin - I think our biggest challenge is making sure every child in our district has the same opportunity for a quality education. Our staff and administration have done a fine job with that, by keeping class sizes small and providing individual learning experiences.
6. Broken Bow Schools face a trend of continued increasing enrollment and increasing special needs program. What process would you use to develop a building proposal that will meet these increased needs?
Don - “We have a problem. If you just do simple numbers you say our class size is not as big as is was 10 years ago, yet we’re out of room. Part of that is due to mandated programs, and part of that is due to the fact that we have more special needs kids than we used to. We don’t have enough room - and we need to find a solution for that.”
Kevin - “I would use a process similar to what we just went through. We have a very active community right now. We also have a very vocal, minority group who runs attack ads on us and criticizes every solution we come up with, and doesn’t come up with a solution of their own.”
Bill - “I knew this question was going to be asked. It’s not going to be easy. We can’t expect a small percentage of the people to pay the lions share of the bill. We can’t just jump into it - we have to make it affordable.”
Tracy - “We need to continue to have community meetings. Dr. Moon is a good facilitator, as she has experience outside the district and doesn’t have a negative history. I think we need to look at all avenues for funding. The biggest thing in the process is that we all come with an open mind on how we are going to find a solution - not how we are going to fight it.”
7. If state aid is diminished in the next few years, how do you think the school’s budget would need to change to reflect these thinning funds?
Kevin - “I think state aid will be cut, and we have tried to prepare for that by building up our cash reserves. I don’t want to look at how we can eliminate programs. Contrary to what you may read in the ads, Broken Bow student numbers are up.”
Bill - “These guys have a little more advantage as they have worked on school budgets. If you took 35 percent out of my income, things would change drastically. It’s a hard question to answer until you’re actually faced with it. All we can do is hope our area continues to thrive like it is.”
Tracy - “State aid has fluctuated for many years. One of the things we have done is take care of some of our expenses, like transportation, while funds are available. We’re constantly preparing, because we don’t know what will happen. You have to look at your values and decide what you want to keep and what you’re willing to let go.”
Don - “On our board we have some people who really know how to handle money and finances. Kevin and Tracey do an excellent job with that. Year after year I hear we have a real financial crisis here. But we always find a way, and we always will find a way - because we know what our focus is.”
8. If there was a decrease in state aid, how would you prioritize the following three options:
a) Increased property taxes
b) Eliminate programs
c) Cut staff
Bill - “Nobody likes to eliminate staff, cut programs or increase taxes. The main goal is to try to keep everything as small as a person can, because it might change next year. You would want to cut as little as possible.”
Tracey - “The last thing I would do is eliminate programs. Cutting staff or raising taxes does not make you popular with anyone. I think we would have to look at the staff to see if any cuts could be made without affecting the education of our children.”
Don - “I think we can meet the needs without having to do any of these. But if we had to, I would hope that we could sell the community on a levy override. if we got to that point and there was no other choice, I think our community would support that.”
Kevin - “I don’t think there is any fat to be cut. When we have done our part and it still is not enough, I would go to the community and give them the options. The school is the heartbeat of the community.”
CLOSING REMARKS:
Tracey - “I would like to begin by thanking everyone for coming, and thanking the PTA for sponsoring this forum. I believe in Broken Bow Public Schools and in our community. I am running for the board of education - not a tax board or anything else. We need to be responsible with our money, yes, but that is a small point when it comes to the education of our children.”
Don - “Most of the argument has come about money and buildings. Most of that is things that the board doesn’t get to decide anyway - the public decides that.”
Kevin - “I think it is imperative if you want to serve on a school board you should make it a priority to be here and explain to the community why you want to be on the board. I am very disappointed in the two candidates who are not here tonight. Our kids deserve a better elementary system than what we have today. I understand about the taxes - my family is in the top 20 land owners in this district. Yet I don’t complain about a tax increase because the school is that important to me.”
Bill - I am running for the school board because I want to see to it that every child here gets a quality education. I think it is important that we take care of our money, and do the best we can with what we have.