School Board Election

I thought I would write  and explain why I decided to run for the school board one last time. 

I have been on the board for about eleven years. I was on the board when we went through the big recession. It was a very difficult time, dealing with the financial funding cut backs from the state. Some personnel had to be let go, and wages cut. It definitely wasn’t an easy job, and very unpleasant. It took several years for the state to finally restore our funding and the teacher pay back to pre-recession levels. I think it could have been much worse for our district than it was, if we hadn’t had a financially responsible Superintendent and Business Manager. 

With the help of the patrons supporting some much needed expenditures, like the technology, roof repairs, and elementary boiler, we have been able to keep up on our needs without depleting our contingency funds or running a deficit. Other districts haven’t been able to manage their budgets nearly as well as our administrators. Many have had to maintain large Supplemental Levies. I have felt like the district patrons support us well when we have asked for a Supplemental Levy, as long as we have identified a real need, and followed through in spending the money how we said we would. I am hopeful that if the funding from the state continues to improve, we won’t need another Supplemental Levy next year when our current Levy expires. 

As a school board you only really hire one person, the Superintendent. He or she hires everyone else. The Superintendent hires all the administrators, and annually reviews their performance. The Superintendent, with the help of the Management Team, which includes the Principals, hires all the teachers, determines curriculum, oversees student performance, and student discipline. The Superintendent is responsible for the management of the district finances, and numerous other very important responsibilities. I have also appreciated not having our district in the news for any inappropriate or illegal activities. 

So my main reason to run for election again is to help select our new Superintendent. It’s such a critical decision that could affect our district in either a positive or negative way, for many years to come. 

I would also like to help with the transition to a new Superintendent, to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible. There has been a lot of board turnover in recent years, and with Wade Christensen choosing to retire this year, I thought staying on the board to provide some long term experience was also a good idea. 

I think we have always had very good teachers. Our six kids all went through Firth schools. The education they received here has benefited them in their continued education. I now have a grandson and two granddaughters to attend Firth schools. So even though my kids have all graduated, I still have a vested interest in the continued quality of education in the Firth School District. 

I have always tried to be responsive to any emails, phone calls, or comments on the blogs I have written. I have written many blogs to try and give as much details of board meetings as possible along with my opinions of issues before the board. 

The district operates by the Policy Manual. Each year the State School Board Association sends the district new, or updated policies. There are very few discretionary options in most of the policies because the legislature changed a law or some other legal requirement. The administration and school board follows the district policies very closely. I know some people have problems with various policies, I do too, however, we have to accept and approve them, or the district could get sued for not abiding by the law. 

Every month at the end of board meeting, there is a discussion about what to talk about the following month. Some are issues brought to the different board members. When the board talks about these concerns, ideas are discussed between board members and the Superintendent. If there are any recommendations that need further action, the administration is responsible to research and determine the best way to proceed. The board oversees and approves, but doesn’t overstep the administration when it comes to school education or program decisions. 

As an example,  a concern was brought to the board about student mental health and the need to provide more help to prevent self harm. The administration was asked to investigate a group called the Hope Squad to see if it would be a good program for our district. After some time and research, the administration reported to the board that they recommended a different organization. It was not the board’s responsibility to decide which option was best for our district, decisions like this need to be left to the administration. The district hired a new school councilor, who is also a certified social worker. So now we have a very qualified person on staff that can direct the administration, and school board about any future mental health concerns. 

Any board member wants what’s best for our students, I know I do. However, even if we as individual board members, think we know what’s best, we have to leave these type of decisions up to the real professionals. This is another critical reason why who we hire is so important, and why I request your support to be able to help with the hiring of the new Superintendent. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask. Again, I request your support to be re-elected one last time to serve in Zone 2, on the Firth School Board. The election will take place November 5th at your usual voting precincts. Thank you.