By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Eight candidates for St. Joseph School Board discussed a variety of issues during a candidate forum sponsored by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber event drew a packed audience to the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center and a live radio audience on KFEQ as well as a streaming audience on St. Joseph Post.
In opening statements, the candidates gave their background and reasons for their candidacy.
Harold Barr, Jr. is a professional engineer and land surveyor.
“I have worked in other cities, but I’ve always called St. Joe home,” Barr said.
Amanda Cook is an assistant coach for the Central High School swim team and calls herself an advocate for teachers.
“I really feel like we as a community need to come together with them and help support them so that they can feel valued so that they can continue to give our children their best abilities,” Cook stated.
Don Crabtree is a retired educator, who taught in both public and private schools.
“I served 30 years as the president and vice president on the national speech and debate association which is a group that oversees about 5,000 high schools in the United States,” Crabtree said.
Rick Gehring is a salesman counting on his experience.
“I have served on the board of education before, back in 2020 and 21,” Gehring said. “I understand what it takes to make the tough decisions. They require a lot of forethought. Sometimes they’re not the most popular decision.”
Brad Huett is with the Buchanan County EMS.
“I’m running for the board from a parent perspective to be more involved in my child’s education as I’ve done what I feel I can do to the maximum on the parent side so this is a way for me to get further involved and to educate myself from behind the scenes and to make a difference and be a voice for the parents,” Huett said.
Jennifer Kerns has been a school PTA counselor who said she has been involved with the community.
“So, when I come to the table with the board my decisions are based on student advocacy, obviously, parent engagement, and community engagement,” according to Kerns.
Whitney Lanning is executive director of St. Joseph Head Start.
“But the question I get more than any other is why, why, why would you run for office, it’s so hard?” Lanning said. “But the answer for me is very simple. I know the value of public education.”
Brain Shewell is assistant general manager and part-owner of Pizza Ranch.
“The three areas that I am running for is the early learning initiatives, behaviors in mental health, and then the recruitment and retaining of the quality teachers that we have,” Shewell said.
Jonathon Bell remains on the ballot, but did not participate in the forum.
St. Joseph School District voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, April 4th, to choose two candidates to fill two open seats on the St. Joseph School Board.
Click HERE for a video of the candidate forum.