By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph school board candidates believe the district has regained some of the public trust lost during the financial scandal, but still has work to do.
Candidate Colby Oyerly tells a candidate forum hosted by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce the school board is moving forward.
“With three new members last year and two new members coming this year, I think the trust is getting better,” Oyerly says. “There’s going to be plenty of people that can’t forget the past, but I think we need to move forward.”
Board members must live transparent lives, according to candidate Kim Miller, who says the public needs to see change.
“If our lives can exemplify those standards that all of you hold then that’s how we move forward,” according to Miller. “But we should always be moving forward. Let the past go and allow work to be done.”
Candidate Isaura Garcia says some great ideas have been put forward, but community participation has been lacking.
“And I do believe right now we have so many great things going on, like Vision Forward, and I would encourage projects like these to leave that open line of communication with our community,” Garcia says.
Scandal rocked the St. Joseph School District, ending with former Superintendent and School Board President Dan Colgan being sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison and forced to pay $608,257 in restitution. Colgan pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He served as superintendent from 1992 until his retirement at the end of 2005.
Three of the five candidates on the April 5th ballot attended the forum held at the Stoney Creek Hotel in St. Joseph. Candidates James Kindred, Sr. and Brenda Steidel did not participate in the forum.
As for recruiting and retaining quality teachers, the candidates agree it will take more than money.
Miller tells the audience that the district must demonstrate it cares about its students.
“It doesn’t all have to be monetary, but it can be other incentives that would encourage them and allow them to see a community that stands beside students,” according to Miller.
As for Garcia, hiring a new superintendent who relates to teachers and puts academics first will make a difference.
“That way, if we have good leadership, we can go ahead and secure that we’re not only retaining teachers, but also attracting future educators to our community, which is the ultimate goal,” Garcia says.
Oyerly advocates incentives, such as help relocating.
“And then, like with the Grow Your Own, they have to stay with the district for so long,” Oyerly says. “Just give them that incentive to come to this community.”
All agree culture makes a difference in a school district.
Garcia says culture is very much important.
“We do have to remember that although we run the school district like a business, we still are a people business and we have to take care of the people who are working in our district,” according to Garcia.
Miller cautions culture cannot be bogged down by national controversies.
“It can be brought down with those things that kind of pit different cultures against other cultures and just let the students grow in knowledge of each other,” Miller says.
Oyerly says it is the school leaders who set the climate.
“Putting the right person in place to make that positive change to set the climate and be able to weather the day-to-day changes, will set that good, positive climate,” Oyerly says.
St. Joseph School District voters will choose two of five candidates to serve three-year terms on the school board.
Click here to hear the entire forum.