I found some great school board candidate questions from a report from the US Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Institute a Competitive Workforce and the National Chamber Foundation. I'll be using that as the basis for my next several blogs. You can find the questionnaire here. Feel free to ask me other questions, though!
Governance: What 3 Questions would I ask a candidate for district superintendent? 1) Explain a time when you faced a challenge in school administration where you restored trust in the school or district. 2) To be an effective leader, being aware of your weaknesses and finding ways to compensate for them. Explain a professional weakness of yours and how you work to mitigate it. 3) In your experience, what are the most effective ways to encourage and raise morale of the faculty, staff, administrators, and related educational support systems (parents, community members, etc)? Second: Finance: Education finance is not foreign or new to me. It's important to understand that Hallsville only controls about 50% of the income/revenue of our budget, which comes from our tax levies. I'm well versed on how the foundation formula at the state level impacts Hallsville and districts across the state, Also, I understand the very limited role the federal government has in education finance. The Board and administrators aren't in an easy or fun position when trying to balance a school budget. This is important to highlight. We are in a time of limited financial resources at all levels of government and faced with tough realities: incomes are limited, fixed costs are rising, as a society we often desire all options (foreign languages, all sports, enriching educational programs, just to name a few) but have limited budgets that must balance at the end of the year. Hallsville has the lowest tax levy in Boone County. This is fantastic for taxpayers, but not necessarily for those citizens who desire all of the options that I mentioned above. Right now, aside from learning and resolving our financial problems, transparency should be a high priority. Transparency creates a sense of trust and competency that has been lost. I commit to leading this transparency effort that will allow our fellow citizens to see that the Board is providing the fiscal oversight necessary while allowing the educators to prioritize how to best teach our children. Board Operations: Do I have any thoughts/advice on Board Operations? Since I am still fairly new to the Hallsville community, I don't have the name ID that other candidates have and I don't have the institutional knowledge that others have. I am a consensus builder before trying to push forward on issues that are divisive. We need to make sure to follow public and closed session protocols. We also should encourage Board dialogue during the open session to show the public that Board members are making decisions where the rationale is explained by administrators and board members. Lastly, I think creating a sense of trust among fellow board members is important. In today's society, we are often quick to criticize but slow to extend a hand of support to our colleagues and fellow community members. Board members will and should have different opinions on issues. I will prioritize time to meet, understand, and get to know my fellow Board members in hopes to create an environment that fosters collaboration and consensus governance. We often lead divided lives, but our schools should be something that unites us. Our leaders need to live this virtue to instill confidence that we are on the right path as a district. Thanks for reading! Craig
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AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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