These questionnaires were submitted to the School Board Candidates by The Lee’s Summit Coalition for Excellence in Education. Special thanks to Chris Storms, Leah Foster and the school board candidates for getting copies of this information to us to share with you.

How long have you been an R7 resident?

I have been a homeowner in Lee’s Summit for over 26 years.

What is your history of involvement in/service to the community?  (Including, but not exclusive to, the LSR7 district?)

• Current/Prior Board Service:  I am completing my sixth consecutive year of service on the R-7 board, currently finishing my second year as board President.  The previous two years were served as Vice-President. Since my election, I have served as a board representative on various committees such as Finance, Audit, TEAM Lee’s Summit, Citizens Advisory Committee, Capital Projects, Insurance (both property and benefits), TIF Commission, Boundary Study and Site Selection.
• Community:  I am an active member of the Lee’s Summit Noon Rotary, (Unity Village) and for the last 15 years have been a registered Boy Scout leader helping young men earn their Eagle Scout badge.  For 14 years, I had the pleasure to volunteer in elementary, middle and high school classrooms and school facilities working with students and faculty at registration events, on educational trips and for extracurricular activities.  I have been involved with four different R-7 PTA organizations at their carnivals, DARE and 6th grade graduations; and have served as a chaperone with LSHS Music Parents and Athletic Boosters.  I have also volunteered during those years with many students in the community at board level positions in local churches and with children’s ministries at those churches as well as having been a soccer and baseball coach in Lee’s Summit and Greenwood.

Describe briefly your educational background and professional experience?

• Educational Background:  I am a graduate of Missouri State University with a BS in Accounting and a Minor in Computer Science, with additional studies in Insurance and Real Estate.
• Professional Experience:  I have been employed as a Senior Accountant, Controller and Chief Financial Officer, and currently am President of HSMC Technology Services, a Lee’s Summit-based computer systems integration firm.  My professional training in accounting includes twenty nine years of financial, budgetary and management experience; experience with corporate and not-for-profit boards and the ability to work as a team member towards common goals.

If elected, what would be your areas of priority?

Should I be elected for an additional term, my priority will be to continue work to avail our students of the best possible education they may attain and to attract and retain the best possible staff to carry out those educational practices.  I will continue to work toward those goals while providing financial and fiduciary responsibility to the patrons of the district, particularly in this tough financial climate.  Further, I will work alongside the rest of the board to provide continued governance of the district’s policies and procedures, giving administration appropriate support and positive direction.

How do you view the role of TEAM Lee’s Summit?

The district’s TEAM Lee’s Summit provides an avenue of representation for staff belonging to professional organizations as well as to our employees who do not have that access or have chosen not to join a professional association.  In addition, district employees also have representation by job classification for the entire district’s array of jobs.  TEAM Lee’s Summit also provides the communication of concerns found through the annual survey and in many buildings there are avenues for building level concerns to be raised.  TEAM Lee’s Summit proves important to administration and staff to form a good and open working relationship.  I believe there are many other districts, locally, statewide and nationally, that could benefit from an organization such as TEAM Lee’s Summit.

How do you view the roll of the CAC?

The Citizens Advisory Committee is a vital committee of the School Board.  It is comprised of a group of volunteers throughout the district in which the board asks for recommendations on certain district actions such as the components to be included in “NO TAX” increase bond issue, possible levy considerations and any number of additional patron input issues and feelings.  This committee is widely respected and would benefit surrounding districts if they could organize such a committee.

What is the roll of a school board member?  Of the board?

The role of a school board member is to be but one member of a team of volunteers that collectively do the work of the school board.  The board member may have certain talents and experience that will enhance the board or board results overall, but a single member is only one representative of the board.

The school board collectively is responsible for governance of the district and board governance is group work.  An effective school board governs through its  governing documents such as its’ policies and procedures, the District’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan, the budget, the Superintendent Evaluation, the District’s Professional Development Plan and the open meeting agenda.  School Boards clarify the district’s purpose, connect with the community, employ a superintendent, delegate authority and monitor district performance.  In the end, it is all about the students and school boards succeed when they govern districts in which every student is learning, in every subject, every year, no matter what.

The LSR7 school district is a Professional Learning Community.  What is the key focus of this philosophical approach to education, and how can the Board of Education ensure success in its implementation?

The key focus of a Professional Learning Community is to not simply ensure that students are taught but to ensure that they learn.  The district focuses on learning rather than teaching, working collaboratively and holding oneself accountable for results.  There are three questions that drive the work of a PLC: What do we want each student to learn; How will we know when each student has learned it; and How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?  The last question is easily the most important and in the R-7 district, we use interventions to get a student back on track rather than a remediation after the failure.  The board supports this and ensures its implementation by being an active participant with district written reports on its progress and the progress towards educational goals of each student thru student data results.  We turn the data into relevant information.

What are the key issues facing R7?

The upcoming year(s) will see nearly all school districts’ finances stretched and the vast majority of Missouri districts watching and waiting to see whether the General Assembly will fully fund the formula.  This is compounded in R-7 due to the reduced income from property taxes, based on our county assessor’s office and its new assessment policies and practices.  It cannot go unnoticed that many surrounding districts are in poor financial shape, but the R-7 district has consistently applied and continues to practice solid long-term financial planning.  We have a working cost containment program in place with the primary goal of affecting teaching curriculum, classrooms and district staff as little as possible.  Even with this in our forefront thoughts, we will continue to strive towards excellence in education and increased rigor and relevance.

With the wide diversity within the district, how would you represent all students’ interests as a school board member?

All public school districts in the state of Missouri are required to have a five-year strategic plan.  The R-7 Comprehensive School Improvement Plan is not just a ‘required’ document in the eyes of our board and administration.  It is reviewed each year, results presented to the BOE and updates made annually with board approval to ensure it meets the needs of each child.  The district has gone further in identifying a separate objective for diversity.  Within those objectives, the district promotes facilitation of a school model that advances equity and cultural responsibility; ensures that cultural diversity is respected and incorporated appropriately in the curriculum and environment; provides increased opportunities for involvement in our schools by people of cultural diversity within and beyond the R-7 district; and has been attempting to increase the number of minority teachers and other staff for a number of years.

The District Diversity Team finalized the development of an Equitable/Culturally Responsible School Model in 2006 and each of our buildings include in their School Improvement Plan goals and activities that address the expectations of the ten components of the model, including staff as role models.  During the 2008-09 school year, every secondary teacher and principal were involved in diversity training and this year the elementary principals and assistant principals are participating in diversity training.

What should districts be doing to help students prepare for their futures?  How do you feel (and what do you know) about LSR7’s approach to this?

Districts should be responsible for helping all students prepare for their future, whether that is a two or four year college, vocational/tech school, military service or entry into the workplace upon high school graduation.  The district’s Connecting All Students to Their Future works with students and their families to help students determine what their future plans as well as working with parents to be involved with their students enrollment choices by attending enrollment conferences each year.  I believe this is a great advance for the district and we are having high rates of attendance in the schools at enrollment fairs and job fairs.  I have been personally involved and see the differences it makes as evidenced by the post graduation surveys as to where are students are and what they have been involved in since graduation.

What do you anticipate the time commitment for board services to be?

Time commitments are much broader than the monthly board meetings and include preparation and review time prior to any meeting, task force or study group as well as time spent in or around community in support of the district.  It involves meeting with legislators, both locally and out of the Lee’s Summit area.  A board member must be able to be in the schools with faculty, administrators, students and patrons and a board member must spend time in continuing education for his/her support of public education.

That said, as referenced by my involvement in various committees and teams over the last six years and my expanded roll as President of the School Board, I am aware of the enormous commitment of time to serve as a volunteer on the Board of Education and would actually expect the time to increase dramatically over the years to come as our district faces the impending budget issues of public education.

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