Many of you are asking “What elections?” We have spring elections that have primaries tomorrow, and the general elections are April 5th.
Who is running?
School Board - This is an election that is often ignored and missed by people. I was one of those people for many years not realizing the importance of these elections. Now, having understood the value, I would like to point out some of the duties that our local school board is responsible for performing.
- Hiring and working with the superintendent
- Overseeing school personnel
- Reviewing and approving curriculum
- Tracking district enrollment and attendance
- Monitoring student achievement
- Setting the academic calendar
- Managing student transportation
- Ensuring that local schools are in accordance with federal and state academic standards
- Providing parents and members of the community with a voice for the education of their children
All of these duties are ones that help shape the learning environment of our children. It is important that we elect individuals who have them as their top priority. Our children are the future of the nation, which is why school board elections are crucial.
To those of you who ask, “Why should it be important to me; I don’t have children anymore”,
my simple answer is money!! Here are some of the responsibilities of the school board that concern your tax dollars:
- Establishing 50-60% of the local property tax bill
- Administering the local education budget
- Approving facility maintenance and construction
- Negotiating subcontractor agreements
As you can see the school board has many critical responsibilities. While the legislature may determine the size of the budget, it is your local school board that ultimately determines where those dollars get spent. When budgets are strained, as they have been recently, it is your school board that has the final say in prioritizing those budget dollars and determining which programs will get cut. If you care about the quality of your children’s education or your hard-earned money that is being spent, then it is time to get involved in our school board elections.
Listed below are the candidates who are running in our area. I urge you to contact them and ask questions regarding their motivation for running and how they believe they can help Shawnee Mission remain the best district in our area.
Board Member-Position 5 (4 year term)
Angela Jeppesen
Charles Jean-Baptiste
Patty Mach (Incumbent)
Board Member At-Large-Position 7 (4 year term) **** Primary-March 1st*****
Mark Anderson
Bart Altenbernd
John W. St. Clair Jr.
Joan Leavens
To find more information on the above members go to: www.jocoelection.org and click on the Spring 2011 Candidate List.
Since the primary is tomorrow for the at-large position, check out this website for candidates' answers to questions asked by the Shawnee Dispatch.
We have other elected positions that will be on the ballot this spring as well. These include the Mayor, City Council, JCCC Board of Trustees, and Water One candidates. You may look up the candidates for these positions on the www.jocoelections.org website as well. I encourage you to do some investigating and see which candidates will best represent you at the local level.
In your service,
Kelly Meigs
State Representative
District #17
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