In advance of the upcoming election, school board candidates recently answered questions about issues facing the board and their ability to serve. Their answers are here, listed in alphabetical order.
The candidates are Dennis Bergen of Anderson, a retired teacher and minister; John Carlin of the Bunker Hill community, a project/program director for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture; Dr. Scott Goldstein of Pineville, a dentist and current school board president serving 18 years consecutively and three years in the 1980s; Bobby Parish of Noel, a farmer, technician for Seneca Telephone and restaurant owner; and Angie Reece of Southwest City, a loan officer and former board member of three years.
Q. Why do you want to be a McDonald County School Board member?
Bergen: "I was born and raised in McDonald County. I graduated from there. I'm a property owner. I just want to give back because the school has provided a living for me and my family, and I love the people of the county, and I want to contribute and make a positive difference."
Carlin: "Because I'm from this area and I came up through the school system and I think through my skill set I can help the board make better decisions."
Goldstein: "In my tenure on the board I feel like we've achieved a lot of success in getting more options for our kids, and I want to continue that. I want to continue looking at areas in the district we can improve the learning environment and continue to find ways to make our facilities as safe as possible."
Parish: "I grew up in the school district. My parents all worked for the school. The only way to make a difference is to get involved and do something ... you can't make a difference unless you try to. In this case, if you don't like what's going on, you've got to step up and say something for somebody that can't."
Reece: "When I was younger, I kind of always wanted to be a teacher but I never took the time to get that education. Then I got another job and I didn't so much want to teach. I still want to be part of the school system. I also have four kids ... I want to be involved in the school system and how it is managed."
Q. The current school board has investigated the possibility of adding to its athletic facilities. How do you feel about developing new facilities for athletics?
Bergen: "I need more facts before I can form an intelligent opinion on that. I need to know more about our finances. I need to know more about our existing facilities. I am certainly open to that wherever it's deemed necessary, whether it's athletics or art or whatever the case might be. I want our students and faculty to have the facilities they need to be successful."
Carlin: "I think we should take better care of our maintenance and operations issues first and that athletics is secondary to education but that we should ensure that our athletes have safe and hygienic facilities."
Goldstein: "We're currently waiting for bids to come in for a second weight room that will be housed in the high school that is definitely needed as we get more students involved in athletics and weight training. As for an athletics complex, it is needed, but it is time-sensitive to make sure that funds are available."
Parish: "I personally am as big of a supporter as anybody. My daughter plays softball for the high school. However, I really feel like we need to take care of some of our existing stuff before we need to go building more. When we have schools that have no safe rooms and stuff, it seems they need to be a priority over the other. If you can't take care of what you've got, why do you need to build more?"
Reece: "I'm pro-anything that's going to add new activities for our kids to participate in, whether that's sports or anything else. I'd have to know more about the cost of things they're looking into before I could be totally for that. It would have to make sense financially."
Q. The board has discussed making Pineville Primary a pre-K center and moving older Pineville Primary students to neighboring elementary schools. What are your thoughts in regards to this?
Bergen: "Again, I need more data in order to know whether that is a wise move or not. I've heard community opinions in both directions. I've heard people say it's very responsible and I've heard people say it should not be done, so that's an issue that I'll have to investigate if I'm elected."
Carlin: "I've not seen the financials and the trends for our student population and where that's going. I really can't tell you how I feel on that until I've seen the data. The data may show that that's the right or the wrong decision. The board members are privy to information that we are not, and without seeing the data, I cannot make a decision."
Goldstein: "My personal thoughts are, before any moves happen with any students, we need to make sure that our staff, our parents and our taxpayers are involved in the discussion."
Parish: "Without having the full information on that, it's hard to make a choice on that, but at this point in time I would have to say I'm not necessarily in favor of that. I've talked to a lot of parents in the Pineville area, and there's a lot of not-so-happy people about that. Personally, I'm not in favor of it, but I don't have all the facts in front of me, but I know there's a lot of not-so-happy parents in Pineville. The parents and the students are something that need to be considered heavily on that deal."
Reece: "I've had a couple people call me on this, and I don't know enough about why they're doing this to make a good call on this. There are several parents that are pretty unhappy, but I don't know enough about why they're doing that to make a good argument either way. One of the things I've learned about being on the school board is it's very different than you think it is. Is it a financial reason they're doing that? I would want to know more about it before I commented on that."
Q. Why do you believe that you will be a good board member?
Bergen: "I think I'll be a good board member based on my experience. I'm a lifelong resident. I have 37 years in public education. Thirty-five and a half were in McDonald County. I have a master's degree in education. I've taught in every school in the county and every grade in the county. I'm a parent of a McDonald County graduate and I married a McDonald County graduate. I am invested in this community."
Carlin: "I have strong communication skills. I've worked in a wide range of professions in my career. I have experience making high-level decisions. Through my career as the director, I plan experiments and interpret data. A lot of decisions that need to be made need to be made off data -- not off emotion. I'm rooted in the community and I feel comfortable surveying and taking opinions. My decisions might not be popular, but I would let people know what is going on."
Goldstein: "In my 18 years on the board, we have been able to achieve a lot of progress including the following: New school at Rocky Comfort; additions to the Anderson Elementary School; new Anderson Middle School; ag building at the high school; ag building shop at the high school; new expanded cafeteria and offices at the high school; performing arts center/FEMA safe room at the high school; Pineville gym/FEMA safe room; classrooms and larger cafeteria and larger library at Pineville Elementary; new Pineville Primary building; Southwest City new gym and FEMA safe room; Noel Primary new building and FEMA structure under construction; new bus barn; and AstroTurf football/soccer field at the high school. These are the things we've done in the past during my tenure on the board. We've also put McDonald County School District in the upper 90th percentile of school districts in the state as recognized by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. I feel that these milestones talk about my experience on the board in the past and would like for us to continue striving for more excellence for our students and our communities."
Parish: "Growing up in the school district my dad drove a school bus for 32 years until he passed away. The staff, the teachers, need a voice they're not afraid to talk to to voice their concerns and try to be their voice. Growing up in the district -- I graduated in 2001 -- it's one of those things. You need to be able to listen to them because, without those people, there's not a school district. You're responsible for the taxpayers' money when it comes down to it. You need to listen to the taxpayers. You need to listen to the staff on what needs to be improved. Everyone needs to have a voice, and I feel like I can be that."
Reece: "For one thing, I've been on there before, so I know what to expect. I care about kids and I care about our community. I've served on the chamber. I was president for a term. I served on the county extension office and currently am on the library board, so I'm definitely interested in our community. I think it's a great community. I love our county."
Q. Please describe the qualities of a successful school board and district.
Bergen: "I believe that communication is very important. I believe that the school board should set policy and the administration should implement strategies to carry out that policy and we should empower them to do so. 'Every child, every day, whatever it takes' summarizes our values as a district and a community. Education truly is about the kids, but it's important that we take care of the people who are taking care of our kids. If I'm elected, I'll be a strong supporter of teachers and staff. Hopefully, salaries will be attractive so we can attract and keep quality educators."
Carlin: "A successful district is one that spends its resources wisely, invests heavily in its students, and also goes out and finds alternative sources of funding. If there are things that can be done, maybe we can do them without dipping into money for something else. A successful board prioritizes students, interacts with leadership, but while they take recommendations for teacher hires, assigning duties or transferring of roles, they take in more opinions than just the administration. They need to understand it is the teachers' workplace and have some communication. I think a key part of that is establishing meaningful staff evaluation and that those are given the most weight in making employee decisions. Also a successful board should interact with the community, whether it's through news releases or (social media). The board is privy to information the public is not. They need to share what they can because it's our tax dollars and kids."
Goldstein: "The qualities of a successful school board is one where they work with the superintendent to set goals that will allow our students to succeed, not only in school but in the rest of their life. School boards are the stewards of the taxpayers' money, and we must be prudent in how those funds are spent. A successful school district is one that has support from both within the buildings and from the communities that allow all of our students the best opportunities both educationally and in their life's desires."
Parish: "To me it goes back to being wise with your money, taking care of what you've got, taking care of your students and staff and being wise with the money you're entrusted with. The success of the district is not just about this group or that group. If the students are not successful, something's not being done right. That all goes back to your staff, so you've got to take care of your staff. You've got to be able to listen. You've got to be able to take in all sides of the picture. In my opinion, you can't just take one person's word for it. You've got to have all the facts. That's the way to make something successful. You've got to ask questions. Sometimes asking questions doesn't make people happy. Once you've got that information, making the best decision upon that."
Reece: "One of the things I appreciated about the school board when I was on it was we had a lot of people on it with different ideas and thoughts. We didn't always agree, but we could discuss. A successful school district starts with good administration, and not just someone who is very fiscally sound but good with people who really cares about the kids and parents and what's best for them."
General News on 05/28/2020