News

District 300 hopefuls meet at forum

Posted March 31, 2017 5:00 am

BY GEOFFREY RITTER gritter@localsouthernnews.com

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<div class="PlainText"><span class="contextualExtensionHighlight ms-font-color-themePrimary ms-border-color-themePrimary ident_145_375" tabindex="0">Finding new ways to more fully engage with students and the community emerged as one of the central issues on the table during a meeting Thursday among three of the five candidates for the Du Quoin District 300 Board of Education.</span><br /> Trenton L. Waller, an Illinois State Police trooper; Mark Gates, a truck driver; and Patrick Riley, a physician, all met for a forum Thursday evening at Du Quoin City Hall, just five days before voters will fill three seats on the board. <br /> Two incumbents on the board, Mark Woodside and Dennis Cole, will round out the choices on Tuesday's ballot, although neither was in attendance at the forum. Cole was reportedly out of town; Woodside stopped by city hall about 45 minutes prior to the event's start to report he was sick.<br /> For the three in attendance, questions focused largely on how the school board can foster better relationships with the community, as well as other more existential problems related to state and federal funding. The candidates also touched on the impending retirement of longtime Superintendent Gary Kelly, whose replacement will be a major task for the next seated board.<br /> From parents not understanding Common Core requirements to many not having much familiarity with their children's teachers, the candidates agreed the school board can do more to create understanding relationships. Waller said the solution begins with hiring teachers who can be good role models and getting parents to simply be more involved in their kids' lives; Riley advocated for making the board itself more accessible, which he said could include televising board meetings. Gates said he didn't know all the answers, but board members will need to constantly look for new ways to engage with the public.<br /> Riley pointed out that such conversations will help to better address the needs students will have in preparing for greatly varied futures.<br /> "Communication between teachers, families and students is going to be key to making our students successful," Riley said. "How are we as a community going to work with the students that may not be ready to enter into a fully academic four-year college program and maybe need to enter into a technical program? That's something we have great resources at the high school for, and we need to work on promoting that."<br /> Talk turned quickly toward financial matters and looming uncertainty regarding the state's ability to meet its obligations. When addressing questions about how to make possible cuts, all three were vague in their answers, saying they would want to take closer looks at the school's financial records and make more informed decisions from there. One question focused pointedly on declaring a priority between athletics and arts programs.<br /> "Both activities are very important," Gates said. "We are a sports town, a football town, no one can deny that. I think you have to look at what's best financially. Obviously no cuts are going to be easy to make. There's always two sides to a coin."<br /> Waller said athletics create revenue for the district, which is something most humanities programs can't claim. He pointed out, however, that different activities are important to different students.<br /> "Different programs are important to all the kids," Waller said. "It's difficult to say you're going to cut anything."<br /> Riley said the board might have to take a look at potentially cutting individual activities instead of entire categories of activities, and he disagreed with the notion that athletics are a significant money-maker.<br /> "If we're looking at cutting programs, it may be something where we have to eliminate one and not another," he said. "Maybe we have to look at cutting one arts program and one sports program."<br /> Talk also turned to the district's $16 million in bond debt, which continues to accumulate interest. The candidates again lacked specifics on how the district can navigate such financial waters, although they largely agreed the board will have to look at all its options, and hopefully avoid any further tax increases.<br /> "That's an enormous amount of debt," Waller said. "That's something we're going to have to discuss - some fundraisers, or trying to make some cuts somewhere."<br /> Gates said that not already being on the board means he has not gotten an up-close look at the financial situation. He acknowledged, however, that tough decisions will have to made moving forward. Riley agreed with his assessment.<br /> "Obviously we're going to have to look at our spending and see where we can tighten our belt," Gates said. <br /> On the search for a new superintendent to replace the retiring Gary Kelly, the candidates were asked to discuss the personal qualities they would look for in candidates rather than just their professional qualifications. Answers all centered on finding a person who is willing to actively engage with students, teachers and parents and not content to simply sit behind a desk. Waller stressed the need for a positive role model, while Gates said he would be focused on "conservative, common-sense values." Riley just wants a candidate with the ability to "be real."<br /> "It makes a world of difference when you have an administrator who is real person, who is compassionate, who makes personal contact with students and parents," Riley said.<br /> The issue of nepotism also came up. Each of the candidates said he had no personal agenda to advance in running for the board, but in a small town like Du Quoin, questions of family relations obviously could surface for any one of them in the performance of their duties. <br /> Riley said it is important for any such compromised board member to immediately remove themselves from the decision-making process; Waller said he has no agenda to push, only a desire to serve. Gates was more nuanced, saying board members are not immediately involved in selecting candidates for jobs, and they must trust that hiring recommendations that come to the board have been made in the district's best interest.<br /> "We have to have faith in the recommendation that's before us that that person has been through the process," Gates said, adding board members must "exhaust all avenues" in eliminating what appears to the public to be nepotism. "We have to trust in that. We have to believe in that system."<br /> The forum, moderated by Collin Dorsey, lasted just over an hour. It was organized by Tom Hamlin and Rick Krone. At its conclusion, Krone dedicated the evening's proceedings to Du Quoin Evening Call Managing Editor John Croessman, whom Krone said certainly would have been in the audience and covering the issues were it not for his recent health struggles. Croessman has been away from the newspaper since January.<br /> The election is this Tuesday, April 4.</div>

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