Ballots for the May 21 election were mailed to voters beginning on Friday.
They are due no later than 8 p.m. on that day at drop sites, which include City Hall and the Sweet Home Police Department.
Running unopposed are: incumbent Chanz Keeney for Zone One, Holley; incumbent Jenny Daniels for Zone Two, Liberty; and Jason Redick for Zone Seven, at large.
Two races are contested and The New Era has provided a questionaire to those candidates. Incumbent Dale Keene faces challengers Monica Sanders and Vernon Tunnell. Incumbent Jan Sharp faces challenger Randy Holder.
The Questions:
School board candidates were asked the following questions:
1. Tell us about yourself. Please provide a brief biographical history, educational history, employment history, and your spouse and children – if such applies.
2. Why do you want to serve on the School Board?
3. What does your experience and background contribute toward your helping our schools get better?
4. What do you think are Sweet Home schools’ strengths? Weaknesses? What do you plan to do, if elected, to improve things?
5. What program(s) offered by the Sweet Home School District do you think is/are most important for our local students? What program(s) do you believe should be improved or eliminated and why?
6. What do you think of the four-day school week?
7. What do you think should be the School Board’s role in overseeing the district?
8. When you vote for a school board candidate, what would you like to know and why?
Following are their responses to the questionnaire we sent to each:
Randy Holder
1. I was born and raised in Sweet Home. I went to school here and graduated in 1981. I have some college at Linn-Benton Community College. I was a member of the Sweet Home Fire Department for 10 years. I worked at Willamette Industries Foster Plywood for 15 years. I work at Oremet, currently at Wah-Chang. My children graduated from Sweet Home High School.
2. To ensure our kids the education they need and that they are able to be leaders in these times.
3. I would like to think I’m able to help with problems that arise in the schools.
6. I think it takes away from the kids who are falling behind.
7. To ensure that our kids are getting the best education the schools can give them.
8. Where they stand on the education that our schools are providing and how committed they are to making schools meet the highest marks.
Dale Keene
1. I am the oldest of two children. My sister and her family live in Friendswood, Texas. I graduated from Sweet Home High School in 1987 and spent three years at Oregon State University, with no degree achieved. I graduate from Linn-Benton Community College this June with an associate’s in economics.
I have been accepted at Eastern Oregon University for their on-line bachelor program for business administration. I have worked for various companies: Advanced Wood Resources, Plastech, Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Target Distribution Center, Rainbow Canned Foods and most recently, at Linn-Benton Community College. I currently have two part-time positions at LBCC, Student Services clerical, and clubs and co-curricular coordinator. I have been married to my beautiful wife, Michelle, for almost 14 years. My son, David Skeen, is currently a senior at Sweet Home High School.
2. I want to serve on the School Board because it is a way for me to give back to our community. I enjoy watching our youth grow into productive citizens, and by serving on the School Board I know that I have the ability to affect many lives. With that ability, I also recognize the great responsibility that comes with it.
3. I have had 4 1/2 years of experience as a board member, serving as a board officer for four of those years. The knowledge that I have gained from the position as a board member, as a Budget Committee member for Linn-Benton-Lincoln Education Service District and the training sessions has been irreplaceable. My current jobs with LBCC lend insight into the failure that the education system has between K-12 and the college system. I have seen the data of those incoming college freshman who have to take math, reading and writing classes below college level courses. We, as educators, have failed these youth. I think we at Sweet Home High School have taken steps toward remedying some of the causes of the poor performance of outgoing seniors, and I think we have also taken steps in reclaiming some of those seniors who have dropped out of the education system.
4. I think that the strength of the Sweet Home system is that we really care about our children. I know that each and every decision that I have made at the board level plays directly into what is best for the kids. We have made extreme changes in the past five years, and the students, staff and community have dealt with it at a stellar level. I think the weakness of the Sweet Home school system is the lack of alternative learning. I think we have several different types of learning opportunities that have recently been implemented that will improve this, but I personally wouldn’t mind seeing some more. If elected, I plan to continue what I have done in moving the Sweet Home School District along on a more self-sustained course. There are plenty of opportunities at the various levels of education that economical strategies can be used to lessen our cost overhead even more. These types of savings could be turned back into the schools for renovation, technology, and alternative learning outcomes.
5. I think that the newly formed Sweet Home Online school is a program that is going to have a huge effect on local students. It will touch students that are currently not in our school system (home schooled or other alternative schooling), as well as giving those students that are struggling with the traditional schooling model an opportunity for success. I would like to see the Opportunity Room expanded so that those students that need to be in that type of setting can be. I would also like to see the expansion of the Perkins-funded electives, such as metal shop and auto shop. We have had students do quite well with these programs, and I think there is a great opportunity to tie these in with the robotics field and engineering.
6. The four-day school week has been a hot issue since its inception. It was researched quite thoroughly by the School Board. As a member who voted for the four-day school week, I felt it was the best course of action for the students and the district as a whole, fiscally. This decision not only touched my son as a student but my wife, as a district employee. I didn’t make my decision lightly. That being said, I haven’t seen any data that would sway me away from the four-day school week. The survey data that has been collected has been about a 50-50 keeping the four-day school week. With the outlook of the funding for K-12 as sketchy for the next biennium, I think it is prudent to keep the four-day school week in place, at least for another year or two.
7. The School Board’s role in overseeing the district is one of stewardship. We as board members have the duty to give the best education to the students of our district within the funds that we have.
8. When I vote for a School Board candidate, I want to know if the candidate is running for prestige or to make a difference in the lives of the children of our community. If they are running for prestige or to be in the spotlight, then they don’t belong on the board. There are enough problems to be dealt with by the School Board without the disruption of a “rogue” member or a member who constantly questions the decisions of the board after the fact. It is also not in the best interest of a board member to verbally attack the staff and administration of the School District. This type of behavior denigrates the position of the member and brings undue disrespect to the School District at large.
Monica Sanders
1. I moved to Sweet Home in the mid 1990s, worked at Safeway until I retired several years ago. (We) owned Cascade Hardware in Sweet Home and I did the accounting for the store. I am currently going back to college and am finding it very enjoyable. I am married to Bruce Hobbs and have one of my three children left at home and attending Sweet Home Junior High.
2. I decided to run for the School Board because I am concerned for the students of our community. Although some are excelling, many students are struggling with the changes that have come this past year. It is our responsibility as members of this community to give our teachers what they need to help our children on their journey.
3. When my children were in school I was the parent that volunteered and was there for the students and the teachers. I spent a lot of time in the classroom and feel I have an idea what the teachers need to produce successful students. Among all three of my boys, I’ve probably spent seven years in the different Sweet Home schools.
4. Sweet Home schools’ strength comes from being in a rural town. In a small town, all of our children go to the same schools, so we have a vested interest in them all doing well. Sweet Home schools’ weakness at this time is the economic downturn that’s facing all of us. This downturn has forced cuts in our School District out of necessity, causing the district to lay off or cut back needed classified employees and to choose a four-day week schedule. If elected, my main goal would be to help the students to succeed. The decisions I would make would depend upon the budget available, but the bottom line has to be the good of the student.
5. I believe the TAG program is understaffed and underfunded but when implemented, works with our brightest, most capable students, giving them the extra intellectual stimulation they need to keep interested. The most important program would be the 504 plan, which allows students to obtain specific kinds of help without being on an IEP plan.
6. The four-day week schedule I feel was necessary with the lack of general fund support and shortfalls in the school budget. However, I also feel that when our budget can handle it, we should return to five days or even the hybrid model. Also important, I feel we need to bring back our classified staff to help the teachers and the students.
7. The School Board’s role in overseeing the district would be to see that all local, federal and state laws were followed and to encourage the schools to produce successful students.
8. When voting for a School Board candidate I would like to know what their priorities are. I see only one clear priority: successful students. What kind of experience do they have with students? We’re here for the students, and understanding their needs is important. If they have accounting/business experience, knowing a bit about accounting and/or business wouldn’t hurt. The school district needs to be run like a business with successful children being the product.
Jan Sharp
1. I grew up in Castle Rock, Wash., a small logging town very similar to Sweet Home. I married Larry, my husband now of 44 years, and we had three daughters, Jennifer, Traci and Melanie.
After earning my bachelor’s degree and teaching license at Eastern Oregon State College, I taught first grade at Arlington, third grade and then sixth grade at Boardman. During the summers I took classes at Portland State University, earning my master’s degree and administrative credentials. Sweet Home School District hired me as principal of Holley and Crawfordsville. I also did a one-year stint at Pleasant Valley when it reopened as a kindergarten school, several years at Oak Heights, two years as co-principal with Hal Huschka at the Junior High, and finished my career as district curriculum director and Holley principal.
Now officially a senior citizen at age 65, I enjoy times with family, watching my eight grandchildren participate in sports and other events, occasional road trips to national parks and weekly pinochle games at the Senior Center.
2. I want to provide a public service in an area where I have both a keen interest and a pertinent background.
3. I understand how the school system works, including the dynamics among employee groups, the local board, state and federal requirements, parent concerns and student needs. Having no personal agenda in wanting to serve on the board, I can work through difficult issues in a spirit of cooperation and compromise.
4. There is not enough money to fully address all the needs of the school district right now. I do support cautious addition of instructional staff to address class size from savings realized from the four-day week.
We have staff who care about children, take pride in doing a good job, and are committed to improving their own skills through professional development.
SHSD has old facilities, but they are well maintained. I would continue to support a schedule of timely maintenance and repair.
SHSD has a longstanding history of community support as evidenced by ball fields, playgrounds, remodeled high school, and numerous other projects. After a series of difficult budget decisions, some staff and patrons feel their opinions do not count. I support using decision-making processes that are even more inclusive and transparent to make sure we maintain our broad-based community support.
An unfunded Public Employees Retirement System liability looms ahead. Although my own pension check will likely be negatively affected, I support efforts in Salem to curtail future PERS costs and local efforts to manage this debt so that it doesn’t become an impossible issue for future school boards.
5. The core educational program that teaches students to read, write, do basic math and to think critically about the world and how it works is, I believe, the most important.
Upon that foundation, SHSD provides more advanced classes where students can apply their basic skills to continue their learning in both advanced and specialized classes. SHSD provides facilities, buses, food program and many other support services that help make education accessible to all students. It is not that one of these programs is more important than another but that the programs work together to make a successful whole.
The district also provides clubs, sports and other co-curricular activities that enrich students’ lives and are an integral part of our community’s identity. They are less important than the three Rs but still important.
All programs have the potential to be improved, and each should be monitored for effectiveness.
6. I do not like the four-day school week. I believe that especially primary students and a wide range of children with learning challenges are better served with more instructional days, even if total instructional time in a year remains the same.
However, I also do not like multiple elementary and secondary classes of well over 30 students; having large unfunded liabilities related to PERS; having outdated textbooks and technology; providing lower salary and health insurance benefits than other districts with whom we compete for highly qualified new hires; or putting off building maintenance.
The recent survey results on this topic reflect a view that it is a “lesser of evils” situation, and I agree with those results. Because the four-day week is proving to save over $300,000 compared to a five-day week, I think we can live with it one more year in hopes the economy continues to improve enough to restore the five-day week in 2014-2015.
7. The School Board establishes policies and procedures for the school district and is responsible for seeing that Board-established processes are followed. This role is especially important in regard to maintaining strong educational programs, fiscal health, and overseeing the performance of the superintendent.
8. Board members are representatives of the community who come together to consider information and make decisions as a body. In order to vote for someone who could function effectively in that capacity, I would like to know the candidate is a good listener, a logical thinker and someone who can articulate an informed opinion. I want to know the individual has no ax to grind with a particular employee, department, program or policy. And I want to know the person has a history of integrity and reliability.
Vernon Tunnell
1. Family background in logging and sawmills, and 76 years old. Attended Sweet Home High School from 1951 to 1954. Received GED while in the U.S. Air Force, active duty from 1954 to 1974, then retired. Worked for the U.S. Postal Service from 1975 to 1978 and retired from Willamette Industries after 20 years, from 1978 to 1999. Serving as a court-appointed special advocate for children in Linn County since 2000.
2. I would like to serve on the School Board because I feel even with the budgets we receive, they can be more effectively used to educate our students in subjects that will help them succeed after finishing school.
3. I feel that my having worked in the jobs I listed above, it has shown me that the very first thing that must be established is discipline, which I find sorely missing in our school system. With the help of the administration, School Board and parents, I believe we can regain control.
4. Teachers are willing to teach if given the time and opportunity to do so.
An administration that appears to have its own agenda and intends to push it whatever it takes.
Listen to the people and make their desires known to both the superintendent and the board and keep a close eye on just how the budget is being spent.
5. I have not had the opportunity to review the classes that are presently offered and feel it would not be appropriate to make any comments at this time.
6. I am very disappointed with the newly hired superintendent for asking for the four-day school week and going about persuading the School Board that it was a great idea. It has hurt the kids.
7. I think the School Board’s first responsibility is to listen to the people and gather all the information they can pertaining to matters that come before them. The information should then be given to the superintendent for his review before any action is to be taken.
8. Do they have common sense and the ability to stand up for what they believe is best for the school and the guts to vote no when they need to?