School Board Candidate Recommendations

April 2 is fast approaching, and this year's ballot has several issues and candidates that are of particular interest to Springfield NEA members and all employees of SPS. Funding of our schools and choosing members to the school board will be decided in one important election event.

Springfield NEA supports the Quality Schools for Kids campaign that would bring much needed funding in the form of a relatively modest levy increase ($0.20) and a no-tax bond that would, among other things, provide essential technical infrastructure that would positively effect every classroom.

Yesterday, a team of Springfield NEA members gave up the better part of a Saturday in order to meet and hold wide-ranging discussion with all three school board candidates in order to determine a recommendation for two vacant board seats. Team members included: Jane Sellars (Central), Gabe Isackson (Parkview), Brent Fullington (Cherokee), Ray Smith (SNEA President), Sarah Schofield (Sequiota), Ron Tate (Parkview) and Rebecca Jamieson (Hickory Hills). The candidates were interviewed in the order they will appear on the ballot.

Matthew Simpson - Research Assistant at OTC and Co-Founder of Five Pound Apparel

Matthew Simpson is a product of Springfield Public Schools, having attended Wanda Gray Elementary, Cherokee Middle School before graduating from Kickapoo High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Missouri State University and attended Vanderbilt University, where he received a Master of Arts in Political Science. He was a research and teaching assistant at Vanderbilt for three years and was an instructor at Middle Tennessee State University and Nashville State Community College before returning to Springfield.

Simpson made a strong impression with the SNEA team with his depth of knowledge of public education issues. This may not be that surprising given his academic focus in political science, but it also reflects his family's deep interest in education. Both of his parents are career educators. Given the near constant intrusions into education "reform" from politicians at virtually every level, it was refreshing to hear a candidate talk about the importance of local control of our schools.

Of the three candidates, Simpson is the least experienced, but it could also be argued that he is perhaps the most familiar with the practical uses of technology in our schools. His ideas regarding the promotion of technological infrastructure and one-to-one wireless connections for students and teachers revealed a familiarity that could only come with practical experience and application. This kind of "out of the box" thinking is valuable on any board, but it could be especially valued during a time when the district seeks to expand tech infranstructure.

Simpson is supportive of teacher tenure and understands that tenure is actually more about academic freedom than "protecting bad teachers", as some ill-informed politicians portray it. He also has a good understanding of the role of standardized testing, recognizing that it is just one component of teaching and learning, "a form of measurement, not the ultimate outcome of learning." Simpson also recognized that SPS teacher salaries are below the state average and that our "peer districts" in the state are not necessarily bordering Springfield.

 Gerry Lee - Gerald Lee & Associates. Local Business Owner, Current SPS Board Member

Gerry Lee currently serves as president of the Missouri School Board Association (MSBA) and is seeking his third full term on the Springfield school board. He had a long career as a manager with City Utilities and is perhaps the most experienced board member regarding collective bargaining issues. Lee was president of the school board when it established policies on the election of employee representatives in 2008-09.

Lee's current position as governance leader of MSBA provides him a bird's eye view of what is happening in Jefferson City regarding education issues. As chair of the Education Roundtable, Lee works with a coalition of state associations, including Missouri NEA, to track and respond to both the good education bills and the plethora of bad legislative "reform" issues that seem to pop up each year. His in-depth knowledge on education bills is perhaps unmatched among the candidates. And as he states, "Ninety percent of the time, the schools boards and the education associations are in complete agreement on the issues."

Regarding current efforts in the legislature to repeal teacher tenure, Lee holds the opinion that "all of the discussion about eliminating teacher tenure has nothing to do with improving public education." He believes that the current repeal bills have more to do with anti-union efforts than improving education. "Teacher tenure does not mean that districts have to keep bad teachers," he stated.

On the subject of the upcoming Common Core Standards, standardized testing and teacher evaluations, he is realistic. "Test scores of students are very important . . . and should be part of the equation, but all of those critics that say test scores should be the only determining factor do not understand public education. There are many other factors that should be included."

Lee also recognizes the importance of teacher compensation in our district. While stating that compensation is not the only factor in attracting and retaining teachers, he did recognize that "SPS should be attracting teachers on a statewide basis, which means our compensation package must also be competitive with the rest of the state."

Gerry Lee has been one of the more active board members during his tenure. He frequently visits schools and, in his current role as MSBA president, also provides our district with a valued perspective on statewide education issues.

Annie Busch - Library Consultant, former Director of Springfield-Greene County Library System

Annie Bush is very familiar with running a large public entity, having served as the Director of our library system from 1989-2008. During her tenure as library system director, Busch oversaw the huge technological shift from the card catalog system to online and digital technologies that we find in our libraries today. She was instrumental in bringing the first public Internet service to our region with the inception of the ORION network.

During her tenure as leader of our library system, Busch also directed a large expansion and upgrade of facilities and services, including the "destination" resource center known as the Library Center on South Campbell, which is regarded as one of the finest facilities in the state. Busch has demonstrated a keen sense for driving innovation in a public institution and is very experienced in dealing with state funding and grants.

Since retiring from the library system, she has committed much of her time to advancing early childhood and child poverty issues, including service with Every Child, Kids First, Mayor's Commission on Children, Springfield Innovation, Inc. and the Homeless Task Force.

Regarding teacher hiring and retention of teachers, Busch recognizes that salary plays a role, but also notes that "the opportunity to work in a progressive, forward thinking school system would be just as important. A system that understands the changing nature of education and values their professional faculty, and listens to them, . . . would be an important draw for recruiting and retention."

Busch's experience with childhood poverty issues has provided her a unique perspective on some issues facing schools and teachers. She is a strong supporter of Early Childhood education and the Parents As Teachers program.

"I realize that schools are being challenged to deal with and fix a plethora of society's problems. The growing culture of poverty and drug use brings children into your classrooms unready to learn."

Regarding the use of student test scores for teacher evaluations, Busch states, "There are too many variables involved in student learning to judge the success of a teacher or a student solely on multiple choice questions."

SNEA Recommendation

After much discussion with the respective candidates and among the interview team, there was unanimous agreement that this unique group of candidates presents us with an enviable choice. All three - or any two - would be great on our school board. We've tried to provide some insight into discussions in order to help our members make an educated decision. In the end, we felt there was no good reason to exclude any of the three from a recommendation.

The main thing is to VOTE ON APRIL 2!

If you have any questions regarding the process or the recommendation, please contact snea@aol.com or call 869-5090.

Thanks,

Ray Smith, President
Springfield NEA