With COVID-19 mitigation policies a key component of school board meetings the past 18 months, it was not surprising that COVID-19 response was one of the main topics in the first KVOE Candidate Forum featuring the USD 253 Emporia school board race Tuesday.
Incumbent Mike Crouch and challengers Lillian Lingenfelter and Paul Meinke discussed items like COVID-19 philosophies and learning loss during the pandemic. On philosophy, Crouch — the Vice President for Advancement at Flint Hills Technical College — says the district’s top priority should be safety, but the board also has a responsibility to provide the highest-level of education possible.
Meinke, the pastor of Emproia’s Church of the Nazarene, says schools have been the safest place in the community for kids to be, and he says it’s time to “live with” and manage COVID-19.
Lingenfelter, a social studies and history teacher at Peabody-Burns, says the district should use current data to drive decisions.
All three candidates say there has been some level of learning loss during the pandemic. Meinke says the loss has been “significant” and says the district should look to get ahead of the curve, not just get back to level. Crouch says learning loss is not unique to Emporia, but the district needs to meet students “where they are” with learning and other needs. Lingenfelter says the amount of learning loss is hard to measure, but she says the district should prioritize keeping children in schools and also have more widespread use of trauma-informed practices to help with socio-emotional needs.
Off the COVID topic, all three say the district needs to find ways to bolster pay for teachers and support staffers. On the topic of money but in a separate vein, none of the three candidates say they are receiving donations from political action committees.
The KVOE Candidate Forum series concludes Thursday with the second interview involving USD 253 candidates Christina Faulkner, Jami Reever and Jennifer Thomas. The program airs at 10:06 am and questions are welcome. Candidate Forums can be found in the KVOE.com Audio Vault after their completion.
Also, as the election draws near, be sure to browse the KVOE-Community National Bank and Trust Voter Information page online at KVOE.com. The page includes information about upcoming deadlines, Candidate Forums, advance voting procedures and polling locations.
