KVOE began profiling candidates for USD 253 Board of Education with its Candidate Forum on Thursday.
Incumbents Jeremy Dorsey, Grant Riles and Leslie Seeley discussed topics like academic achievement during the forum. Dorsey says the district needs to keep looking for soft spots and strengthen those, including science.
Riles says the district needs to focus on developing well-rounded students.
Seeley says she has seen students lose their self-esteem based on test results. While there has to be some measure of progress, she says the district shouldn’t “teach to the test.”
Recruitment and retention was another key talking point. Riles says USD 253 monitors how its wages and benefits stack up against other similar-sized districts.
Seeley says the district needs to work towards making its educators feel valued.
With districts across the country looking for high-quality staff, Dorsey says USD 253 has to consider higher salaries for new staff — while recognizing the impact that can have on employees who have been around for years.
The forum Thursday is the first of two involving USD 253 Emporia. Our final forum will be at 10:06 am Tuesday involving incumbent Art Gutierrez and hopefuls Linda Forbes, Christy Grant and Sam Tovar.
KVOE has already held its Emporia City Commission Candidate Forums involvolving candidates Erren Harter, Travis Hitt, Jamie Sauder, Becky Smith and Will Spencer. Both programs are in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
The general election is Nov. 7. Advance voting by mail is underway and will start in-office Monday.
