Jefferson City school board candidates discuss district opportunities

Jefferson City school board candidates are preparing for election night on April 2. Two candidates will be elected to serve a three-year term.

Lorelei Schwartz is the only candidate running for re-election, and the other three candidates are new to the ballot. Candidates outlined their concerns with the school district, and minority and graduation rates were issues at the top of candidates’ minds.

Strengths and we aknesses of the Jefferson City School District

Schwartz said the district has a good core group of people with a positive mentality and good momentum. However, she said the district has several things that could be improved.

” I think that we have things to tackle. We still have some unhappiness in our buildings,” she said. ” (We have) some cultural diversities that we need to overcome, and we need to try to get more diverse in our staff, and we need to continue to tackle behaviors in our school buildings.”

Stephanie Johnson said one strength is that the district recognizes not every student is reading at or above grade level.

” The district really realizes that we have a reading problem in our school district, ” she said. ” They have made that a priority, and I’m really proud of the district for realizing that without a strong reading ability, that makes everything else more difficult. ”

Johnson said more diversity is needed in all levels of the district, including administrators and teachers.

” I think the greatest weakness in our district, frankly, is our lack of diversity. We really need a more diverse workforce, ” Johnson said.

She said the district could work with universities like Lincoln University to bring in more diversity. She also said it should encourage current students to become educators.

” I heard from the Dean of Education at Lincoln University that it’s very common for college students in the education field to go back and teach in their hometown. So if the trend is is that people in education want to go home to teach, that means we need to be cultivating teachers that are going to come home to Jefferson City, ” she said.

Steven Brown said one strength of the Jefferson City School District is its positive reputation of caring about the kids. But he said the first weakness he recognizes is discipline.

” Whether it be disproportionate discipline or the lack of discipline, but I see discipline in the classroom as one of the main issues, ” he said.

Jessica Green said one of the major strengths of the district is its focus on the academic side of things.

” Kids need academics. They need good grades for whatever it is they’re going to do after, whether it be college, trade school or if they want to start their own business, ” she said.

She said the district’s weaknesses include its handling of diversity and inclusion. She also said the district struggles with understanding what students with special needs need and how to help.

Minority students and graduation rates

The district recently changed start times. Schwartz said she believes the changes will make it easier for students to get to early and more often, which will in return help improve graduation rates.

Johnson said the district should consider bringing some professionals to provide additional services.

” A lot of the children come to our school with food insecurities, social and emotional learning concerns, mental health issues, and we have to solve those issues before a child can begin to learn proficiently, ” she said.

She said the district should also think outside the box because not every child learns the same.

” I think it’s important for the children who aren’t college bound that we’re providing an educational opportunity that will allow them to get right into the workforce successfully, ” Johnson said.

Brown said attendance is one issue that leads some students to have poor grades or not graduate at all.

” These kids need to be pulled aside and visited with. You know what? Some you can’t help. You’re going to lose some. It’s called life. But you try to save the ones that are wanting to be saved, ” he said.

He said a little bit of money spent on counselors could provide major benefits down the road. Brown said the district should also make teachers feel comfortable referring students to see the counselors.

Green said one way the district could help students succeed is by helping the entire family.

” Figure out what’s going on because there could be a child who is failing simply because there’s some stressors at home, and that’s causing them to not be able to do with their school work at school, ” she said.

She said another thing faculty should look into is disciplinary policy.

” If you’ve got a kid who’s constantly sent ot OSS, out of school suspension, 10 days here, 10 days there, they’re not in class to be able to do any work. So their grade will be affected by that, ” Green said.

Green said one thing she has to offer is her experience while going to school in Jefferson City.

” I was the poverty-stricken African-American child raised in this town going through this school district,” she said. “So when it comes to those kids and what they need, I’m like an expert on how we can help them because I know what it was I needed and I know what helped me.”

JCPS discrimination lawsuits

The school district has come under some heat in recent years after facing several discrimination lawsuits.

Schwartz has been on the board to see some of those lawsuits.

” We continue to work on culture in our buildings. We continue to look at our hiring practices to make sure that we absolutely have the right people in the right positions, ” she said.

She said there have been some missteps in the past 10 years in the district’s hiring practices. For example, she said the HR director and legal council for the district was one person, and said that probably was not a very good idea.

” All we can do today is to continue to work on our culture every day to ensure that there is no discrimination happening, but that we are absolutely trying to put the best people in the best positions because our kids deserve it, ” Schwartz said.

Johnson said she does not know all sides of the story when it comes to the lawsuits, but she said she knows it is important to have policies and procedures in place for every staff member to follow.

” If these lawsuits are stating that they were discriminated against, that there’s a hostile work environment, retaliation, that means that either, if it truly happening , that there is not a strong policy in place or procedures, or someone is not following those policies or procedures, ” she said.

Brown said the lawsuits were part of his influence to run for school board, and they are a result of a break in the chain of command.

” Somebody’s not doing their job supervising somewhere down the line, and that needs to be fixed,” he said. “I’m not saying people need to be fired or anything like that, but something is wrong.”

He said it is important to look at both sides involved. He said one way the district could bring diversity to the schools is by allowing students at Lincoln University to student teach and encourage them to take jobs in Jefferson City.

Green also touched on the recent lawsuits.

” The problem is people just don’t care, ” she said. ” They don’t care about the things that they say. They don’t care about how the things that they do and the way that they treat people affect everybody else. ”

Green offered a solution.

” It’s time for, instead of HR looking at their own hiring practices, it’s time for, like, an outside consulting agency to come in and see what we’re and see what we’re doing wrong, ” she said.

She said if the board of education building is not diverse, that speaks for what the schools look like and how people are going to be treated.

Threats to funding

Schwartz said the biggest threat was lack of state and federal funding and said funding for busing is always short. She said the district has a pretty solid funding source locally.

” I think we’re in pretty good shape and hope that we can not have to raise any taxes any time soon since we just passed this bond issue, ” she said.

Johnson said funding is always tedious because legislators decide the future. She said cuts in education funding make it difficult because there are not enough resources to begin with.

” I know right now there’s a lot of talk about charter schools, and I think here in Jefferson City charter schools would take away funding from Jefferson City Public Schools, and I don’t think that that ‘s really the right decision. ” she said.

She said it would be a system that would hurt the students who need help the most.

” When you divert funds away from our public school system, some people can choose other schools, but what is left is a public school system with less resources that can do less, and the children that’ll be there are predominantly the low income kids, ” she said.

Brown said one threat to funding is that Missourians, historically, do not approve an increase in taxes. He also said the government poses a threat.

” The government is a poor custodian of your money. It just is. And you don’t have to be a CPA to figure that out, ” he said. ” Overall, the state of Missouri does a pretty good job with their fiduciary responsibilities, but locally here I don’t see another tax raise coming. ”

Green also said federal and state funding being slashed for education was a major problem.

She said the district has done something to try and offset that by changing the start and end times.

” The question becomes where is that money going to go? Are you going to better help fund our schools, whether it be renovations or extra materials to help those students who are struggling with reading or writing, or whatever it is they’re struggling with., ” Green said.

She said the money could also go to helping parents who need before and after school care, which could mean paying some teachers to come in early or stay late, or hiring more staff at places like Boys and Girls Club.

Looking ahead to the future for JCPS

Johnson was part of the committee that advocated for the second high school to be built in Jefferson City and said it will provide an opportunity for the district.

” With the building of our second high school, we’re about to start a new chapter, ” she said.
” It is an opportunity for us to allow high school students, particularly, an opportunity to be more engaged and more involved, ” she said.

She said it will allow double the amount of students to participate in academic activities and sports, and will provide a more conducive learning environment.

Brown said he did not like his taxes increasing as a result of the new high school.

” I hope that everything goes as planned, ” he said. ” It’s done now. You never look back, you go forward, ” he said.

He said each school in the district needs some work. He said talking to staff in the schools would be the best way to understand what needs to be fixed.

Green said the district has an opportunity to build relationships and partnerships.

” One thing that’s come up is, when it comes to needing mental health professionals, I had mention at our last forum that one of the ways to help that is if we don’t have the mental health professionals right now, to fill in the gap by saying we’ve got a university down the road, ” she said. ” Let’s get with some of those education majors, social work majors, and get them in our classrooms, because sometimes everything is not a mental health issue. ”

She said some students’ behaviors are learned, so they may not need a mental health professional, but instead someone who can help them cope better with their anger.