Jefferson City Board of Education candidate interview: Gretchen Duckworth
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
ABC 17 News is talking to candidates in select April election races about their positions on key issues.
Below is the transcription of the full interview with Gretchen Duckworth, a candidate for the Jefferson City Board of Education. Duckworth is one of seven candidates seeking three seats.
LUCAS GEISLER: Welcome, everybody to the ABC 17 News, Your Voice, Your Vote, voter guide here on ABC 17News.com. I'm Lucas Geisler here with Gretchen Duckworth. Gretchen, thank you so much for making time to speak with us. Would you mind just starting by introducing yourself to our viewers and tell us what it is you're running for?
GRETCHEN DUCKWORTH: I'm Gretchen Duckworth. I'm running for school board in Jefferson City, Missouri. I've been a resident there for over 16 years. I, work professionally in state government and as an HR director. I'm a CASA volunteer, former foster parent, and mom of four, grandmother of two, and I'm really passionate about the community of Jefferson City and for making things go forward in the town.
GEISLER: Oh, it looks like that mic cord popped out on you there... We'll just pick up just because that was a good spot to stop, and then we can continue here. Why do you want to run for the Jefferson City school board?
DUCKWORTH: I have always been passionate about children. I have long-term relationships with teachers from when my adult kiddos were in elementary school. I still keep up with them and what's going on in their world, so I know their concerns, and I also am very passionate about our community, as I said before. I know that we're in a different time right now and taxpayers want leaders who can be fiscally responsible and make sure that their tax dollars are going where they need to go. It is a different time right now with a lot of legislation that's out there with public taxes. We don't know where that's going to head, so we need to really make sure that we hone in on being fiscally responsible with taxpayers' money.
GEISLER: What do you think is the biggest issue facing Jefferson City Schools right now as you see it?
DUCKWORTH: There are some issues I think, from talking to teachers and staff, there's concerns about transparency and money being spread equally across the district. As a newcomer, I don't have all the details. I don't know all the answers, but I do have a listening ear, and I want to help with those things that are concerns to the community and to our staff.
GEISLER: You brought up funding. Jefferson City, like other districts across the state, is dealing with higher expenses, maybe money is not coming in in the same way or coming in lower than maybe anticipated in some cases or at least seeing expenses outpacing revenue coming in. What's your approach on dealing with the budget every year for Jefferson City Schools and what do you think about the current funding situation for schools including Jefferson City?
DUCKWORTH: I think that we have to get back to being good neighbors. We have a tremendous support in our community from businesses and community organizations. I think we need to get back to working together. A lot of our businesses in town love to pour into our schools and our students. I know a few years ago Central Bank had a fund to give to students as an incentive for attendance and for grades, and I think those programs are wonderful when we support those because it takes some of the burden off of the school system and we allow our community to pour back into our schools. So continuing to work with our partners in education to help fill the gaps that maybe our budget can't fill would be good.
We're always going to be looking to research. What is going to be best and how we can manage the money with what we have? Obviously, sometimes things that are unforeseen come up, you know? You may need to repair some things that weren't, you know, you didn't think you were going to have to repair, but just trying to make sure we make the best decisions possible for our students, our teachers, and our families.
GEISLER: Something that's usually on the top of people's minds all across the district and in any schools is safety, say for students, parents, faculty, staff, lots of people. How would you make sure, as a board member, ensure that schools are safe?
DUCKWORTH: Well, I think it involves conversation, a constant conversation we have to continuously seek that and make sure that we stay up on how we maintain our buildings, how we train our staff, how our students are prepared. We have to make sure that we are also providing resources for mental health. Our kids go through a lot of things, our teachers do, too. So we have to support our students and helping them get the resources they need so they can be successful, so that they come to school ready to learn, and that makes it a safer environment for everyone.
GEISLER: Are there any particular things you want to see as far as building safety goes, reinforcing the buildings, making them safer or anything? Are there any specific projects that you have in mind?
DUCKWORTH: Yeah, I think bus safety is a big thing. I know that there are a lot of concerns with transportation. I know that our board is working on that, so continuing to work on how to make safety on the bus better, because if they're getting into altercations on the bus and then they show up to school, they're not in the mindset to learn because they've had altercations on the bus. So continuing to look into that and then just working again with the mental health of our students, with our wonderful pair of professionals that we have that certainly don't get paid what they're worth, helping them to get professional development that they need so that they can help with some of the students that need more attention, so that other students in the classroom aren't, their learning isn't impeded by behavior problems. So just continuing to work with those kids that need a little extra attention, a little extra love, so that everyone succeeds and everyone has a chance of being successful.
GEISLER: What do you think about the school board's relationship with the public? Is there something that you think maybe is working particularly well that you'd like to keep going, or is there something that you'd like to do if elected to the board that you'd maybe like to change when it comes to the relationship with the public?
DUCKWORTH. Sure. I think we have a lot of great programs going. We've had so many wonderful things happen in our extracurricular activities this year alone. There are so many things that we do well. I think that our board, in the public's perception, sometimes isn't as transparent as they would like them to be, so I would hope to bring more transparency. I truly believe in community support working hand in hand, parents working with teachers, teachers working with families, because ultimately that helps our students succeed. So I would say that just continuing what we're doing, but also being transparent with the public and how the funds are being spent, being transparent about decisions made, not just making decisions without getting input from the people that it's going to affect.
GEISLER: You brought up transparency a couple of times now, so I'll ask: What are you hearing as far as concerns with transparency on this, seems to be the budget, and per school spending. Is that the main issue that you're hearing about and that you'd like to get into? Or, what are some other ways that you're hoping to bring more transparency if you're elected to the board?
DUCKWORTH: I am a people person, so I get out and meet people. I'm open to conversations with our community. I am a community leader. I serve on several different capacities and different organizations in town, so I think what I shared before with just wanting to understand what's going on on the board, getting more families and parents involved. A lot of times, we say we want transparency, but we don't show up to the meetings. I think that our kids deserve adults that can show up and do the work, and that's what I'm here to do. I'm here to do the work.
