Jefferson City Board of Education candidate interview: Kris Scheperle
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 Kris Scheperle, a candidate for the Jefferson City Board of Education. Scheperle is one of seven candidates seeking three seats.
LUCAS GEISLER: Welcome everybody, to the ABC 17 News, Your Voice, Your Vote, voter guide for April 2026. I'm Lucas Geisler, joined here by Kris Scheperle. Thank you so much for joining us, sir. If you wouldn't mind just introducing yourself to our viewers and what it is you're running for.
KRIS SCHEPERLE: Sure, so my name's Kris Scheperle, and I'm running for Jefferson City school board and, a lifelong resident of Jefferson City in Cole County. So, anyway, I'm here, and I'm asking for your vote on April 7.
GEISLER: Could you give just a little bit of background, for some folks who may not be familiar with your background in Jefferson City.
SCHEPERLE: I served eight years on the county commission. I own a construction business in Jefferson City. I also operated the yard waste site for Jefferson City for about 12 years. My wife, she works for South Elementary School in the district, and I have four children, and my last child is at Jefferson City High School, and he's a senior, and he'll be, moving on after this year.
GEISLER: Excellent. So, why do you want to run for school board?
SCHEPERLE: Well, so I want to support my wife's efforts, and I also have a sister-in-law in the district and several other relatives in the district, and I just want to support their efforts and really help our children and help our kids really grow and be productive citizens.
GEISLER: What do you think is one of the biggest issues facing Jefferson City schools right now?
SCHEPERLE: Well, I really think it's uh just getting kids into the classroom. You know, they have, especially at the elementary level, they have a hard time with some of the kids, that just getting them there, and when they get those kids there, those kids learn, but if they're not in the classroom they can't learn. But I think that's true at all levels. I mean, whether it's, whether you're going to school or whether you're going to work or whatever, you have to show up. I mean, that's the biggest challenge, is just getting people to show up and be on time and do those little things, and being responsible starts at school.
GEISLER: What do you think, because the attendance is a big issue for all districts as a measure of success -- what can you do as a board member to affect that to improve those attendance numbers?
SCHPERLE: Well, I mean, obviously, we have a bussing system that picks up a lot of kids, but the kids still gotta get to the bus stop and... Just finding creative ways to get those kids there, whether we have to send people out and go pick them up. I know some of the principals and some of the counselors go and actually pick kids up at their home in the mornings, and so maybe that's an option. But, you know, obviously, you don't have the resources to go pick every kid up from home. We have to do something but we have to come up with creative ways to do that.
GEISLER: Is bus transportation something you hear a lot about in talking with folks about the school district? Is this something you think, just because I know you brought it up, on getting kids to school, is this something that needs improvement or do you think the bus system is going well in this new kind of era of bussing that we're seeing in Jefferson City?
SCHEPERLE: Yeah, I mean, I know we have a new vendor and so, things seem to be going pretty well with that. You know they have their challenges too with employees and getting employees there, but they have backup systems in place, and so I think things are going pretty well. But you know, that's just one means of getting kids to and from school safely. So I don't think that's biag concern at this point, but, obviously, like I said, we just gotta think outside the box.
GEISLER: You know, the district is offering one of its biggest raises to staff and faculty coming up here. Like many districts, Jefferson City is looking at rising expenses with questions on where revenue is going to come from and how revenue is going to look in the years moving forward for the district. How do you plan on handling the budget side of things for the district as someone who ultimately has to give it approval? What are you looking for and how do you handle a budget like a school district tax?
SCHEPERLE: Sure. Well, it's no different than when I was on the county commission, and we handled the budget. You have to prioritize what's important. You have to look at your revenues, and you really have to look at your expenses, and you really have to watch those expenses. The one thing that I've seen is health insurance, and that's been a big cost for a lot of people. And so the district had a very big surplus in their health insurance fund, and now their health insurance fund is really low, and so we need to get that fund balance back up so that we can sustain that health insurance fund.
GEISLER: I want to talk to you about school safety. OK, this is something that parents, teachers, students, staff, everyone has to worry about how safe the schools are. What's something that you'd hope to get done in regards to school safety if you're elected to the board?
SCHEPERLE: Well, I mean, I think if you look at school safety in general, they're doing a lot of things well. There's just a lot of doors, a lot of access to get in and out of every school, and it's not just Jefferson City, it's every school... Maybe some cameras at those doors, you know, somebody monitoring cameras, some type of a system to monitor what kids or anybody's bringing in and out of the school. It's just important that we do everything we can to keep the environment safe for those kids.
GEISLER: Any other programs that you'd like to see, or maybe there's something you see the district doing right now that you think is working well, that you'd like to keep moving forward on?
SCHEPERLE: Well, I mean, I think with every system there is a failure point within that system, but at the same time ... I really don't know everything that they're doing to promote safety. So until I get in there and see all the systems that they have in place, then I can try to make some suggestions on how to make some improvements, maybe some areas that just need more restrictive access. But you know, I don't see any big red flag issues at the moment, but I mean, we can always do better.
GEISLER: What do you think the current relationship is with the board and the public? Do you think that the board has a good relationship with the public on getting out there, or if you're elected, is there something you'd like to do to maybe make it better?
SCHEPERLE: Well, I don't, I think most of the members that are on the board do have a pretty good relationship with the public, but I think you have a limited amount of people that you probably interact with on a daily basis, and I don't know how people can access the board members. You know, really just being transparent -- streaming their meetings, just really getting out there and letting people know what the budget is, what our expenses are, you know, just trying to be honest and transparent with the public. Because I hear a lot of that, there are a lot of people that say I pay a lot of taxes, and I'm like, 'Yeah, I understand that a lot of those taxes go to the school district.' And so anyway, just being open and honest with the public is very important.
GEISLER: What's the kind of board member that you'd want to be if you're elected? What's the kind of role do you think that you'd serve as a member on there?
GEISLER: Well, like I said, I'm a contractor, so I get things done every day. I'm not the kind of guy that just sits around and doesn't do anything. So, you know, when I hear about an issue or whatever, I'm going to do the research. I'm gonna find out what the problem is, what the solution is, you know, I'm going to maybe spitball some ideas at people, you know? And so I can work across, work with all the other members and try to get them to see my point of view and maybe see their point of view and try to get some things done maybe behind the scenes a little bit. But at the same time, it is just one meeting a month, so you can't get a lot done in one meeting a month. So you're going to have to do some stuff besides your actual meetings, and you're going to have to meet with other board members. You're going to have to meet with staff you're going to maybe have to meet with some teachers. And I'd really like to get into the schools and approach the teachers and see what the teachers have to say, and then bring those ideas to the board and to the other board members, and really try to get something done for them, anything that's going to help them do their job.
