The last year has been one of upheaval on the Hillsboro R-3 Board of Education, and that turnover may or may not continue after the April 5 election.
After three board members, Charles “Bo” Harrison, John Stewart and Dan McCarthy, resigned last fall, under state law it fell to Jefferson County Executive Ken Waller to appoint replacements, who then were approved by the County Council.
Waller appointed Lisa J. Treat, Derrick Good and Robert M. Kruse to fill those vacancies until the April election.
The three-year terms of Harrison and Stewart will expire in April, while McCarthy’s still has a year remaining.
Four candidates, including Kruse and Good, filed for the three-year terms along with Dennis K. Bradley and Renee A. Sucharski.
Three others are seeking the one-year term originally filled by McCarthy – Treat, Angie Oshia and former board member George “Bob” Engelbach.
THREE-YEAR TERM
KRUSE, 42, lives at 1795 Triple Creek Road in Hillsboro. He and his wife, Stacy, have three children. He is self-employed at Hearth and Home, a textile manufacturer. He previously worked for the Brinkman Group and WashingtonUniversity and has an education background in horticulture, business administration, finance and human resources. He was on the fundraising committee for the Community Associations Institute and the board of the God’s Green Acres Association and also has worked with St. Patrick’s Center. He has been a parent volunteer for the district since 2004 and is a fifth- and sixth-grade girls basketball coach in the district.
GOOD, 42, lives at 6185 Regina Road, Cedar Hill. He and his wife, Wendi, have two children. He is an attorney at the Thurman Law Firm in Hillsboro. He is a HillsboroHigh School graduate and has a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State University and a law degree and master’s degree in business administration from St. LouisUniversity. He has a long history of community involvement, including being on the boards of Sunnyhill Inc., the Jefferson County Economic Council, the Jefferson County Port Authority and the Pregnancy Resource Center of Greater St. Louis. He also served a co-chairman of the Jefferson County Charter Commission, was a founding board member of the JeffersonCountyPregnancyCareCenter and is a member of the High Ridge Elks, a trustee at the First Baptist Church of Cedar Hill and president of the Jefferson County Republican Club as well as a number of professional organizations.
He said while he was in college, he was a substitute teacher for the district for a couple of days.
BRADLEY, 63, lives at 318 Pearl Drive in Hillsboro. He and his wife, Margaret “Peggy,” have three sons and four grandsons. He is a retired editor, writer and printer from the Chrysler Corp. He also worked for the Hillsboro R-3 and Fox C-6 school districts. He studied information and communication technology at St. LouisCommunity College’s Meramec and Forest Park campuses and JeffersonCollege. He volunteered for the Hillsboro Food Pantry from 1985-1987 and has worked in various political campaigns.
He was a full-time bus driver for the district and left after a year and half after he said he was “ignored and ridiculed” for complaining about favoritism and nepotism.
SUCHARSKI, 66, lives at 4368 Jefferson Drive, Hillsboro. She and her husband, James, have two sons and three grandchildren. She taught high school science and gifted education for 34 years in a number of districts and at DeSmetHigh School. She has an associates degree from MineralAreaCollege, a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Missouri in Columbia and has done graduate work at SoutheastMissouriStateUniversity, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, WesternIllinoisUniversity, NorthernIowaUniversity, the University of Utah and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She participates in fundraising activities for various charities and as a volunteer in a variety of local activities.
One of her sons, James Brian Sucharski, is a chemistry and physics teacher for the district and the other ,William Allen Sucharski, is a high school social studies teacher in the district.
What are the biggest problems facing the district and how would you address them?
Kruse: Financing. We have to balance the budget. The district has budgeted a $1.8 million-plus deficit the last two years. We cannot continue this. In 2009, a capital improvement plan was suspended and we now are playing catch-up. While having these financial shortfalls, we still need to provide a higher level of technology while maintaining facilities and recruiting and retaining the best staff possible. It is vital to the district to educate the public on the bond issue and pass it to continue providing every opportunity for growth.
Good: Most districts can point to their budget as one of their biggest challenges, Hillsboro is no different. The state’s foundation formula has never been fully funded and schools have to continue to operate with constrained budgets. Keeping up with advancing technologies, caring for aging facilities and hiring and retaining quality teachers and staff is a difficult balancing act. Many of our facilities need attention and it is the district’s responsibility to be good stewards of its assets. Adding to our budget concerns is the land on Hwy. A that the district is in the process of purchasing. A plan for this property and the money it will cost must be developed.
Bradley: Not having enough tax base to cover what we all would like to have. However, we can, with proper leadership, get a well-balanced curriculum for an above-average education. Proper leadership starts with making tough but good decisions while realizing a true goal of staying on budget. I have offered several ways of addressing our shortfalls with sensible solutions to our funding problems and people were receptive to them at a recent candidate forum.
Sucharski: The acquisition of adequate financial resources to adequately fund the district’s operational and facilities needs. This includes competitive salaries for all staff members and a productive work environment. I would work with the board and administration to implement a community-based strategic plan to identify the needs of the district and establish goals detailing how those needs could be achieved. It is a significant concern in the community that board policies and hiring procedures are not applied in a consistent manner. All polices must be applied consistently to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates to provide the best qualified staff for our students.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Kruse: In a short time, we have rewritten a flawed nepotism policy, written a facilities use policy while the nation was watching and have made gains toward new technology for students. My background is in facilities and grounds management, budgeting, capital planning and building teams from different business cultures toward a common goal. My family is invested in this district. I have three kids who attend the district. I am doing this for the kids only. My goals are to balance the budget, pass the bond issue, increase technology, create a strategic plan for needs of campus, increase morale, improve transparency and communication.
Good:Hillsboro is my home and has always been. This district means a lot to me, not just because of my past but because of my children’s future. I bring to the table a diverse background of experience and education. I have served on the governing boards of several organizations. This experience has given me the opportunity to learn the role of a governing board. A governing board should set the direction and can set the tone for an entire organization. We face some big challenges in the coming years with aging facilities and tight budgets. To get through those challenges, the dstrict needs real experienced leadership. I can help provide that leadership.
Bradley: Most people in the district have heard of me but most don’t know what I am really all about. I want what is right for your children and I want to make sure favoritism is not allowed under any circumstance. I want to make sure that it is fair for all children to achieve whatever it is they would like to pursue, but mostly without fear of being held back because they don’t know the right people to gain an advantage, whether it would be for a scholarship, an award for an art project or being given fair consideration as a player on a sports team. Everyone should have confidence to succeed fairly.
Sucharski: I have a vested interest in the quality of education for my grandchildren and all the other children in the district. My goals are:
1. To re-establish community and staff trust and engagement.
2. To support an environment where recommendations for change are thoroughly reviewed and implemented when appropriate.
3. To provide the resources to train staff and provide instructional materials to support these recommendations.
4. To provide consistent opportunities for patrons to be aware of and involved in the district’s development.
5. To maintain local control.
6. To establish benchmarks and report progress to the community twice a year.
7. To be proactive in dealing with issues in a timely manner instead of being reactive.
The current school board recently voted 4-3 to extend by one year the contract of the superintendent. How did you vote or how would you have voted and why?
Kruse: I did vote yes to extend the contract of the superintendent. In the time I have been on the board, Dr. Cornman has answered all of my questions and has fulfilled everything that was asked of him. The current board achieved one of the most intensive evaluations ever of a Hillsboro superintendent. Based on the evaluation, I did not see a reason that the annual one-year extension should not be made. The district needs to extend the bond issue in the coming year and we cannot risk having to find a new superintendent at the same time.
Good: There were a lot of factors that went into the decision to extend his contract, with no raise. This has been a tough and challenging year for the district. However, in the few short months since the new board members were appointed, we have accomplished much. Those things could not have been done without his assistance. We have dealt with the nepotism and facilities use issues by adopting new policies. We have made the agendas easier for the public to read and re-structured our committee system to open more meetings to the public and moved closer to one-to-one technology in the upper grades. I felt he deserved time under this board to see what we can accomplish together.
Bradley: These three temporary appointees should have never been allowed to vote on this critical issue since they were only in these positions for two meetings before the superintendent played them like a fiddle to get what he wanted. This superintendent took advantage of the naive appointees and undermined the trust of our community. Proof you just can’t trust him to do what is morally right. I would’ve voted no.
Sucharski: I would have voted against the extension or moved to table the vote on an extension. The Missouri School Boards Association’s best advice is that boards not extend contracts when there is no consensus among board members on the superintendent’s evaluation. It does not make good business sense to commit funding three years in advance when you have no idea what resources are going to be available.
What is your opinion about how the school board and the administration have handled the transgender controversy?
Kruse: There were mistakes made at many levels over the transgender issue, with which I was very upset as a parent. However, in the short time I have been a part of the school board, we have been able to create a first-of-its-kind facility use policy that will protect all kids without singling out a certain group. Schools all over the country have been watching to see what Hillsboro was going to do. Many schools will likely follow this format. As a board, we have also moved forward in making sure there is transparency and education with our thinking and decisions on this issue.
Good: I am proud of the facilities use policy that we have enacted. Our board has stepped up to address a situation that is being faced by schools all over the country. As a board, we have taken steps to protect the privacy of all of our students and to provide accommodations for any student who is uncomfortable or desiring greater privacy.
Bradley: The transgender issue was not handled properly. While I am sympathetic with the person involved, it should not have caused this much trouble if common sense would have prevailed. Because this seems to be more of an identity crisis, professional assistance is needed and I think medical counseling should be offered to adolescents at a much earlier age. This possibly could help youths understand themselves and help them accept who they are before they are transformed by surgical professionals or be driven into a decision from peer pressure such as their friends. Kids are young, confused and need help. We should give help as soon as it becomes apparent.
Sucharski: This was a very sensitive issue among patrons of the district and should have been approached it in a proactive, timely and transparent manner. As a board member, I would work with other board members to ensure that we address policy issues as directed in the rules and regulations.
ONE-YEAR TERM
TREAT, 37, lives at 2875 Johnston Ridge, Festus. She and her husband, Joel, have two children. She works in the purchasing department of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. A graduate of the Fox C-6 School District, she attended JeffersonCollege. She is an active member of the First Baptist Church of Festus-Crystal City and volunteers for several community events and has coached youth sports through the church and has served as an election judge and election judge supervisor. She also has been a parent volunteer for the district.
OSHIA, 39, lives at 4205 Lockeport Landing, Hillsboro. She and her husband, Tom, have four children. She is a programmer and on-air personality for KJFF Radio and is an accounts manager for the Scholastic Book Fairs. She formerly was the IT vendor manager for Emerson Electric Corp., an account manager for American Red Cross and community relations manager for ITT Technical Institute. While she attended JeffersonCollege, she was vice president of the Student Senate and president of Habitat for Humanity. She also works with school districts in Wisconsin and Michigan to build literacy plans that promote parental engagement and is involved in her children’s various extracurricular activities, including athletics, choir, Scouting and the Hillsboro Primary School Partners Program schoolwide reading program.
ENGELBACH, 74, lives at 3489 Linhorst Road in rural Hillsboro. He and his wife, Janet, have three children and six grandchildren.
He is a grain and livestock farmer and retired union sheet metal worker, shop steward and foreman.
A 1959 graduate of HerculaneumHigh School, he served eight years in the military and was in the sheet metal workers union apprentice program.
He served on the Hillsboro R-3 school board from 1997 to 2014.
A former state representative, Engelbach currently represents District 4 on the Jefferson County Council and is a former member of the Jefferson College Board of Trustees, the Jefferson County 911 Dispatch Board of Directors and the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District Board of Trustees. He is chairman of the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District board, is the state soil and water area and state director, and was on the State Resource Conservation and Development board and been the Joachim Township Republican committeeman since 2010.
He formerly was a member of the state House of Representatives and the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District Board of Trustees.
He has served three times as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Other memberships include the Jefferson County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees, the American Legion, National Rifle Association and Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 36.
What are the biggest problems facing the district and how would you address them?
Treat: Lack of honest communication between the district and community, which leads to an even bigger lack of trust. We need to continue to work on transparency between the board and the taxpayers. We need to create public forums where we can answer questions one-on-one, such as town halls and meet-and-greets. There should be an opening for public suggestions at board meetings where students, taxpayers or teachers present their ideas for their school in an open forum. They would then gather a group to meet with the school board and administration to brainstorm. The community has to be part of the education of our kids.
Oshia: 1. We should rebuild trust through engagement, open communication and allowing students on our school board.
2. We are providing a disservice if we do not plan and implement technology that keeps our students current with changes, at least comparable to surrounding districts. This involves driving prices down through a competitive approach and collaborating with surrounding districts to maximize leverage.
3. A competitive salary structure. Our district is approximately the third-largest district in JeffersonCounty; our salaries do not align with the same rank.
4. Focus on opportunities to allow attainment of advanced degrees and to boost morale for employees.
5. Facilities maintenance of current assets, especially those affecting the safety of our students, parents and community.
Engelbach: Lack of comprehensive maintenance on campus. Deficit spending and equality for staff salaries.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Treat: I was selected from a group to serve on the school board when several members stepped down. I want to bring a common-sense voice to the board. With the three newly selected members on the board, we have moved forward with completion of several issues that have been stalled for years. If given the chance, this board will work very well together and get some things accomplished. We are going to have a school board and I hope that our residents would expect it to get things accomplished instead of arguing and tabling discussions because the board members cannot get along. That does no good for our kids, community or teachers.
Oshia: I am the only one-year term candidate who will have children in the district for many years to come. My interest goes beyond just the headlines as I have many Hawks at home. I promise to not quit on our students; I am committed to the longevity of this position. I will advocate for our students and will strive to put resources in place to better serve our students. I bring new concepts with realistic expectations for positive change and movement.
My goals are to:
1. Rebuild trust.
2. Be a student advocate.
3. Focus on technology.
4. Competitive salaries.
5. Employee recruitment and retention.
6. Maximize budget.
7. Empowering teachers.
Engelbach: Experience along with a common a sense-record is always a factor when electing decision-makers. My years of service to the state and county, along with my 100 continuing education units through the Missouri School Boards Association give me the understanding to serve as a member of the Hillsboro R-3 school board.
The current school board recently voted 4-3 to extend by one year the contract of the superintendent. How did you vote or how would you have voted and why?
Treat: I voted yes for Dr. Cornman. I have only worked with him directly for a short time and in that time his main focus has been on the children. That is where his focus should be. Without kids, we have no need for teachers, buildings or boards. Each time we as a board asked him a question or to do something he has done it. When we brought concerns, he has answered those. We must work together, supporting our administrators, teachers and workers and allowing them to do their jobs and provide them the tools necessary (as our budget allows) to be successful, which will allow our kids to be successful.
Oshia:I would have voted no to extend the superintendent’s contract. With no communication on why this extension was awarded, the action continues to remove trust amongst our district. I understand that personnel issues are discussed in closed sessions. However, our community deserves more than just a blanket statement on this decision.
Engelbach: No, based on the mishandling of the transgender crisis. No, based on the lack of oversight for facility maintenance.
What is your opinion about how the school board and the administration have handled the transgender controversy?
Treat: I was not privy to all information prior to coming on the board about the facts of the transgender issue. Without all of the facts, I can’t and won’t say what I would have done That is not constructive and will serve no purpose. I can say that I am very proud of the facility use policy that we (working together as a board) put together that will protect all students, giving each child a voice. I do not believe there is another one like it in the country and it does not serve any one group but protects all students using our facilities.
Oshia: My daughter walked into a bathroom and had to make a decision with no prior notice of this change. I have children who were impacted by the board’s decision. The district did a poor job with communicating to the students, parents and community of the changes at the beginning of the year. When changes are made that impact personal and religious views, there should always be communication to families. Families should have an opportunity to be informed and discuss options to safeguard our children from an uncomfortable situation.
Engelbach: I’m not involved in the school board closed-session discussions. However, the superintendent should have specifically stated that everyone will be assigned facilities according to their gender as listed on their birth certificate.