Over the recent past, the ballot for seats on the seven-member Hillsboro R-3 Board of Education usually attracts at least a half-dozen or more candidates. Last year, however, only three people filed for the two seats open, and voters on April 2 again will have only three choices for the two available seats. Each carries a three-year term.
Rob Kruse is seeking his second full term after being appointed to fill a vacancy in 2015, and Renee A. Sucharski is pursuing her second term as well. They are being challenged by Brandi Gallaway.
KRUSE, 45, lives at 1795 Triple Creek Road, Hillsboro. He and his wife, Stacy, have three children. He owns the Hearth and Home store in De Soto. He attended the University of Missouri in Columbia and St. Louis Community College.
GALLAWAY, 45, lives at 61 Fairview Drive, Hillsboro. She and her husband, Scott, have two children. She is an administrative assistant for Missouri Baptist University’s campus at Jefferson College. She also has worked on the main campus of Missouri Baptist as a freshman adviser. She also taught elementary school for 12 years. She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Missouri Baptist University in 2005. She also is a member of her church’s council.
She worked for Hillsboro R-3 as a substitute teacher during the 2017-2018 school year, but left to pursue other interests.
Her cousin, Katie Gallaway, works as a paraprofessional in the elementary building.
SUCHARSKI, 69, lives at 4368 Jefferson Drive, Hillsboro. She has two sons and three grandsons. She is retired after teaching science for 34 years at Perry County, Valley of Caledonia, Bismarck, Ste. Genevieve, De Soto, Affton, Clayton and De Smet. She has an associate degree from Mineral Area College, a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Missouri in Columbia and has completed graduate work at Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Western Illinois University, Northern Iowa University, University of Utah and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is a volunteer with several charities and community organizations.
She has two sons who work for the district: James Brian Sucharski, a science and ACT prep teacher, and William Allen Sucharski, a high school social studies teacher.
What are the biggest problems facing the district and how would you address them?
Kruse: Proposition C will affect our ability to fully fund the district and its loss may cause a reduction in services. Looking past that, the district is in a really good place. We are always working on the rising cost of health care premiums and how best to attract the best staff. We are working on ways to approach special education. With the bond issue, we have been able to begin building a special education department in the elementary school addition. We are addressing students’ emotional needs with a character education program.
Gallaway: I would like to address our district’s APR grade of 92 percent from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The goal is for the district to earn 100 percent.
Sucharski: The acquisition of adequate financial resources to appropriately fund the operation and facilities needs of the school. This includes competitive salaries and a productive work environment. To address this, I would work with the board and administration to implement a community-based strategic plan to identify needs and establish goals.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Kruse: My No. 1 goal is to establish a new character education program. Our students need enrichment in understanding that they are important and that they are loved. We are seeing more students dealing with trauma in the home than ever before – addictions, abuse, abandonment. How can these kids perform to their best in school if they are thinking about what is waiting for them at home? Data shows that this program will make a difference with testing and attendance while building up students.
Gallaway: If elected, some of my goals are to survey the faculty and staff for needs to assess where our weaknesses are according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and improve in those areas while maintaining our strengths. I would also like to explore implementing an application for students to anonymously report bullying, suicidal feelings and vaping, among other issues.
Sucharski: My goals:
■ Ensuring every child in the district has the resources they need to develop their full potential.
■ Recruiting and retaining the best staff we can.
■ Ensuring that students have a safe and secure learning environment.
■ Making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely.
■ Providing technology that will help our students learn and progress in today’s environment and prepare them for the future.
My grandchildren attend the district, and 34 years of classroom teaching experience contributed to my life’s mission to educate, help children learn and be productive adults.
The district has placed a measure on the April ballot asking voters to eliminate the Proposition C rollback. Do you support this measure? Why or why not?
Kruse: I do support this measure. Proposition C is vital to the district’s ability to fund its operating budget. We are the only district in Jefferson County without a Proposition C rollback waiver. Taxes will not go down if this is not approved. It gives us flexibility to use these funds for operating expenses instead of additional debt service. The kids will be affected if this does not pass.
Gallaway: I do support a “yes” vote for Proposition C rollback. Approval will ensure our financial stability as a district and will not raise taxes.
Sucharski: I support the measure. It is a no-tax-increase measure that allows us to use the Proposition C rollback for operating funds without increasing the tax levy. If supported by our community, the measure will allow us to maintain funding that the district has relied upon for operational costs. Maintaining the quality education and services that impact students is the highest priority. Approval will make the rollback permanent and allow the district to use the same funding calculation that it has for 20 years.