Voters in the Sunrise R-9 School District south of De Soto will not have a real decision to make when it comes to choosing members of the Board of Education in the April 3 election.
There will be three names on the ballot for the two available seats, each of which carry three-year terms – Steven Henry Heuer, incumbent Susan C. Dennis and Cyle Joseph Huck.
However, Huck has said he is no longer interested in serving on the board and is not campaigning. However, his announcement came after ballots were printed.
Unless voters choose Huck anyway, Dennis will serve her second term on the board and Heuer his first. He will replace Terri Klaus, who opted not to run for an eighth term.
HEUER, 41, lives at 4857 Upper Blackwell Road in the De Soto area with his wife, Christy, and three children. An operator for the Jefferson County Highway Department, he is a graduate of SunriseElementary School (1991) and De SotoHigh School (1995) and earned an industrial maintenance certificate from JeffersonCollege. This marks his first try for elected office. His uncle, Joe Heuer, and cousin, Mary Sebastian, both drive buses for the district.
DENNIS, 68, lives at 13817 Hwy. H, in the De Soto area. She has two children. She retired in 2014 after teaching for 13 years for the district. She served two terms on the Grandview R-2 Board of Education (1990-1996).
She received an associate degree from JeffersonCollege and a bachelor’s degree from MissouriBaptistUniversity. She is a member of De Soto Christian Church and a volunteer at a veterans outlet store.
What are the biggest problems facing the school district and how would you address them?
Heuer: One of the problems is keeping our children engaged at each of their different learning abilities. One way that we can help our children learn on the level that is best for them would be to continue with workshops for our teachers and give our teachers the technology and tools to allow them to implement the knowledge they posses.
Dennis: Ensuring the safety of our children is one of the biggest challenges. We have trained our staff in how to respond to an invader and have 10 trained in trauma response. We also have two staff members who are thoroughly trained and have weapons to respond to any invasion.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Heuer: Our school has some dynamic teachers who have started some amazing learning opportunities for our children. We have an amazing school garden that started in a rocky flower bed and now has expanded to a multi-bed garden with more than 15 varieties of produce that the students have planted, harvested and consumed. I have a lifetime of gardening experience that can help to continue the expansion of the school’s garden. If elected, my goal would be to help our children continue to have these types of learning opportunities outside of the traditional classroom.
Dennis: I would like to maintain the high quality of teachers that we presently have and be able to give the best benefits possible. I would also like to develop our gifted program more to continue to develop extracurricular programs.