School Board Forum Q's and A's

What do you believe to be the strength of the Van Wert City Schools?

Wise noted that district teachers were the district’s primary strength.
Kelly also said it was the teaching staff, noting that with a sister and a good friend who also teach, he understands the “nonsense” educators have to put up with.
Mengerink said it was the entire staff, teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria help, custodians, administrators, who are the district’s strengths.

Morrow commended the veteran district staff, including Superintendent Ken Amstutz, and said he feels the congenial atmosphere between the administration and teaching staff is also a positive for the district. He also praised the excellence of the district’s new high school-middle school complex. “You have a tremendous facility here ... you probably have one of the best facilities you’ll find in the state of Ohio, in light of the building that we’re in now,” Morrow said. “That’s a tremendous asset, noting that he feels that will be a factor in bringing development into the community in the future. “When you marry that to the fact you’ve got a great staff, I think you have a real recipe for success here,” Morrow concluded
How do you see the board of education working to improve trust between the Van Wert City Schools and the public?

Mengerink noted that is tough to do and has to be done, “one vote, one meeting at a time.” He also said that efforts need to be increased to get information to people.

Wise said openness and being “right-standing” in the community is what needed. Noting that mistakes happen, but
Morrow, noting he has been outspoken on this issue, added “there’s really no way to excuse people finding out about things after the fact … people want information, even if it’s bad information.” Morrow said board members need to be honest, tell people what the facts are and allow them to join in developing a solution to problems that exist. “That has not been happened on this existing board, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that has left a really, really bad taste in lot of people’s mouths.” Morrow said the district needs to use the Internet to make information available to the public.
Kelly said he feels the board needs to do away with “consent items” and have more discussion and debate on issues at board meetings. “That’s gotta go; I don’t care how convenient it is…” Kelly said. Kelly also said he felt board members should get into the schools to see what’s going on there. “There’s no excuse for being kept in the dark.”

There may have to be a difficult decision made at Van Wert City Schools due to potential monetary deficits?
Morrow noted that the board needs to look at the district from a business standpoint, and see where cuts can be made. Board members also need to make sure the district is getting the “best bang for the buck.” A good way to increase finances, Morrow said, is to make the district so attractive that students won’t want to go to another district, and other students will open enroll here.
Mengerink said cuts would likely involve personnel cuts – something he doesn’t like to do, but which may be necessary to cure the district’s financial woes.
Wise said with a new school board, a new superintendent and many community resources, things can be turned around. “No one person can do it alone, we all have to work together, we all have to show our community that things can change, that we can work for the better,” Wise noted.
Kelly said it’s hard to run a school district as a business, and noted that the board first must see why students are open enrolling to other districts. Kelly also said the district could look at things like outsourcing the bus transportation.

How would you help the community understand that a 0.5-mill maintenance levy is needed to receive the matching state money through the Ohio School Facilities Commission?
Mengerink said that, hopefully, the community already understands that the district has spent a lot of money on the new school complex.
Morrow said the district must first get its financial house in order before moving forward on building a new elementary school. Morrow said it would be a “colossal mistake” to try to build a new school before current financial problems are fixed.
Kelly said it needs to be explained in detail what the district’s master plan is and what it entails. He also said the board should look at whether less money could be spent on a new school and more money then used to pay down the district’s debt.
Wise said the district should be positive and provide information on any cost savings a new school project might engender and “why it makes economic sense to build this.”
What is your position on how this money should be spent on upgrades in the elementary setting?
Kelly said it’s seems obvious that Washington and Franklin schools must be replaced. District should not go “‘hog wild’ on building things that are excessive.”
Wise said district residents should want the best for their students, noting that it’s better to build new than to “fix and repair daily” the district’s old buildings. “If we want the best for our children, we should put our best foot forward,”
Morrow said he supported building a new elementary complex … some time … but didn’t feel the timing was right to look at that issue, because of the financial and credibility issues facing the district. “I don’t feel you spend money on a new facility when you can’t support the ones you have.”
Mengerink noted the OSFC would require a construction manager for an elementary project and said his concern is that, if the money isn’t taken now – although
How do you plan to market the school district’s state report card results to the community?

Wise said maybe it’s time to look at curriculum to ensure students are doing as well as possible.

Kelly noted the district has filed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements the past five years and blamed math and science scores for not meeting AYP requirements. He also noted that he would rely on the district teaching staff for professional guidance on the issue.
Mengerink said he felt there were some indicators on the state report card that would be hard for the district to ever meet. “Do we stop trying? Absolutely not,” Mengerink said, noting that the district needs to continue working on the problem and show it is making progress, however small.
Morrow said he feels there are a lot of good things going on with the district, academically, but said two areas need to be looked at for improvement: elementary math and middle school and high school science. Morrow said the district needs to empower the teaching staff to improve those areas.
What is your position on the ability for teachers to retire and then be rehired in the  school district?
All four candidates either approved of the idea outright or were of the opinion that the district needs to look at each instance on an individual basis.
Would you as a board member be willing to attend board training and work to understand what’s going on in the district?
Mengerink said he historically took advantage of training opportunities in his 16 years on the board and also spent significant time in district school buildings during his tenure.
Morrow said he felt it was impossible to do the job of a board member right without such training, but also noted that board members also need to come back to the district and put what they’ve learned into practice. “That’s where the rubber meets the road.”
Kelly said he had no problem in taking training. “It’s part of the job,” he noted.
Wise was the only one who waffled a bit on the issue, saying he would be willing to take training, within reason.

Should the school district distance itself from the Performing Arts Center and revisit the $100 a month contract for utility payments?
Kelly was adamant about revisiting the lease and said he felt the district lost control of the facility to the foundation overseeing it.
Wise said he feels the issue can be worked out positively through negotiations.
Morrow said he feels the public has a lot of “misperceptions” about the relationship between the school district and PAC, noting that the public needs to feel comfortable with the situation, but without missing out on the marketing opportunities with the PAC. The lease  agreement, though, needs to be renegotiated, he added.
Mengerink said he didn’t feel the school district  should distance itself from the PAC, but said he was glad the lease agreement would be renegotiated.
What do you see the role of a board member being in negotiating a teacher’s contract?
Wise said ultimately, how much money a teacher gets is decided by the taxpayer, but added he is open to the process.
Morrow said board members should be “good stewards of the public’s money” and noted that tough decisions may be coming if tax issues are defeated by district taxpayers.
Mengerink said he had sat it on negotiations during his time on the board and feels it’s a sign of respect to the staff to do so.
Kelly said he felt the board should provide direction to negotiations but was uncomfortable with actually being on the negotiating team.
A final question was asked on how candidates would deal with irate parents who came to them out in the community with a problem with a teacher.
All four candidates were of the same basic opinion that people need to follow the “chain of command” to deal with such problems, except in the case of an abuse case.