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Campaign Phone
8169144017
Public Elected Offices Held
None
Incumbent? YES or NO
No
One of the most important issues is how to spend the money we have in the ways that best address the needs of all learners. We must establish clear priorities and stick to those in our decision-making.
Another issue is maintaining our enrollment through high school and managing our diverse population throughout the district.
A third issue is to continue to focus on recruitment and retention of highly qualified, successful staff to work with the students.
I am running for the school board for four reasons:
First, people asked me. Colleagues invited me to share my voice after nearly 50 years of working in academic settings.
Next, being a part of the Center School Board is a way to stay connected to the district where I live.
Next, I care about education in our district. What we do matters and helps shape the future for all of us.
Finally, I would bring a teacher's perspective to decisions about the issues and strategic plans of the district.
As a new board member, I will need to get up-to-speed with the board's specific budget process. Managing budget shortfalls is the responsibility of the entire board as a group, not just one member. I would work with the whole board team and the superintendent to explore all options.
I have always favored developing a respectful partnership with families. While parents definitely have a vital role to play in getting children ready to attend school, ensuring they get enough sleep, and caring for their needs, we need to respect the different resources available to families. How can we help fill the gaps? Are there opportunities we can connect to parents who need support? We should collaborate across all our schools to set policies and practices that build up the family/school partnership.
This question is tied to the preceding question about partnering with families. The district can seek out federal grants and other program funds for resources to grow the early childhood program. While allowing kids to be kids, we also must prepare preschool age children to get a jump start into kindergarten with reading and social skills.
Campaign Phone
8162864806
Public Elected Offices Held
None
Incumbent? YES or NO
No
I believe, and I think most community members and families would agree, that the most urgent issue facing the district is funding.
While the Governor did fully fund the Missouri Foundation Formula for FY2026, the funding amount is still not sufficient. As a result, small urban districts are disproportionally impacted by a lack of funding compared to larger/more affluent districts. As a school board member, I would push our lobbying partners to continue to pressure legislators to increase formula funding. At a local level, I will encourage school administrators and fellow board members to use the funds in the best ways I believe to serve students.
Other issues the district face are student homelessness, attendance rates, academic achievement, and teacher and administrative turnover.
You can find more information about the issues I believe the district faces and my ideas on how to solve them on my website.
I am running for school board because I am invested in the long-term health and success of the district. I am the mother of a Boone Bobcat and future Boone Bobcat, and I intend to send both of my children to Center schools through graduation.
I am uniquely qualified to serve on the school board because I bring more than a decade of public-sector work experience to my candidacy. I spent 11 years working for the State of Missouri, where I represented and advised four different boards and commissions. Most recently, I served as General Counsel to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. In that role I served simultaneously as legal counsel to both the State Workforce Development Board and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Through this work, I developed a strong understanding of how governing boards function, what drives effective decision-making, and how to manage public entity budgets.
The Missouri Foundation Formula, even though fully funded for FY 2026, but not looking promising to be fully funded for FY 2027, is not sufficient to appropriately educate our students. Without sufficient state and federal dollars, school districts have to get creative to manage shortfalls.
As a board member I will do everything I can to help the District balance its budget by closely reviewing the current budget and budget proposals to identify potential savings while supporting my priorities, like teacher satisfaction.
I would also like to work with administrators to identify alternate funding opportunities, such as grants from outside entities. Districts must get creative to fill budget holes and I plan to support them in any way possible.
Center School District employs staff specifically to engage families and to find ways to partner with families, caregivers, and the community to support students. Those staff do a great job with limited resources, and, if elected, I plan to offer my services in supporting and advocating for these programs in the community. As a school board member I would use my unique platform to bring attention to student needs and district provided opportunities to support students.
I would also work with staff to brainstorm new ideas to support families and volunteer my time to help staff bring new ideas to fruition.
Early childhood education is more important than ever given the state of public school funding in Missouri. The earlier we engage children in school, the better outcomes the students will have. It is an investment in our students and the future, and the return on that investment is statistically proven.
As a parent of a former Yellow Jacket Early Learning Center (YELC) student, I am proud of the incredible job the district does in providing low-cost and cost-free early childhood education.
Beyond working to ensure the budget is best aligned to support families and get as many children as possible enrolled at YELC, I will also work to support the Parents as Teachers program by spreading awareness of this incredible program in the community. It is underutilized and has a unique ability to engage families early and get students in the pipeline to attend YELC.
