Jefferson City school board candidates answer community questions

Candidates for the Jefferson City Public Schools Board of Education answer questions submitted by community members.

A tax increment financing (TIF) proposal for the Truman Hotel was recently opposed by the school district because of the potential financial effect it would have on schools. Farmer Holding Company has recently suggested it will seek a TIF for the old St. Mary's Hospital site. Do you believe the school district is in a position where it should support these types of economic development programs? Why or why not? - Jerome Wolken

Steve Bruce: "You have to evaluate each TIF on its own merits because each is complex and different. Jefferson City needs to grow and thrive. I grew up here and love this community, but I also know fellow state employees and many others who are working harder right now to make ends meet. As a current board member I always try to put myself in a parent's or grandparent's shoes. I know what a couple of back-to-school lists, new pairs of shoes, jeans and backpacks cost. Right now, I think the average patron watching us put a property tax increase on the ballot then voting to abate corporate tax revenues cries foul, and that's hard to argue with."

Paul Graham: "I think that the school board stands as a fiduciary for the entire community's interests in its children and should avoid 'me-first' arguments and conflicts about economic development programs. And it should not voluntarily put itself where its members might have to recuse because of conflicts of interest, or where those questions might arise. The public already has enough trust issues with the board."

Scott Hovis: "TIFs can be useful tools to generate new businesses and jobs, which ultimately help increase tax revenues. However, the length of time that the taxes are deferred under a TIF can do more harm to local school funding than what it is worth. Each TIF application needs to be studied and understood and evaluated on an individual basis. What is the end result of the TIF if there are other potential benefits to the school district that outweigh the loss of the property tax revenue? Questions like this need to be looked into when evaluating."

Lori Massman: "TIFs can be an effective vehicle for stimulating growth in our community, so long as they are aimed at projects that bring new jobs and wages to Jefferson City. They can create higher property values and new taxpayers that will ultimately help fund our schools. I have not seen a specific proposal to evaluate the benefits it could bring to our community, so it is hard to say how I would lean. Right now, I worry about our ability to fully fund our schools and the education of our children. We are grappling with another economic decision in our community. Do we continue to allow our schools to be an asset for our community, or do they become a liability? Funding our schools should be our priority one. Once we have done that, let's embrace our next project!"

Don Salcedo: "TIFs are for businesses. It is not in the best interest of schools because of the up to 23 years of potential lost revenue. Asking Jefferson City citizens to take on the burden of a $130 million bond/tax levy plus making up the cut in tax revenue a TIF will bring is an unfair gamble. A top-rated school district will increase new businesses in JC. It's in our own self-interest to fund our schools. The community has a choice regarding what is important: improve the old St. Mary's or rebuild JCPS to its former status as a premier school district."

Victoria Sterling: "TIF proposals are particularly difficult for school districts that rely heavily on property taxes. JCPS gets 48 percent of its revenue from property taxes. If schools then are either forced to raise taxes or reduce expenses (80 percent of the budget is personnel), schools will suffer and the community becomes less attractive for investors. The old St. Mary's Hospital TIF proposal is a repeat of what failed by a 61 percent NO vote a few years ago with the Transform Jefferson City proposal. At a time when JCPS is asking taxpayers to incur $130 million in debt for buildings and a levy increase for resources, it does not seem appropriate to subsidize private development."

 

The new U.S. secretary of education is for charter schools and tax vouchers for private schools. Assuming these things come to fruition, how would you deal with the potential loss of taxpayer dollars for our local public schools? - Beth Miller

Steve Bruce: "Let's look (at) past vouchers and expansion of charters. This has been happening locally for several years without Secretary DeVos or Gov. Greitens. Their positions only increase the urgency to make sure we're bringing sound business principles to our leadership and fiscal management of the district. We're at the helm of a $100 million public business that has over 50,000 customers and is responsible for educating children, which requires as much art as it does science. We have to continue strengthening and improving our academics, extracurricular programs, learning environments, and customer service so families and students will be compelled to stay, vouchers or not."

Paul Graham: "Our Jefferson City parents who put their children into our parochial schools to escape public school discipline problems have a point. Is it fair for them to still pay for public schools? But federal tax private school vouchers will just make things worse for public schools. I think our board should team up with boards all over the state and urge our General Assembly to adopt an equitable global plan that gives income tax and sales tax incentives for all families with children in both public and private schools and for all businesses involved in education. That would at least be a start."

Scott Hovis: "Vouchers for private schools become an issue primarily when parents do not have the confidence in their public school systems. Charter schools are utilized in large metropolitan areas. Vouchers divert funds from public schools. I do not support vouchers because they take away much needed tax revenue. If our public schools ensure a quality education and nurturing learning environment to all students at all grade levels, then vouchers are not necessary. Achieving and sustaining those goals in our district must be an ongoing team effort between the school board, our community, the administration and teachers."

Lori Massman: "More responsibilities for education are being shifted to local communities by our governments, backing out of promises for school funding. Until the formula is fully funded we shouldn't even consider ideas with the potential to take money out of our schools. I would communicate with our elected officials to ensure they understand the impact these decisions have on the children in their district. Any voucher program would have to make sense for our community. Discussions need to occur at all levels of education in our community for solutions. Would our private schools accept vouchers, exposing themselves to increased government regulation?"

Don Salcedo: "Both public and parochial schools in JC have traditionally educated all students well. But now that JC public schools face several issues, we must unite as a community to remediate the difficulties at JCPS. We can't leave any students behind. When JCPS corrects the problems identified in the 2016 teacher/staff survey, this topic, charter schools, won't even be an issue. Our citizens will be happy with the jobs public schools are doing and reap the satisfaction of increased property values and two successful school systems."

Victoria Sterling: "In theory, school choice sounds great. We get to choose which businesses we support, what toothpaste we buy. Why not which schools our kids attend? However, for many people, there is no choice - they depend on free public education. Vouchers will take money away from already underfunded public schools. There are only so many ways to make up for lost revenue. JCPS have already had to make up for state budget cuts for transportation. Local budget cuts should first come in non-classroom areas: administrative positions, out-of-state travel and travel to conferences. Student and teacher supports, along with increases, would be absolutely last on a list of cuts."

 

I have been concerned since learning at the last school forum that JCPS has not purchased a new textbook series in the last 10 years. Yet money has been spent on a variety of seemingly non-essential purposes. We all have a budget, which is how we administer and prioritize what is important. How would you conduct conversations about the operating budget with the public and give them input on those decisions? - Susan Eidson

Steve Bruce: "I'd like to see the board host public forums prior to the preliminary budget being developed, and communicate financial information more frequently in more widely available formats. The district has strong financial controls in place, and while most of the annual budget carries over from year to year, it's important to not only create more understanding in our community of how JCPS utilizes its funding, but also give voters more opportunities to offer input on how their tax dollars are spent. It's the job of an informed and responsive board to serve as a productive two-way conduit for these discussions."

Paul Graham: "The textbook crisis was a tipping point for me. This district needs a complete audit by the state auditor. If you don't give teachers and students textbooks and coordinate things so that all students are learning the same thing at the same grade level and each grade dovetails up to the next grade level, there is no way that achievement scores won't suffer. So they have. Our school district's overall achievement scores have dropped into the very low 70s while Columbia's scores are in the upper 80s and Ashland and Blair Oaks are achieving in the 90s. The 60s will put us on probation and threaten our accreditation. Now: Fit those numbers with a teacher turnover rate of more than 100 per year and an average teacher age now of 28. See a pattern? We need an audit of this entire picture."

Scott Hovis: "As a school board member, I will work hard to be a responsible steward of taxpayer money. I will do this by making sure teachers are a part of these conversations to ensure that educational needs are being met. Regarding textbooks, many teachers I have spoken with indicated this insufficiency makes planning for lessons much harder, and has created gaps in learning because teachers are using what they believe is the best resource they can find. This results in a lack of continuity, and test scores in recent years have reflected these gaps. Listening to our teachers, and making sure they have the tools they need to teach, has to be a priority when making budget decisions."

Lori Massman: "We have all talked a lot about ideas like live-streaming and blogs. These are wonderful ways of getting information to our community, but it is one-way communication. We have to step out from behind the computer screen or board table and actually interact with people. That's how we can better understand what's working and if we have our spending misaligned with community priorities. I have a strong network of teachers, parents and alumni and we talk daily about our schools. I would welcome the same dialogue with anyone to ensure our administration operates with the best understanding of community viewpoints."

Don Salcedo: "We need to seek teacher and public input. The 2016 teacher survey lists concerns the faculties identified, but the board ignored those results. This is one of the ways we end up with buildings full of students without textbooks for 10 years. We need to empower the teachers and the public. No one is invited in. There is no transparency. I want to act as the teacher/staff liaison and go to buildings and ask what is needed. The board needs facts to make informed decisions about budget. Tax monies should be spent on teachers and students, not administrative offices."

Victoria Sterling: "We would benefit from major changes to the budget process. I support the suggestions from other board members to hold budget work sessions. These work sessions should include a public comment period so that taxpayers can state how they want their money to go to work. Additionally, I would like to see administrative personnel at these work sessions, making the case for their requests. Currently, JCPS does not present the board with a budget until right before to the approval vote. By including work sessions, we can ensure that we will not have the same long overdue need for new textbooks."