Jefferson City Board of Education candidates discussed their goals, including improving student performance and facility equity, during the News Tribune's virtual forum Tuesday.
Incumbents Ken Enloe and Lindsey Rowden, as well as challenger Ian Shadrick, are vying for the two available seats on the April 6 ballot.
Student performance
Shadrick said improving literacy, math and graduation rates would be a top priority if elected.
To accomplish this, he said, it's important to work firsthand with building administrators, teachers and staff to evaluate data and different approaches to determine how to improve.
"I think we need to take a look at what it is that we're collecting, why we're collecting one element of data over another and what it is we can look to to get solid answers and then work with that data to make significant change across the board as far as helping to improve those scores," Shadrick said.
Enloe said it's important to consistently discuss ways to improve academic achievement and continue to evaluate student performance measurements and data to ensure students are successful and have the skills they need for college, a career or the next grade.
"There's no question that our academic success of our students in the key core areas of reading and math - those things have to improve," Enloe said.
Rowden said one of her top priorities as a board member is increasing reading scores and getting 100 percent of students reading at or above grade level, because literacy is essential for all other areas.
She said she believes the district is adequately collecting and comparing student performance data by building, grade and classroom level and is moving in the right direction.
"I think that we are collecting and measuring and comparing the data in the right way," she said. "It's just going to take a little bit of time before we see those drastic improvements happen."
Facility equity
Enloe said the board and district have focused on ensuring all facilities are equitable in quality and has continued to try to improve where needed. He said differences in district schools are often related to the student population.
"Those inequities and those differences that show up oftentimes are reflective of the challenges those students bring in the door, Enloe said.
Shadrick said the board and district have done a nice job ensuring facilities are equitable and should continue that mindset when solving the overcrowding issue for grades K-8.
"They've done a nice job with that," he said. "I think it's a matter of continuing to move that process forward."
Rowden said the board's goal is to ensure every student and family receives the same opportunities.
"When I first came on the board, I was able to tour every single building that we have in our entire district, and I can say that I would be proud to send my kids to any one of our buildings," she said.
The district anticipates bringing a bond issue to voters in April 2022 to address overcrowding.
Rowden said the district has not grown its facilities at the rate it's needed to, so addressing overcrowding will make up for the deficiency the district has had over the last 25 years.
When Capital City High School was built, the district didn't have enough funds to build competition fields, so it built practice facilities and planned to eventually build competition fields at both high schools so the schools had equal opportunities for students.
Construction of these athletic facility additions is expected to begin in May.
Rowden said it worked time-wise to move forward with the athletic facility completion, but the board and district weren't ready to come to a decision on a plan to address overcrowding.
"We just weren't ready to make that recommendation," she said. "Should we have been ready? Probably so. But with the pandemic and those things, we just weren't ready to make that, so we went with the project that we were ready to move forward, that we also promised the community that we would do."
Enloe also said moving forward with the athletic facilities was a matter of timing.
"We had good fortune in terms of low interest rates, restructuring savings - all of those things came together and the timing was there," he said. "We made a decision, and I think it was a good decision. And I think in retrospect, we'll look back and see that ultimately it was the best decision for all kids."
Enloe said while it's important to address the overcrowding, the district and board still needed to evaluate the best option.
"We have not vetted and done all the critical analysis to the point that we know exactly what that's going to look like, and until we do, we shouldn't spend the money to do that," he said.
Shadrick said it's important the district creates equitable facilities through the athletic facility projects. However, the overcrowding is a long-term, ongoing issue, he said.
"I think it's something that the district likely should have had a better response to," Shadrick said. "I think it's something that is important for the overall health of the district - but more importantly - long term success of our students."
Although, he said, he doesn't have all the information on the feasibility of the project.
"I think it's also important to look at the equity that's at hand, or lack thereof," he said.