Dalton, Heuer in D-5 school board race
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
While district 5 Warsaw School Board incumbent Tammy Dalton and challenger Tom Heuer agree teachers play an influential role in students' literacy, they have differing views on requiring the middle schools to incorporate sixth-graders.
Dalton and Heuer answered four questions Monday night at the Warsaw School Board "Meet the Candidates" forum at Lakeview Middle School.
Moderator Dan Graney, a sixth-grade teacher at Harrison Elementary, asked predetermined questions of the candidates that were submitted by the Times-Union, Warsaw Community Education Association, American Association of University Women and Superintendent Dr. Robert Hayworth.
When asked if the middle school should incorporate sixth-graders, Heuer said he did not see a benefit for doing so at this time.
"In our current situation I don't think moving 500-plus youngsters from seven, eight or nine buildings does anything for our students," Heuer said.
He said the sixth-grade students would have to be segregated from the seventh- and eighth-grade students who move from class to class.
Dalton, on the other hand, said Warsaw is only one of a few schools in the state that has only seventh- and eighth-graders in the middle school. She said the initial cost of the transition and the money saved in the long run should be considered.
"If we decide that this is what's best for our students and corporation, I would support that decision," Dalton said.
Both candidates spoke about issues they would focus on if elected.
Heuer said his interests are in the school board's financial responsibilities and school's curriculum.
"The greatest challenge is going to be the impact of the circuit breaker on the budgeting process for all the entities that live through the property tax revenue," Heuer said.
He said the most anyone can pay is 2 percent of their gross assessed value, according to a memo put out by the Department of Local Government Finance.
"We as taxpayers and board members need to be very prudent in what we decide to do in concert with our county and city officials," Heuer said.
"The input of the entire community is going to be required to solve this financial challenge."
Heuer also said he is interested in curriculum that prepares students who graduate and who don't immediately go to college to learn how to live on their own.
Dalton said she is interested in issues such as offering curriculum and the best possible education services for handicapped, gifted and a growing percentage of ethnically diverse students.
Another issue she is interested in is retaining and acquiring staff.
"I don't believe that focusing on one issue is what is best for the corporation," Dalton said. "We as a board need to look at the big picture."
Both candidates agreed parents, teachers and the community have influential roles in improving student literacy.
Heuer said students learn through repetition, and suggested students write several short paragraphs on a variety of subjects in several different classes.
He also said parents should read to and in front of their children.
"Many young people learn by watching their parents and other adults," Heuer said.
He also suggested companies could visit schools and discuss their impact on the community and the world, and students could write about what they learned from these presentations.
Dalton said parents taking their children to the library and reading to their child encourages literacy.
"Parents and teachers are by far the most important person in a student's life during their early learning years," Dalton said.
She also suggested community members visit schools and read to children.
"Our community needs to know that we welcome that kind of activity in our schools and maybe we need to do more to promote that type of activity," Dalton said.
The candidates shared what budget cuts they would recommend when the school corporation will appeal to the state tax board for an adjustment for the 2007 transportation budget.
Heuer said he recommends cuts of $50,000 in operations, $100,000 in maintenance, $36,000 in Public Employees Retirement Fund and worker's compensation of $14,000.
Dalton suggested the school board could look into ways to raise money to compensate for budget cuts.
"I think it would be necessary for us to do some creative thinking and find a way to raise money so that our students are not impacted by these cuts," Dalton said.
She suggested finding outside sponsors to cover costs of programs outside of the normal school day.
Other suggestions she made included tacking on transportation fees as a way to help with the budget and cover the costs of rising fuel costs as well as wear and tear on buses. [[In-content Ad]]
While district 5 Warsaw School Board incumbent Tammy Dalton and challenger Tom Heuer agree teachers play an influential role in students' literacy, they have differing views on requiring the middle schools to incorporate sixth-graders.
Dalton and Heuer answered four questions Monday night at the Warsaw School Board "Meet the Candidates" forum at Lakeview Middle School.
Moderator Dan Graney, a sixth-grade teacher at Harrison Elementary, asked predetermined questions of the candidates that were submitted by the Times-Union, Warsaw Community Education Association, American Association of University Women and Superintendent Dr. Robert Hayworth.
When asked if the middle school should incorporate sixth-graders, Heuer said he did not see a benefit for doing so at this time.
"In our current situation I don't think moving 500-plus youngsters from seven, eight or nine buildings does anything for our students," Heuer said.
He said the sixth-grade students would have to be segregated from the seventh- and eighth-grade students who move from class to class.
Dalton, on the other hand, said Warsaw is only one of a few schools in the state that has only seventh- and eighth-graders in the middle school. She said the initial cost of the transition and the money saved in the long run should be considered.
"If we decide that this is what's best for our students and corporation, I would support that decision," Dalton said.
Both candidates spoke about issues they would focus on if elected.
Heuer said his interests are in the school board's financial responsibilities and school's curriculum.
"The greatest challenge is going to be the impact of the circuit breaker on the budgeting process for all the entities that live through the property tax revenue," Heuer said.
He said the most anyone can pay is 2 percent of their gross assessed value, according to a memo put out by the Department of Local Government Finance.
"We as taxpayers and board members need to be very prudent in what we decide to do in concert with our county and city officials," Heuer said.
"The input of the entire community is going to be required to solve this financial challenge."
Heuer also said he is interested in curriculum that prepares students who graduate and who don't immediately go to college to learn how to live on their own.
Dalton said she is interested in issues such as offering curriculum and the best possible education services for handicapped, gifted and a growing percentage of ethnically diverse students.
Another issue she is interested in is retaining and acquiring staff.
"I don't believe that focusing on one issue is what is best for the corporation," Dalton said. "We as a board need to look at the big picture."
Both candidates agreed parents, teachers and the community have influential roles in improving student literacy.
Heuer said students learn through repetition, and suggested students write several short paragraphs on a variety of subjects in several different classes.
He also said parents should read to and in front of their children.
"Many young people learn by watching their parents and other adults," Heuer said.
He also suggested companies could visit schools and discuss their impact on the community and the world, and students could write about what they learned from these presentations.
Dalton said parents taking their children to the library and reading to their child encourages literacy.
"Parents and teachers are by far the most important person in a student's life during their early learning years," Dalton said.
She also suggested community members visit schools and read to children.
"Our community needs to know that we welcome that kind of activity in our schools and maybe we need to do more to promote that type of activity," Dalton said.
The candidates shared what budget cuts they would recommend when the school corporation will appeal to the state tax board for an adjustment for the 2007 transportation budget.
Heuer said he recommends cuts of $50,000 in operations, $100,000 in maintenance, $36,000 in Public Employees Retirement Fund and worker's compensation of $14,000.
Dalton suggested the school board could look into ways to raise money to compensate for budget cuts.
"I think it would be necessary for us to do some creative thinking and find a way to raise money so that our students are not impacted by these cuts," Dalton said.
She suggested finding outside sponsors to cover costs of programs outside of the normal school day.
Other suggestions she made included tacking on transportation fees as a way to help with the budget and cover the costs of rising fuel costs as well as wear and tear on buses. [[In-content Ad]]