Yeiter, Smolen seek District 1 school board seat
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
An unexpected question from an audience member had the Warsaw School Board district one candidates defending Grace College and school prayer Monday night.
The two candidates were participating in the "Meet the Candidates" forum sponsored by the Warsaw Community Education Association and the American Association of University Women.
Gary Barker told current school board president Ron Yeiter and his opponent, Barbara Smolen, that he thinks having Grace College and Jefferson Elementary so close together in Winona Lake is a real issue. Events happen at Grace that the community is not aware of, and the college does not have to report crimes on campus to the public, they just expel the perpetrator. He said that is cause for concern. Jefferson Principal Dennis Duncan and the staff are close to the college, with many of the school's staff being Grace graduates. He then asked the candidates for their thoughts on separation of church and state, and on Jefferson's security with it being so close to the college.
Yeiter apologized for not being aware of any problems with Grace and Jefferson. But as for division of church and state, he said, "I hate to say it, but I wish we had prayer back in schools."
Both Jefferson and Grace benefit from their proximity, Yeiter said, as long as it's kept on an academic level.
Smolen also said she was not aware of any situation with the schools. However, she said, "I think we have a program in place to keep students safe from intruders getting into our schools."
Grace, she said, has done many good things for Jefferson students, such as tutoring. She said she would hate to see the schools' relationship be eliminated and wants to see their cooperation continue.
Another patron, Lori Lewis, asked the candidates how as a school board member would they work to improve the gifted and talented program.
Smolen said that with the parents she has talked to, who have students in the gifted and talented program, they like it the way it is.
Yeiter responded that teachers in the classroom can answer that question best. "The ones in the trenches are probably the ones that could come up with the best ideas," he said. He also said he would not be opposed to borrowing other ideas from other school systems.
The district round-robin debates started with each candidate answering four questions from the WCEA, AAUW, Times-Union and Superintendent Dr. Robert Haworth.
The Times-Union question was: Do you think the middle schools should incorporate sixth-graders, why or why not?
Smolen said she has done research on the issue. If Warsaw Schools took today's sixth-graders and moved them into the two middle schools tomorrow, using the January facilities report assumptions, the combined enrollments would be at 94 percent occupancy. In the 2011-12 school year, they'd be at 96 percent occupancy.
"I don't advocate solving a problem in our elementary schools by creating one at our middle schools," she said. "If our enrollment continues to grow, I would prefer to preserve the space that we now have at our middle schools for that future growth."
Yeiter said the School Status and Options Committee investigated and reported the present use of school facilities and accommodations for students' and teachers' needs. They also were given the job of looking at possible short- and long-term options. The committee rejected the option of moving the sixth grade students into the middle schools.
Also, the architectural firm of Kovert Hawkins is going through a "discovery" process of facility conditions. He said their findings will be interesting as an independent third party.
Yeiter said the school board will need to look at Kovert Hawkins' findings and compare them with the committee's findings and then evaluate the notion of moving the sixth-graders into the middle schools.
The WCEA question was: WCS has many pressing issues. If elected to the school board, where are you going to focus your energies?
Yeiter had a list of 10 ideas, but due to the time limit was not able to present all of them. His list included increased communications, revenue options and cooperative facility use, facilities needs, energy conservation and alternative energy sources, school security, employee climate audit, possible lifeskills program, English as a Second Language growth, vocational skills training, school board correspondence and academic achievement support.
Smolen said her focus would be on academic issues. She wants students prepared to be accepted into the best colleges, universities, technical schools, training programs and corporations.
"I want admissions departments and businesses clamoring for Warsaw Community High School graduates," she said.
AAUW's question was: What are the roles of the parents, teachers and the community in improving student literacy? What ideas can be implemented at the board level to help each of these groups accomplish their responsibilities?
The role of the parent, Smolen said, is to read to their children when they are young, provide reading materials to them when they are older and can read themselves, and encourage them to read. "Let the children see you read, be a role model," she said.
The role of the teacher is to teach the mechanics of reading and to nurture that desire in students.
Smolen said the role of the community is to support literacy by making reading materials available.
The school board can request updates on the progress of literacy programs in the corporation. Smolen also said she has thought of creating a corporation-wide pool of volunteers to help with a variety of issues such as reading improvement.
Yeiter agreed with Smolen, saying parents need to read to their children. However, in Kosciusko County, many parents and adults have their own reading problems. One out of seven adults have a reading aptitude level of fifth grade or lower. There are programs available in the school district and the community to fight illiteracy.
Haworth's question was: On Nov. 2, the school corporation will appeal to the state tax board for an adjustment to the 2007 transportation budget. If that appeal is not granted, the transportation budget, using current budget numbers, would begin running in the "red" by the fall next year. If you are on the school board, what cuts would you support in the 2007 budget?
While other school corporations are considering not providing bus transportation for their students or charging students to ride the school bus, Smolen said, "I don't think any of these solutions are right for Warsaw Community Schools. I'm not ready to give up yet. I'm not willing to support any cuts to the budget until we've exhausted all our efforts."
She offered three possible solutions: reorganizing bus stops, hire a transportation consultant or converting the corporation-operated school bus service to a private contractor operation.
Yeiter said, "In all honesty, the knowledge and expertise of school budgets lie with the superintendent and chief financial officer of the school corporation. There are details of revenue sourcing and implications from certain budget cuts with which board members will not be familiar. Best solution would be for the superintendent to do a full analysis of possible budget cuts and spell out those details, with pros and cons, to the board." [[In-content Ad]]
An unexpected question from an audience member had the Warsaw School Board district one candidates defending Grace College and school prayer Monday night.
The two candidates were participating in the "Meet the Candidates" forum sponsored by the Warsaw Community Education Association and the American Association of University Women.
Gary Barker told current school board president Ron Yeiter and his opponent, Barbara Smolen, that he thinks having Grace College and Jefferson Elementary so close together in Winona Lake is a real issue. Events happen at Grace that the community is not aware of, and the college does not have to report crimes on campus to the public, they just expel the perpetrator. He said that is cause for concern. Jefferson Principal Dennis Duncan and the staff are close to the college, with many of the school's staff being Grace graduates. He then asked the candidates for their thoughts on separation of church and state, and on Jefferson's security with it being so close to the college.
Yeiter apologized for not being aware of any problems with Grace and Jefferson. But as for division of church and state, he said, "I hate to say it, but I wish we had prayer back in schools."
Both Jefferson and Grace benefit from their proximity, Yeiter said, as long as it's kept on an academic level.
Smolen also said she was not aware of any situation with the schools. However, she said, "I think we have a program in place to keep students safe from intruders getting into our schools."
Grace, she said, has done many good things for Jefferson students, such as tutoring. She said she would hate to see the schools' relationship be eliminated and wants to see their cooperation continue.
Another patron, Lori Lewis, asked the candidates how as a school board member would they work to improve the gifted and talented program.
Smolen said that with the parents she has talked to, who have students in the gifted and talented program, they like it the way it is.
Yeiter responded that teachers in the classroom can answer that question best. "The ones in the trenches are probably the ones that could come up with the best ideas," he said. He also said he would not be opposed to borrowing other ideas from other school systems.
The district round-robin debates started with each candidate answering four questions from the WCEA, AAUW, Times-Union and Superintendent Dr. Robert Haworth.
The Times-Union question was: Do you think the middle schools should incorporate sixth-graders, why or why not?
Smolen said she has done research on the issue. If Warsaw Schools took today's sixth-graders and moved them into the two middle schools tomorrow, using the January facilities report assumptions, the combined enrollments would be at 94 percent occupancy. In the 2011-12 school year, they'd be at 96 percent occupancy.
"I don't advocate solving a problem in our elementary schools by creating one at our middle schools," she said. "If our enrollment continues to grow, I would prefer to preserve the space that we now have at our middle schools for that future growth."
Yeiter said the School Status and Options Committee investigated and reported the present use of school facilities and accommodations for students' and teachers' needs. They also were given the job of looking at possible short- and long-term options. The committee rejected the option of moving the sixth grade students into the middle schools.
Also, the architectural firm of Kovert Hawkins is going through a "discovery" process of facility conditions. He said their findings will be interesting as an independent third party.
Yeiter said the school board will need to look at Kovert Hawkins' findings and compare them with the committee's findings and then evaluate the notion of moving the sixth-graders into the middle schools.
The WCEA question was: WCS has many pressing issues. If elected to the school board, where are you going to focus your energies?
Yeiter had a list of 10 ideas, but due to the time limit was not able to present all of them. His list included increased communications, revenue options and cooperative facility use, facilities needs, energy conservation and alternative energy sources, school security, employee climate audit, possible lifeskills program, English as a Second Language growth, vocational skills training, school board correspondence and academic achievement support.
Smolen said her focus would be on academic issues. She wants students prepared to be accepted into the best colleges, universities, technical schools, training programs and corporations.
"I want admissions departments and businesses clamoring for Warsaw Community High School graduates," she said.
AAUW's question was: What are the roles of the parents, teachers and the community in improving student literacy? What ideas can be implemented at the board level to help each of these groups accomplish their responsibilities?
The role of the parent, Smolen said, is to read to their children when they are young, provide reading materials to them when they are older and can read themselves, and encourage them to read. "Let the children see you read, be a role model," she said.
The role of the teacher is to teach the mechanics of reading and to nurture that desire in students.
Smolen said the role of the community is to support literacy by making reading materials available.
The school board can request updates on the progress of literacy programs in the corporation. Smolen also said she has thought of creating a corporation-wide pool of volunteers to help with a variety of issues such as reading improvement.
Yeiter agreed with Smolen, saying parents need to read to their children. However, in Kosciusko County, many parents and adults have their own reading problems. One out of seven adults have a reading aptitude level of fifth grade or lower. There are programs available in the school district and the community to fight illiteracy.
Haworth's question was: On Nov. 2, the school corporation will appeal to the state tax board for an adjustment to the 2007 transportation budget. If that appeal is not granted, the transportation budget, using current budget numbers, would begin running in the "red" by the fall next year. If you are on the school board, what cuts would you support in the 2007 budget?
While other school corporations are considering not providing bus transportation for their students or charging students to ride the school bus, Smolen said, "I don't think any of these solutions are right for Warsaw Community Schools. I'm not ready to give up yet. I'm not willing to support any cuts to the budget until we've exhausted all our efforts."
She offered three possible solutions: reorganizing bus stops, hire a transportation consultant or converting the corporation-operated school bus service to a private contractor operation.
Yeiter said, "In all honesty, the knowledge and expertise of school budgets lie with the superintendent and chief financial officer of the school corporation. There are details of revenue sourcing and implications from certain budget cuts with which board members will not be familiar. Best solution would be for the superintendent to do a full analysis of possible budget cuts and spell out those details, with pros and cons, to the board." [[In-content Ad]]