Patrick, Thomas Seeking Whitko District 4 School Board Seat
October 25, 2022 at 1:07 a.m.
By Jackie [email protected]
Today’s answers are from incumbent Bill Patrick and challenger Debra Thomas, who are running for Whitko School Board District 4. The other school board races will be featured during this week.
Question 1: What qualifications do you possess make you the best candidate for the school board position?
Patrick: I am a graduate and lifelong resident of the Whitko School District and have 40 years of experience teaching and I have a master’s degree in education. Our four children graduated from Whitko.
My motivation for running for Whitko School Board is to improve the student experience and help make sound financial decision in order to order to avoid cuts to classroom funding, including our teachers. I want to help make sure our finances never get to that point again.
As a school board member, my goals are to improve communication on important issues, ensure exit interviews are conducted for the students we have by improving the student experience at Whitko, meet the needs of all of our learners, retain our excellent teachers and staff, elevate Whitko’s image in order to attract new students, encourage administration to pursue grants for additional funding, make sound financial decisions for the future of Whitko and be responsible steward of Whitko taxpayer dollars.
Thomas: My years of working for the school corporation has been an education in itself. The first 11 years I held positions of a bus driver, classroom aide, attendance clerk, cafeteria clerk and office assistant. It was a thrill to work with students and watch them learn and to watch teachers be able to get the lessons through to them.
Last November, I retired from Whitko Schools after 41 years of service. The last 30 of those years I was a building-level treasurer.
Along with the understanding of the extracurricular part of the bookkeeping, I also worked with the funds that the corporation allocated for our building. The treasurer’s job was to watch and know what funds could be used for what purchases, process purchase orders, verify receipt of goods and to make sure allocations were not overspent.
Due to an illness and a maternity leave, I also worked in the central office to help cover the duties of the deputy treasurer for a time. I feel my background in the financial part of education will be helpful in making board decisions. If elected to the board, I will represent all five of the districts within Whitko, not just the district I reside. It is not where we live but what we can do to help students receive the best education.
Question 2: How much experience do you have with budgets and how would you approach your school corporation’s budget if you were elected to the board?
Patrick: I have been on the Whitko School Board for the past four years serving as vice president for two years and secretary for two years. I am also a longtime coach who has made budgets for my department.
The budget is made by the superintendent’s staff and I have regularly asked questions regarding expenditures prior to making decisions. It is the school board’s responsibility to make sure school funds are responsibly allocated.
In order to be more financially secure, we must retain our students. We have to be agile and willing to ask the hard questions about why students leave so we can improve our students’ experience.
Thomas: The understanding of school budgeting I have gained over the last 30 years will be extremely helpful as a board member. In approaching a budget, we must remember that the funds need to last the entire school year. That we need to look ahead and know what needs are coming up and how to make our dollars last and make sure we are spending in the most effective way.
We need to know where funds are generated from, what they can be used for and when funds are renewed. It is important that we supply our teachers and students with what they need to be successful, that our buildings and grounds are maintained, school safety is priority, and that we keep working to make our schools bully free. We need to look at what we can do to grow enrollment, the retention of good teachers and administrators and growing the career academy.
If elected, it is my desire to work with other board members and the superintendent to ensure that Whitko is providing the best for every student and to be mindful and watchful over our finances.
Question 3: How much input should the public, especially parents, have in the school district, especially at the school board meetings and why?
Patrick: I am an advocate for students and their families. Parents’ input is important and they should be able to voice their opinion in a board meeting.
Communication is very important to parents and when there is a concern, parents should always be able to address their concerns to the board in a public school board meeting and receive a reply in a timely manner from the board president on behalf of the board.
Policies directly affect students, and parent and public input should be welcome.
Thomas: There is a time for public comments in all regular board meetings. I would like to see those with issues escalate the issue through the proper channels by first talking to either the teacher, principal, bus driver, transportation director or the superintendent before the meetings so their problem could be addressed and researched so we can work towards a solution.
If there are other topics that public could be involved in making decisions, I would be open to forming a committee to give input.
Today’s answers are from incumbent Bill Patrick and challenger Debra Thomas, who are running for Whitko School Board District 4. The other school board races will be featured during this week.
Question 1: What qualifications do you possess make you the best candidate for the school board position?
Patrick: I am a graduate and lifelong resident of the Whitko School District and have 40 years of experience teaching and I have a master’s degree in education. Our four children graduated from Whitko.
My motivation for running for Whitko School Board is to improve the student experience and help make sound financial decision in order to order to avoid cuts to classroom funding, including our teachers. I want to help make sure our finances never get to that point again.
As a school board member, my goals are to improve communication on important issues, ensure exit interviews are conducted for the students we have by improving the student experience at Whitko, meet the needs of all of our learners, retain our excellent teachers and staff, elevate Whitko’s image in order to attract new students, encourage administration to pursue grants for additional funding, make sound financial decisions for the future of Whitko and be responsible steward of Whitko taxpayer dollars.
Thomas: My years of working for the school corporation has been an education in itself. The first 11 years I held positions of a bus driver, classroom aide, attendance clerk, cafeteria clerk and office assistant. It was a thrill to work with students and watch them learn and to watch teachers be able to get the lessons through to them.
Last November, I retired from Whitko Schools after 41 years of service. The last 30 of those years I was a building-level treasurer.
Along with the understanding of the extracurricular part of the bookkeeping, I also worked with the funds that the corporation allocated for our building. The treasurer’s job was to watch and know what funds could be used for what purchases, process purchase orders, verify receipt of goods and to make sure allocations were not overspent.
Due to an illness and a maternity leave, I also worked in the central office to help cover the duties of the deputy treasurer for a time. I feel my background in the financial part of education will be helpful in making board decisions. If elected to the board, I will represent all five of the districts within Whitko, not just the district I reside. It is not where we live but what we can do to help students receive the best education.
Question 2: How much experience do you have with budgets and how would you approach your school corporation’s budget if you were elected to the board?
Patrick: I have been on the Whitko School Board for the past four years serving as vice president for two years and secretary for two years. I am also a longtime coach who has made budgets for my department.
The budget is made by the superintendent’s staff and I have regularly asked questions regarding expenditures prior to making decisions. It is the school board’s responsibility to make sure school funds are responsibly allocated.
In order to be more financially secure, we must retain our students. We have to be agile and willing to ask the hard questions about why students leave so we can improve our students’ experience.
Thomas: The understanding of school budgeting I have gained over the last 30 years will be extremely helpful as a board member. In approaching a budget, we must remember that the funds need to last the entire school year. That we need to look ahead and know what needs are coming up and how to make our dollars last and make sure we are spending in the most effective way.
We need to know where funds are generated from, what they can be used for and when funds are renewed. It is important that we supply our teachers and students with what they need to be successful, that our buildings and grounds are maintained, school safety is priority, and that we keep working to make our schools bully free. We need to look at what we can do to grow enrollment, the retention of good teachers and administrators and growing the career academy.
If elected, it is my desire to work with other board members and the superintendent to ensure that Whitko is providing the best for every student and to be mindful and watchful over our finances.
Question 3: How much input should the public, especially parents, have in the school district, especially at the school board meetings and why?
Patrick: I am an advocate for students and their families. Parents’ input is important and they should be able to voice their opinion in a board meeting.
Communication is very important to parents and when there is a concern, parents should always be able to address their concerns to the board in a public school board meeting and receive a reply in a timely manner from the board president on behalf of the board.
Policies directly affect students, and parent and public input should be welcome.
Thomas: There is a time for public comments in all regular board meetings. I would like to see those with issues escalate the issue through the proper channels by first talking to either the teacher, principal, bus driver, transportation director or the superintendent before the meetings so their problem could be addressed and researched so we can work towards a solution.
If there are other topics that public could be involved in making decisions, I would be open to forming a committee to give input.
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