by FAIRMONT — School enrollment numbers was the primary topic of concern for Board of Education candidates at a forum held by the Marion County Chamber of Commerce.
“In the last two years, we’ve lost 495 students,” Candidate Lloyd White, said. “They cost us $3.2 million. We have to make those funds up in some manner.”
Held Thursday night at Fleming Memorial Church, Marion County Chamber of Commerce officials introduced Board of Education candidates to the public for the upcoming election. The Woman’s Club of Fairmont and Greater Council of Churches also had a hand in organizing the event.
Although board members serve at large, meaning they represent the entire school system, they come from various districts throughout the county. Middletown has Bill Burdick competing against incumbent James Saunders. Kim Middlemas and Kevin Rogers will compete for the Palatine seat. Lloyd White runs unopposed in West Augusta.
School funding came up after the moderator, Christy Miller, asked candidates what they considered to be the main challenges facing Marion County Schools. The school system is funded based on how many students attend. When students depart for charter schools or homeschooling, the dollars that are allocated for that student’s education are taken away from the school system.
The school system’s current budget for 2024-25 depends on the school system not losing any more students.
The main solution pinpointed by candidates Saunders, Rogers and Burdick was to make public schools more attractive to students, as well as educate parents on the benefits of a public school education.
“We need to educate the parents,” Saunders said. “Let them know their kids are safe going to school, their kids will get the best education.”
Middlemas also brought up the need to improve school facilities around the county, a point which Saunders agreed with. Middlemas said the first thing most people do when they consider moving to Marion County is evaluate the school system.
“They’re going to see what’s going on inside, so we definitely need to improve our schools,” she said. Middlemas also supports the construction of new schools.
The candidates also discussed how to address bullying in schools, as well as arming teachers in the name of school safety. Various ideas were floated, from only arming a few teachers who would be certified to carry to creating buffer zones gated by security barriers.
Brenda Giannis, a retired teacher, thought the discussion among the candidates was informative. She said it’s the responsibility of county voters to look at issues and know what to vote for. She encouraged residents to engage directly with candidates to get to know them, in order to make an informed decision at the polls.
“Politics influences every day of your life and in your community,” Giannis said. “The school board affects your schools and who’s going to come in and who’s going to live in our community and all those kinds of things that make our community great. If we don’t know what’s going on, we’re selling ourselves short.”
At least two people in the audience already knew which way their votes were leaning.
“We’re here to support my dad,” Amanda White, said. She attended along with Kay White. Despite supporting Lloyd White, Kay White indicated there was no bad choice among the candidates. They all appeared knowledgeable and had good backgrounds, she said.
Kay White is concerned with bullying in the schools. She acknowledged it’s a difficult problem to solve. However, Amanda White pointed to the lack of teachers as a major issue facing schools in the county.
“They’re so short staffed, so getting people interested and making Marion County more attractive, maybe a pay raise,” Amanda White said. “I’m not sure what they could do, but the lack of teachers is really a struggle in Marion County.”
School Superintendent Donna Heston also made an appearance at the start of the forum, to stump for the bond that will be on the May 14 ballot. The bond will raise almost $20 million which the school district intends to use to take care of pressing infrastructure and facility repairs. It’s the first phase out of a 15-year plan to tackle the list of items in the school district’s facilities, Heston said.
“These are desperately needed improvements in Marion County,” Heston said.
