This year’s Andes Central School Board election will be held June 4th. Anyone registered and wanting to vote should come to the Lake Andes Community Center at 207 Main Street and cast their votes between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The Andes Central School Board has (three) three-year positions available. Candidates running for the three positions include Debbra Houseman, Kristin Dvorak, Nicole Gray and Kelly Tschumper.

Debbra Houseman has been on the school board for the past 18 years and is just finishing up her sixth term. As an Andes Central alumnus with the exception of two years, Debbra has lived in the school district her entire life. She first became involved in the school board because she wanted to be able to protect the needs of the children in the school district. If elected to another term on the board, Debbra would like to keep moving forward with improving the infrastructure of the Andes Central School District. She would also like to see the district work toward building a CTE (Career and Technical Education) Center where the focus would be on the skills that Andes Central students need in order to be competitive in the future workforce.

Debbra sees that the Andes Central School District as the heart of the community. Therefore, having a strong school district will help build a strong community. She also believes that by providing a well-rounded, safe education for the students that in turn it will help those students become responsible and successful adults who are better prepared for life after high school graduation. Debbra’s work experience as working for the municipal government for the past 20 years gives her a better understanding of her role as a board member, what is needed to do in order to protect the funding source, has given her exposure to dealing with legislative issues, understanding local governmental finance and the processes in place when it comes to bidding, purchasing, etc.

Some of the issues that Debbra sees the school district facing include staffing, bringing in new staff and the housing that would be needed for new staff in order to help encourage them to become better invested in the Lake Andes community. The entire educational industry across the state is feeling the crunch of the shortage of teaching professionals nation-wide. The school board needs to be creative and actively find new ways to attract quality staff to the district. Her vision for the Andes Central School District is to provide a safe learning environment that is conducive to students thriving. Again, she would also like to see the CTE Center built to give the students exposure to CTE careers which would give them an advantage in their future career endeavors.

Debbra currently works as the City Administrator for the City of Wagner. She is the proud mom of four sons, Stephen, Gabe, Zach and Riley. She is also the even prouder grandma to Henri, Kaiser, Kris Kaye, Kyrie, Addisyn and Ava Jean.

Kristin has been serving on the Andes Central School Board for the past 12 years and is just finishing her fourth term. She originally ran for a position on the board because 12 years ago, her daughter was being bullied at school and she wanted to see a change and be a part of that change. Kristin also wanted to be more involved with her children’s education beyond just what she could at home. Kristin has been a part of the Andes Central School District for 19 years. Issues that Kristin feels need to be addressed at the Andes Central School would be safety, bullying, threats of violence, vandalism and the disrespect of others and property. Kristin hopes to continue to be a part of the school board in order to find ways to make the school safer for anyone that walks through its doors. Kristin is hoping to be re-elected to the school board because she is motivated to continue to fight for funding for the district. The school relies heavily on impact aid and each school year the aid amount is threatened to decrease. Without this financial aid, the school district would suffer.

As a long-time school board member, Kristin has served on the Transportation committee; NCDC Coop committee; Finance, Negotiation and Policy committee; and Curriculum committee. She has also represented the Andes Central School District at national meetings. Finally, Kristin has been a part of the interview and hiring process of administration and involved in three building projects.

One of the major issues that Kristin sees facing the district is filling vacant positions. Rural positions are not often pursued and the district needs to offer good incentives in order to draw out quality candidates. Housing for teachers is also an issue with little to none available in the Lake Andes Community for candidates willing to relocate. Kristin’s vision for the Andes Central School District is to empower students to take interest and responsibility of their education in order to pave their own path for future endeavors.

Kristin currently employed as a pharmacist at Walgreens in Mitchell. She has been married to her husband, Mike, for the past 19 years and the couple has four daughters and four grand-children.

Nicole Gray

Nicole Gray has served on the Andes Central School Board for the last thirteen years. Nicole was originally asked to finish out a term for a former school board member that moved out of the district. Once she completed that term, Nicole decided to run in the next election. At the time, Nicole had five children attending Andes Central and she really wanted to be a part of improving their education. Nicole has been a part of the Andes School District most of her life. Her mother is an alumnus of Andes Central and as a child Nicole’s family moved back to Lake Andes when she was three. Nicole is a graduate of Andes Central and all of her children have graduated from Andes Central and her grandchildren now attend the school.

Nicole’s priorities if re-elected to the Andes Central School Board would be that she would like to see more emphasis on technical classes to better prepare Andes Central graduates for the workforce right out of high school. This is important as not all students plan to or have the means to continue their education after graduation. Nicole wants to see Andes Central give its students the tools that they need to be competitive in the job market. Nicole’s vision for the education at Andes Central would be keeping up with the times. Technology is changing very quickly and the students need to be provided with the most current education materials and technology.

One of the biggest issues that motivates Nicole to want to continue to serve on the board include the need to address the increasingly challenging behavior issues. Nicole knows that behavior issues negatively affect the learning environment and causes emotional stress for students and staff. She wants all students and staff to feel safe when they come to school. Another issue facing the district is the negative impact of open enrollment on the school’s student enrollment numbers. Nicole feels that the district needs to take a long hard look at why they are losing students and what can be done to get community members back into the school district. Nicole brings a lot to the board having been a registered nurse for the past 30 years with 15 of those years in a management position. She has working knowledge of budgets, policies, working on committees and Roberts Rules of Order. As a board member, Nicole is currently a part of the Buildings and Ground committee and the Finance committee. As a member of those committees, she has been heavily involved in two major construction projects where the new high school/ middle school was built and the current project of adding six more classrooms.

Nicole works currently as a registered nurse as an Infection Control Officer/Quality Manager. She is married and has six children, her youngest daughter being a 2024 Andes Central graduate. She is also the proud grandma to seven grandchildren.

Best of luck to all four of the candidates seeking election to the Andes Central School Board. Remember to cast your votes on Tuesday, June 4th from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Lake Andes Community Center.