JOHN FATHKE

By Makenzie Sassaman

Both of my grandfathers graduated from Avon High School in 1929. Both of my parents graduated from Avon High along with all of my aunts and uncles. Someone with my last name has taught/coached here since the late 1960s. My family has a long history with this school and I'd like to be a part of keeping it successful for generations to come.

First and foremost, common sense is essential for successful school board members. Also being able to prioritize things by the level of importance or urgency, and the ability to communicate with the objective of finding a solution to a problem.

I believe the two most important responsibilities of the school board are, first making sure the kids in this school district are given the best education in the safest environment possible and second, making sure the taxpayers of this district are satisfied with how their tax dollars are being spent.

Fathke said the board must have “an open door policy” regarding its relationship with the community. If a parent or community member has a question or concern, they have to feel confident that the board will handle it honestly and quickly. If used correctly, social media is an amazing tool for communicating to a large number of people quickly. It's amazing how many people see the Facebook posts about our students’ accomplishments.

Each board member needs to be able to prioritize things, and then the board as a group can come to a consensus on which items are most important or time sensitive.

A board member should be expected to do everything they can to make sure these kids are getting the best education and opportunities the school can offer. That requires more than attending a meeting once a month. You have to be available to the parents and community at all times.

I'd have to say COVID tops the list of challenges facing education/school boards. Declining enrollment, which leads to financial insecurity is a huge challenge for small schools, and teacher pay is also a challenge for South Dakota schools. We know how valuable good teachers are, and we need to find a way to compensate them fairly.

groups each learned a sideline cheer and joined in on the dance routine during the chorus of “Uptown Girl.”

ANNIE THURY

By Haley Gillette

Annie Thury has considered being on the school board for a while and felt now was a good time to put her name out there for consideration. She knows there are many working parts to a school district, and participating as a school board member would help her be aware of the different moving parts, how funding works, and doing what they can to make each student from Avon successful!

School board members need to be able to actively listen to the staff, students, and community members for which they are representing on the board. Good communication skills, flexibility, honesty, and working toward the greatest good for the school, community, and students are also important. Annie Thury believes the primary work of the school board is to ensure students are provided a quality education and a variety of experiences when attending Avon School.

It is the board’s responsibility to provide policies and regulations that promote a safe and positive educational atmosphere for students to learn in. Transparency is key between the school district, school board, the community, and the parents and students. Open lines of communication are very important and can allow for constructive conversation, problem solving, and growth to take place.

Social Media can be influential, positively and negatively, and easily taken out of context or read into. Much thought and consideration should be taken when creating any post or comment made on any type of social or online media by the individual posting. When deciding what is most important, timelines/deadlines for issues or decisions would be an important deciding factor, along with the relevance of current situations or, like we experienced this year, pandemics. With limited meetings per month, the administration would be whom she would look to to ensure they are taking care of business items or any issues in a timely fashion.

Annie Thury’s expectation is that she could be a person that community members, teachers, parents, or students, could reach out to with concerns, ideas, or something they feel is an issue. There is public input time at each and every school board meeting, so she would also encourage any individual who feels strongly about an issue or situation that they attend the meeting and voice their concerns, etc. within the actual school board meeting as well.

Legislation just went through regarding transgender athletes; therefore, she believes there will be more to come on this in the future, along with what or how our “new normal” will be with COVID. There will continue to be funding challenges for education and schools, along with class sizes and student numbers for many smaller school districts.

DAVID RATZLAFF

By Allyson Hamilton

David Ratzlaff is one of four candidates running for the school board. Ratzlaff’s biggest motivation is the students. If it wasn’t for the students there would be no school. He cares about what is happening because he has children ranging from sixth grade down to eight months old, so his kids will be going to school for a while yet. He believes that there are many attributes to be a board member. It all starts with being dependable and making yourself available to everyone involved. Honesty and transparency are also important to him. Finally, he believes you have to be supportive of everyone involved.

Some roles and responsibilities Ratzlaff sees are to make a plan, set goals, and create a budget for the school year. The positive relationships that should be important to a school board member are with the community, parents, and families attributed with AHS. During the meetings, school business information should always be discussed and the publics’ concerns should always be brought up and discussed. It is important to stay on task though, so it doesn’t send any wrong messages.

Ratzlaff believes his expectations will be to conduct himself as a professional. He knows this is an important step because he will be making decisions not only for his kids but other people’s children and families, the school, and the community.

Although COVID has probably been the school board’s biggest challenge over the past year (along with all of the reports, studies, and opinions which never came easy), funding may be the schools’ number one challenge every year. The board can only do so much with the budget and money so they have to make some tough decisions.

CRAIG VANDERLEI

By Tiffany Pelton

Craig Vanderlei is currently running for school board. He is very motivated to be a school board member because he wants to have a more active role in his children's education. He feels to be a successful school board member you need to have honesty and integrity, being able to make tough choices even if it's not the people's choice.

His main role and responsibility is to make sure Avon has top quality teachers and the tools to educate the kids. When it comes down to the school board being limited in what they can do, Craig feels that education is first and foremost. It, along with the health and safety of the staff and students, ranks above all extracurricular activities. He feels the expectations of a school board member should be to make wise and fiscally financial decisions with the money that the district is allotted.

Lastly, Craig Vanderlei believes the greatest challenge that education and school boards are facing is decreasing enrollment.