Silver Lake Board of Education candidates say district needs to update facilities, tech

The Silver Lake Board of Education has four at-large positions up for election this fall, in addition to a fifth election to complete an unexpired term.

Candidates for the four at-large seats include incumbent Scott Mellen and challengers Dan Klucas, Ian Reel, Lori Klein, Tannar Hinson, Cody VandeVelde, Aubrey Kruger, A.J. Heier, Elizabeth Meier and Stan Circle.

Jason Seele, who was appointed last fall to fill Bridget Remer's unexpired term after her resignation, is unopposed.

Mellen, Klucas, Reel, Klein, Hinson, Kruger, Meier and Seele didn't respond to The Capital-Journal's request for responses to its school board candidate questionnaire.

Advance voting by mail begins Wednesday. In-person advance voting starts Monday, Oct. 23, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Shawnee County Elections Office.

Polls open 7 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, and close 7 p.m. Mail ballots must be received at election office or polling places by 7 p.m.

See prior guides for the Topeka USD 501 and the Seaman USD 345 school board elections online.

Responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Introduce yourself and any relevant qualifications that would inform you as a potential member of the school board.

Cody VandeVelde: My name is Cody VandeVelde. My wife Jessica and I have lived in the Silver Lake area for the last nine years. We both grew up in neighboring small towns and were attracted to Silver Lake’s school district and close-knit community for our children. We have three kids in the Silver Lake school system.I am a Washburn University School of Business graduate, and I am currently director of corporate strategy at Evergy, where I have held various leadership roles across finance, market operations and corporate strategy departments since 2007. In my free time, I stay engaged with the Silver Lake community, including coaching football, basketball and baseball for youth athletes. I also hold positions on numerous Topeka-area boards, including Midland Care Connections, the Topeka Chamber and the Washburn University School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. I look forward to leveraging the experiences and skillsets I’ve gained from providing leadership and strategic direction for numerous organizations over the last fifteen years.

A.J. Heier: I was born and raised on a wheat and cattle farm outside of Quinter, KS. I attended Kansas State University, where I met my wife Bridget and earned my degree in secondary education with a minor in agriculture economics. Our three children all attend Silver Lake USD 372. For almost 17 years, I have worked at Capitol Federal Savings in Topeka, the last 10 as part of the compliance and risk management team. I am a member at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. I believe being involved at work and in the community is important. My involvement includes being the president of CapFed’s Leadership Forum Alumni Board; the treasurer for PEP-KC, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting emergency preparedness, business continuity, and disaster recovery; and a member of the finance council at St. Stan’s. Additionally, I am involved in several events and committees at work, volunteer at school and church activities, serve on the Silver Lake Ball Association board, and help coach many of my kids’ ball teams. In both my work and volunteer commitments, critical thinking and creating harmony from various ideas and perspectives is essential. Serving on the school board requires this approach as well.

Stan Circle: I grew up 45 minutes north of Hays, graduating from Stockton High School. I attended Pratt Junior College and played football. I have farmed, worked in trucking, manufacturing, home loans, coaching and currently own and operate High Plains Lawn Service. I have a daughter in South Carolina, a son in Texas, a bonus daughter in Silver Lake (graduated from Silver Lake) and a bonus son (graduated from Silver Lake) in Topeka and nine grandchildren — three of whom currently attend Silver Lake Grade School. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart Cyndi for 20 years this December.

What motivated you to run for school board, and what difference do you think you could uniquely make?

VandeVelde: I take pride in community involvement and want to do my part to make a difference. Providing the best environment possible for our youth is at the heart of long-term community vitality. With the many distractions and polarizing topics in today’s world, I am committed to keeping our district focused on the betterment of the kids and supporting our faculty. There have been many great leaders in this school district, both past and present, and I am motivated by the challenge of finding ways to innovate and improve programs to deliver a leading school district in the state of Kansas.

Heier: My motivation is to serve the school and the community. I enjoy being part of a team and want to learn more about all the different aspects of how a school operates. My board involvement has always begun with someone recognizing me as a good fit and requesting or recommending my participation. In this case, past and current school board members have encouraged me to be involved because of my calm and sensible approach. I have 15 years of board experience. While they are all unique, I can draw on past experiences to successfully serve as a member of the school board. My skills include the ability to see multiple sides of an issue, bring consensus, and collaborate to find a solution.

Circle: My motivation to run for school board is to work to provide a foundation for our young people to successfully go into the world as productive young adults. They need a common sense and open minded approach to life so they can do well. I feel society has failed to encourage our young people to want to do better. I believe this starts with our schools. These are skills I have based on my upbringing and years of life experience.

What is one way schools in your district are exceling, and what steps would you take to further those efforts?

VandeVelde: The Silver Lake school district has a long-standing reputation of strong community engagement and a standard of excellence. I truly believe these qualities have been a competitive advantage for the district. As I engage with fellow board members to make important decisions that will impact our future, I will remain committed to these principles. Leadership matters and our teachers and faculty are the strength of our district. I am committed to spending time to fully understand the day-to-day challenges that our staff faces to most appropriately allocate resources in order to provide the best environment for our kids.

Heier: Our district’s biggest strength is the community’s support for the schools. Taking pride in student success, in and out of the classroom, is critical to moving the district forward. Seeing the school and community come together to open Dialogue Coffee House is inspiring. As a member of the board, I would be working together with other leaders, each with his or her own unique background, to see the big picture and align the administration’s vision with the desires of the community, always with the interest of the students, faculty and staff top of mind.

Circle: The teachers are what makes the Silver Lake schools excel. They work with what they have, and work very hard to make sure each student is successful. As a board member I would push to put us on the cutting edge of technology for ultimate student success. I also feel it is important to listen to the teachers as to what they feel they need to make their classroom the best class in Kansas.

Where are schools in your district falling short, and what solutions would you bring to the table?

VandeVelde: Our district has an opportunity to update its infrastructure to provide a better environment that students can thrive in. There is an initiative underway and a bond issue on the ballot this fall. If passed, I will provide leadership and strategic direction to help ensure this plan is investing in the right classroom and facility improvement projects that benefit students of all ages in our district. Providing up-to-date facilities, tools and educational experiences for faculty and students is imperative to the future success of our district.

Heier: Facility updates are needed in the district. In the upcoming election, the community is being asked to pledge financial support for the school district by voting on a bond to address the current issues and propel the district into the future. The board has been involved in the planning and negotiation process and will be responsible for implementing the plan if it is passed by the community. I am currently working to help spread the word about the bond issue because I believe the result of its passing will be an even better environment for students and staff.

Circle: Our technology is not always up-to-date and fails in meeting the needs of students and teachers. In this day and age technology drives our country so it has to be a priority as a school and a community. If our educators and students do not have access to the best updated systems, we have not done our due diligence as adults to send our youth into their future successfully. As a board member I would look for ways to help fund these advancements and utilize teacher input as it pertains to top notch equipment.

What is the biggest issue facing the school district?

VandeVelde: The biggest issue our district faces is finding new ways to engage and teach each individual student. To provide competitive student learning opportunities for each student, our district will be required to innovate in new ways. I am committed to working with faculty to understand the evolving needs of our students and finding solutions that deliver new educational opportunities. Each student has a unique way of learning. Ensuring our faculty have the right tools and resources for the job will allow us to thrive and be a leading school district in the state of Kansas.

Heier: There are certainly going to be unique and unexpected challenges. Facility upkeep and improvement, teacher retention and culturing long-term student success are frequent challenges. For me, teacher retention is a challenge needing focused attention. The current teacher shortage is going to make it harder to recruit and retain good teachers as demand continues to increase. The school district will need to explore multiple avenues, combining success stories from other schools/organizations with creative thinking to be competitive in keeping the outstanding teachers we have and filling vacancies with high caliber teachers.

Circle: Funding is the biggest issue facing our district plain and simple. Without funds, we are not able to make advancements to move our students forward to the next level. I feel the district needs to look at creating new ways to gain revenue, go after grants, utilize in-place programs and look within for waste.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Silver Lake Board of Education candidates run for at-large seats