Voter guide: Lakota school board candidates answer Enquirer questions

The Enquirer sent questions to all of the candidates running for seats on the Lakota Board of Education this November. There are four candidates running for two seats.

Russ Loges is running for school board but did not respond to The Enquirer's questionnaire. The other three candidates did.

Read their answers below.

Douglas Horton

Age: 47.

Hometown: Lived in West Chester for the past 12 years, longer than I have lived anywhere else.

Years living in the district: 12.

Education: Master of Business Administration, University of Michigan; Master's in public policy, University of Michigan; Bachelor of Arts, University of Texas.

Job: Group Director, North American Sports for P&G where I lead our NFL, MLS and Olympic sponsorships across more than 23 billion-dollar brands like Tide, Gillette, Charmin and Bounty.

Do you have children? Do they attend public schools? My daughter is a junior at Lakota East High School. My son is a 7th Grader at Hopewell Junior School. Both have attended Lakota Local Schools for their entire education.

What do you think is the district’s greatest strength? Lakota Local Schools has balanced its budget for 10 consecutive years while building a sizable reserve. This consistent financial security allows the district to operate from a position of strength. Additionally, the district over the years has been exceptional in recruiting, developing, and retaining talent in its educators. However, the attacks on teachers and students over the past two years has led to many of those educators retiring early or leaving the field. So, help in ending the political drama of the board is needed to shore up this strength.

In what 2-3 areas would you like to see the district improve over the next 5 years? Lakota Local Schools does a great job at educating the masses, however, the latest state report card attests to the opportunity the district has in closing the educational gaps of key subgroups of students. What this means is that Lakota needs to improve in educating each child, not just cohorts. Lakota needs to assess what practices other districts have put in place and how our outcomes differ. Then we need to implement this learning.

Lakota Local Schools also has an opportunity to provide better identification of and delivery of services across subject areas to gifted students. I am a fan of the gifted intervention specialists in the district; however, they have suffered from a lack of resources. Even the recent expansion of services in math fails to reach the bar, as reflected in the most recent state report card for Lakota. The primary driver of this shortfall is a culture of the school board that gifted services is a luxury when funding is available. As someone identified as gifted as a child, and a parent of children identified as gifted, I can attest that instead it should be viewed as a vital way to reach Lakota students with individualized and personalized instruction suited to the way they learn.

How would you work to improve communication and culture throughout the district and with parents and families? Life for parents and families is busy. I mean REALLY BUSY. Lakota Schools do a great job at communicating out to parents in a variety of means and channels. Yet, when it comes to getting input from parents and families, the district has taken several steps backwards over the past two years. As a school board member, I would work to bring back public comment to Lakota’s regular board meetings. Instead of just asking parents to come to the board, I would seek for the board to travel out to various groups where those groups already meet. The board should serve the voters, not the other way around.

What is your stance on critical race theory? Does it belong in schools? You can call understanding and overcoming the barriers to any and all students by any acronym you want. I call it the moral obligation of a just society.

What is your stance on social and emotional learning? Should it be taught in schools? As an Ohio state standard, social and emotional learning is required to be taught in all Ohio public schools, and studies show that inclusion of social and emotional learning leads to greater academic success. As a parent, my children’s experience with social and emotional learning has been truly rewarding. They have been taught things like having empathy for others, self regulation of their emotions and conflict resolution. All things I believe most of us would like to see more of.

What do you think is an appropriate way to approach sex education in schools? I believe in comprehensive sex education being provided to the majority of students in schools. Such comprehensive education has been shown to deliver better outcomes in areas such as teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease prevention and overall health. However, I also believe that no one knows what is appropriate for their child better than the student’s family. So, providing a way for the parents or guardians of a student to opt out of sexual education (as Lakota currently provides) is paramount.

Do you think the expansion of school vouchers in Ohio will have a positive or negative impact on students? Why? The expansion of Ed Choice provides an opportunity for Lakota Schools to think differently about how it delivers educational services for each student. For too long, the district has had a one-size-fits-all approach to education. Imagine a Lakota district that has a variety of choices that parents could make within the district for the right type of education and environment for their students. Cincinnati has developed a model for incorporation of Montessori schools into the public schools. Why not Lakota? Miami, Florida operates .charter schools to provide specific and different educational environments. Why not Lakota? Some of Houston, Texas’ top performing schools are Magnet Schools. Why not Lakota? In an increasingly competitive environment, Lakota Schools need leadership that is willing to lead innovation here.

Would you be in favor of raising taxes to support the school district? The Lakota voters and community tend to be pretty anti-tax. However, when I volunteered as a parent to support the last Lakota levy 10 years ago, I learned that Lakota families will support a fair bargain. When presented with a clear vision with detailed plans of what will be delivered, the Lakota community chooses to invest accordingly. The current financial success of the district means that no raising of taxes would need to occur for many years. However, if that day comes, the Lakota School Board needs to craft just such a clear bargain and vision with voters. Something that is sorely lacking today.

Lynda O'Connor

Age: (No response).

Hometown: Originally from Chicago, we consider West Chester our hometown now.

Years living in the district: 32 years.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in speech and language pathology; Master of Education.

Job: Current 16-year Lakota Board of Education member; Past seven-year Butler Tech Board of Education Member; Currently President of a local nonprofit Caring Community Collaborative (C3).

Do you have children? Do they attend public schools? Our two sons graduated from Lakota and graduated from a public university as well (Ohio State University).

What do you think are the district’s greatest strengths? The district has many strengths. Those strengths include high-quality teaching staff, supportive parents and community, and strong partnerships with many community organizations and businesses. Along with strong academics and a variety of extracurricular clubs and activities, our district has remained fiscally responsible and has a stable financial outlook. Our greatest strength is our amazing students. They are why we do what we do every day.

In what 2-3 areas would you like to see the district improve over the next 5 years? We need to focus on individual students and personalizing their learning to maximize each student’s potential. Growing our students in their learning is the top priority. We need to keep our eye on innovation and the future while still continuing to build a strong foundation of academic learning that will enable our students to realize the choices they want to make for their future. We believe that all pathways – whether it is college, military enlistment, joining the workforce or starting your own business, for example – are great options for our students and we want to support them in those endeavors. We have two major reviews underway – a curriculum review and facilities reviews. These are both key to moving Lakota into the future, taking into consideration what we need to teach and looking at facilities for improvements, maintenance and population shifts within our district. It’s critically important that the district remain fiscally stable and responsible in future planning. Finally, safety and security will always be a top priority for the board.

How would you work to improve communication and culture throughout the district and with parents and families? It is important to me that we continuously upgrade our communication with our families and our community. In a busy world we would like to keep as much face-to-face interaction as possible but recognize the efficiency and value of online opportunities. In my time on the Board, we’ve supported existing programs and instituted a number of changes to enhance communication and culture. For example, I’ve been a part of:

• Initiating Community Conversations.

• Instituting Lakota Listens.

• Beginning Community Listening Sessions.

• Supporting parent organizations like Lakota Cares, Leads, and District Parent Council.

• Supporting multiple online access points for parents (HAC, Canvas, Seesaw).

• Requesting that curriculum is be available online which is now being implemented.

• Reinstituting the Business Advisory Council.

• Starting the Community Diversity Council.

• Beginning the Citizens Community Advisory Committee.

• Creating and supporting traditions such as an annual Military Commitment Ceremony, Reach Out annual Lakota Food Drive, and Student Fanfares across the district.

• Founding the District Presidents Council.

What is your stance on critical race theory? Does it belong in schools? CRT is collegiate graduate level programming which is not appropriate for K-12 schools. Lakota does not have critical race theory within its curriculum.

What is your stance on social and emotional learning? Should it be taught in schools? SEL is part of the Ohio learning standards for K-12 schools. It teaches students skills such as self-management and self-regulation. It does need to be taught with fidelity to the curriculum. Curriculum is available to parents and will be going online. I encourage parents to review the material and determine if it is appropriate for their student. Parents have the right to opt out and address these issues at home if that is their preference.

What do you think is an appropriate way to approach sex education in schools? This subject is taught in a controlled manner with educators trained in teaching methods. Again, this must be taught with fidelity to the curriculum, and with developmentally age-appropriate materials. Parents' wishes must be respected in regard to their individual student. Curriculum is available to parents now and also will be going online in Lakota. I encourage parents to review the material and determine if it is appropriate for their student. Parents have the right to opt out and address these issues at home if that is their preference.

Do you think the expansion of school vouchers in Ohio will have a positive or negative impact on students? Why? I believe that parents should be able to choose the best option, public or private, that meets their child’s educational needs. In order for parents to fully understand how their child is doing in the option they’ve chosen, I believe that any entity receiving taxpayer dollars should be held accountable for transparency regarding their finances and their student achievement/performance results. All entities should be held accountable for teaching the same state standards at a minimum and be held accountable for the testing of those standards. Otherwise, we won’t know if the impact on individual students is positive or negative. There is currently no requirement for testing on the state standards for any nonpublic schools so there is no available data for side-by-side comparisons.

Would you be in favor of raising taxes to support the school district? I’ve worked for the past 16 years to bring Lakota to a point of financial stability in order to not raise taxes. The district has had a balanced budget and has not put an operating levy on the ballot for 10 years, unusual in the state of Ohio. We have also built a cash reserve to deal with projects and unexpected issues. I think it’s especially important to be cautious and cognizant of the expected property valuation increase recently enacted by the state, and the fact that we don’t have solid information on how that will affect our taxpayers. We are in the process of reviewing and planning around our district facilities for improvements, maintenance and population shifts within our district, and will need to address those needs in a fiscally responsible manner.

Julie Shaffer

Age: 55.

Hometown: West Chester. Born in Des Moines, Iowa.

Years living in the district: 18 years.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in economics, minor in finance from Colby College, Waterville, Maine.

Job: Licensed Employee Benefits Representative; 21 years of corporate experience; currently retired.

Do you have children? Do they attend public schools? We have two Lakota West graduates who attended the Ohio State University. We also have a current Lakota West junior who has attended Lakota since preschool.

What do you think is the district’s greatest strength? Our greatest asset is our people. We have a tremendous number of staff who are dedicated to ensuring our students achieve success every day. We also have a tremendous volunteer base and community that supports initiatives that Lakota could not provide without this support.

In what 2-3 areas would you like to see the district improve over the next 5 years? Since the pandemic, we have seen a decline in our report card results. While we know that there is a tremendous amount of learning happening every day, we need to make sure we are addressing areas of the report card that need improvement so families will continue to choose Lakota. We need to refocus on opportunities for our students versus the noise and distractions that we have seen too much of in the past two years.

How would you work to improve communication and culture throughout the district and with parents and families? I would continue to encourage our district leaders to focus on our most important job – ensuring that all students receive a quality education. In order to do that, we need to decrease distractions about unfounded accusations and lies. I have demonstrated this focus in every meeting. I would also continue the community conversation program that started the year I joined the Board. Having input from parents and community members is important, and we also need to make sure we are using innovative ways to communicate about what's happening in Lakota with stakeholders throughout the district. I would also work to reassure staff that the board trusts them as education professionals, and assure them that the majority of the board values our teachers and the hard work they do for our students.

What is your stance on critical race theory? Does it belong in schools? Critical race theory is a college level class that is not being taught in our schools. We have yet to be given actual proof of its existence in our schools – despite a 1.5 year effort to find it.

What is your stance on social and emotional learning? Should it be taught in schools? The definition of social emotional learning (SEL) is “the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work and life success” according to the Committee for Children. In a perfect world, students would come equipped with these skills from home. However, in the real world, our students often have to deal with a lot of difficult situations, from trauma to food insecurity. In order to ensure that each student is ready to learn, we have to make sure that any barriers to learning are addressed. The skills addressed in SEL lessons help give all students tools that will help them be successful in school & in life. We see that there still remains a strong need to continue to educate kids on these skills, just as I was educated on SEL when I was in grade school in the 1970s.

What do you think is an appropriate way to approach sex education in schools? I believe we should follow the state standards, providing age appropriate content, with parental opt-out, just as we are doing today.

Do you think the expansion of school vouchers in Ohio will have a positive or negative impact on students? Why? I appreciate the use of school vouchers to provide competition and options for students. However, as they are now being implemented, I believe they will cause damage to public schools. If all schools were held to the same standard of accountability and open access as public schools, then I can see how vouchers could be valuable.

Would you be in favor of raising taxes to support the school district? Due to House Bill 920, school funding from levies typically does not keep up with inflation. In addition, the state requires local taxpayers to share in the funding of school construction. I have proven to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars with our budget growing at less than the rate of inflation over my time on the board. Given the need within Lakota to provide enough facilities, and potentially realize operational efficiencies, I would support letting our taxpayers decide what type of district they want in the future by putting a levy on the ballot.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lakota Local Schools board of education candidates answer questions