You can listen to archived audio from the October 10 USD 480 school board candidate forum with candidates for the general election in November.
Candidates in attendance at the forum, in their speaking order as randomly drawn by number: Mike Brack; Enrique Weissel; Brian Mannel; Travis Martinez; Margarita Biggs; Brad Carr; Jesus Baeza; Kaylee Lopez.
Tyler Parks served as moderator for the forum; Parks serves on the legislative affairs committee for the Liberal Chamber of Commerce. The Liberal Chamber helped sponsor the forum, along with area media outlets including Seward County Broadcasting.
The candidates began with opening statements, in their randomly drawn speaking order:
The moderator sometimes rephrased or paraphrased a question when repeating the question for candidates. This story gives in “quotation marks” the original phrasing of the question before the first candidate answered it.
Some questions prompted one or more candidates to exercise their option to follow-up with an additional half minute of speaking time.
Q1: “What is your ‘why’ for running for the board?”
Speaker order to answer the question: Enrique Weissel; Brian Mannel; Travis Martinez; Margarita Biggs; Brad Carr; Jesus Baeza; Kaylee Lopez; Mike Brack.
Q2: “Aside from being a parent of this district, what other qualifications make you a good candidate for the board position?”
Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel.
Q3: “Board Policy KN states that all complaints shall be addressed at the lowest level before working their way up. Whenever a complaint is made to the board or board member, it will be referred to the administration for review. In your opinion, how important is that chain of command, and as a board member do you plan to adhere to that policy and chain of command if a teacher or parent brings you a complaint?”
Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel. Follow-up by Brack.
Q4: “Is there a specific issue or problem that you want to change that motivated you to run for the school board?”
Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez. Follow-up by Carr.
Q5: “What do you believe is the purpose of the school board; and do you see your role as overseeing policy, or making decisions regarding day to day operations?”
Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs.
Q6: “How do you plan to remain unbiased on decisions that affect the whole district, not just schools that you are partial to?”
Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr.
Q7: “They say it takes a village to raise a child. That means family, schools, and community all play a part. Which stakeholder group do you think is most qualified to make curriculum construction, class content, and pedagogy related decisions, and why?”
Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza. Follow-up by Biggs.
Q8: “Many constituents would like to know specifically how the candidates would work with the current administration and not against it?”
Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez.
Q9: “This school district has different demographics and trauma scale ratings at each school. If you would like to see changes happen in curriculum, how would you find a program that meets all learners’ needs through differentiation and personalization?”
Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack. Follow-up by Weissel.
Q10: “With the nationwide teacher shortage reaching unprecedented levels, USD 480 needs to do everything they can to retain our current teachers and recruit new teachers. Supporting our teachers and valuing their hard work helps to retain and recruit new teachers. As a board member, how will you ensure that our teachers feel trusted, valued, and supported?”
Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel.
Q11: “What would you like to see done to recruit more teachers?”
Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Manniel.
Q12: “What do you see as USD 480’s current biggest strength?”
Biggs; Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez.
Q13: “What would you consider to be the top priority for USD 480 moving forward?”
Carr; Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs.
Q14: “Some parents feel there is a veil of silence that surrounds the board. How do you plan on making improvements to provide clear communication to those who elect you?”
Baeza; Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr. Follow-up by Carr; Brack.
Q15: “The mental health of students remains a priority for local schools three years after Covid upended traditional modes of education, by forcing students to learn from home on computers. Some educators continue to report lasting impacts of that experience, including behavioral issues and increased rate of stress among students. This is especially true among younger students who didn’t have school prior to Covid, who are just now entering school and learning how school works and functions. So how effective is USD 480 dealing with the issue, and what can the board do to help with mental health?”
Lopez; Brack; Weissel; Mannel; Martinez; Biggs; Carr; Baeza. Follow-up by Lopez; Carr.
This concluded the Q-and-A portion of the forum.
The candidates then gave their closing statements, in the same speaking order as they gave their opening statements. Then moderator Tyler Parks concluded the forum.
