You can listen to archived audio from the October 7 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:  Luz Riggs; Alan Brown; Travis Martinez; Sarah Thompson; Terry Tanking; Nick Hatcher.

Kelly Hill served as moderator for the forum; Hill serves on the Liberal Chamber of Commerce board. 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 questions asked during the forum appear in quotation marks, exactly as given to the first candidate in each question cycle.  Questions sometimes got repeated for subsequent candidates.

Question 1: “What is the role of a school board member?”
Alan Brown; Travis Martinez; Sarah Thompson; Terry Tanking; Nick Hatcher; Luz Riggs.

Q2: “How would you encourage parents to become more involved in their children’s education?”
Martinez; Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs; Brown.

Q3: “What if any capital improvements should be made in properties or possible projects for USD 480?”
Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs; Brown; Martinez.

Q4: “What suggestions would you propose to help alleviate teacher shortages?”
Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs; Brown; Martinez; Thompson.

Q5: “What is your stance on broadcasting school board meetings? Equipment has been purchased but not yet implemented.”
Hatcher; Riggs; Brown; Martinez; Thompson; Tanking. Follow-up by Brown; Thompson.

Q6: “What is the most important concern that you want to see addressed as a board member, and how will you address that issue in the next four years if you are elected?”
Riggs; Brown; Martinez; Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher. Follow-up by Riggs.

Q7: “Do you believe that the current state assessments for USD 480 are trending in the right direction?”
Brown; Martinez; Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs.

Q8: “Do you believe the district partnering with the city and the college on the pool is a good idea?”
Martinez; Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs; Brown. Follow-up by Hatcher; Brown.

Q9: “How do you feel about the high school’s flex mod schedule?”
Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs; Brown; Martinez.

Q10: “What are your thoughts about the two-thirds vote that is currently in the negotiated agreement?”
Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs; Brown; Martinez; Thompson. Follow-up by Hatcher; Thompson.

Q11: “How is USD 480 administration evaluated, and whom should do that?” On a follow-up rephrasing of the question, “How should our USD 480 administration be evaluated, and who should do that?”
Hatcher; Riggs; Brown; Martinez; Thompson; Tanking.

Q12: “Do you feel the school board spends too much money on curriculums?”
Riggs; Brown; Martinez; Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher. Follow-up by Riggs.

Q13: “As a board member, do you feel you should have a presence in classrooms throughout the district to observe?”
Brown; Martinez; Thompson; Tanking; Hatcher; Riggs.

The Q-and-A portion of the forum concluded after this question.

The candidates gave their closing statements in the following speaker order: Candidate Travis Martinez; Sarah Thompson; Terry Tanking; Nick Hatcher; Luz Riggs; Alan Brown.

Moderator Kelly Hill then concluded the forum.