(St. Joseph, Missouri) Each of the nine candidates for the St. Joseph School District Board of Education took their seats and answered a list of questions given to them in advance of the April 2 election.
Additional questions were also asked in response to some of the responses.
Candidate Kimberly Dragoo's full answers are below.
CR: What do you think students need most?
KD: They need caring teachers. When we go to school, we can all remember teachers who were really invested and built relationships with us. Build a relationship with your children and they will work for you. If you're just teaching there and that's your job and it's monotonous to you and frustrating, you're not doing a good job and you'll leave. So if you build relationships with all your students, they'll work for you and you can make a difference. Why not start a program where we spend money on buildings and give the teacher a bonus if everyone in the class passes? He's a good teacher, so let's give him a big bonus. I don't know how they keep statistics on how teachers are doing, how students are doing in class, etc. But I think it's something that should continue. In addition to that, I think it will weed out the bad teachers and compensate the really good teachers.
CR: How do you attract new teachers and retain teachers?
KD: I think it's mainly about fixing discipline and pay. I've always been told that management should be paid across the board, right down to the hourly rate. Well, not really. I looked into the policies and found that they are not linked. By cutting out the administration, you can reward lower-paid teachers and new, new teachers more. If you give 4% overall, some people make 200,000. How much do they earn a year compared to someone who makes 38,000? That doesn't work. I understand that they're probably saying the administration, if we don't put them there, they'll never get a raise. But let's think about it logically. Okay, give them his 1%. Make the bottom 5 7%. Make it even.
CR: How do you think the attendance problem can be solved?
KD: I think it all helps once you start following the policies. So if you're not in school, a juvenile police officer is going to come knocking on your door and say, why isn't this kid in school? In other words, we have no choice but to crack down on it. Why are you leaving it alone? We are not following policy. If we followed the policy, it would be illegal.
CR: How do you think school districts can move forward with the facilities discussion?
KD: They can be honest and true. I attend these facility meetings. Understood. They (committee members) were shocked and we are all shocked when this long-term plan was presented. Anyone who follows the school board and follows all of that. That wasn't what was being talked about. All night they presented us with things that weren't even on the table. Some Facilities Committee members were devastated here. They have been investigating for years. And at some point they were working on another plan. And overnight, between meetings, they announced a whole new plan they didn't even know about. So you say you're involved in the community? Is it a facade? Because it's not real. That's not what actually happened. These people are given points to participate and spend their time. And I sent an email and look back, they didn't care. They weren't listening to those people. It's all a sham and we have these committees just to make the community happy. Please don't do that. We need transparency. When you're transparent with your community and put everything out there, people will come to your site and you'll gain support. But you can't lie. It can't come from a direction where a small elite in town is pushing what basically happened. I'm so disappointed in our district right now.
CR: Why should people vote for you?
KD: I'm honest, so I'm open. I don't hold anything back. I am responsible to everyone. You can't buy it. It cannot be persuaded or manipulated. I'm smart. I have no education. But people confuse being educated with being intelligent. Because they are different. Understood. So, I also come from that aspect. I don't think people with PhDs can understand everything just because they have a PhD. That means they love school. They go to school and continue to be vocational students. I'm not saying that's bad, it's good for them. But not all of us are like that. I mean, I'm very artistic. I'm very smart. I'm very mechanical. There's nothing I can't do. But I hated school. Teachers with whom I had connections had better grades. Yes, but when I had a bad teacher, I hit rock bottom and had a hard time getting back up, so even now as an adult, I still look up the statistics. If she has one bad teacher, she could be three years behind in one year. Understood? That can't happen. That can't happen. So I'm coming from a different perspective. Typically, the board is made up of former teachers, educators, and Ph.D. And I'm on the other side, a student who doesn't graduate. I have a different perspective on what I can bring to the board. Everyone has their own field that they know and should focus on. I don't claim to know everything. Because you know a lot. I'm going to let those in the know know what they're talking about. I will look at it and do my best. And I will always do the right thing and be honest with everyone. But I'll focus on what I'm here for. I would also like to become a member of the policy committee. I think we understand exactly what's going on. Seven different people from different fields are participating. You can fix a lot of things. And I can work with anyone. You really can. Hats off to people who know what they're talking about. It doesn't take long to figure out who is saying what.