Primary election for BOE is in two weeks
Editor's note: A primary election will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for the District 7 spot on the USD 410 board of education. Three men are running: Gary Andrews, Rod Koons, and Kevin Suderman. This week and next week will highlight these candidates.
The primary election narrows down the race to two candidates, who will then be voted on again in the April 1 general election.
Gary Andrews is used to being around school boards. His dad served on the Southeast of Saline board of education while Andrews was a student in that district.
Now Andrews is running for a BOE spot of his own in the Duham-Hillsboro-Lehigh school district. He's filed for the District 7 position, which is an at-large position that represents the entire geographical area of USD 410.
District 7 is currently held by Reg Matz, who is not running again.
Andrews grew up near the tiny town of Kipp, where he attended schools in the Southeast of Saline district. He graduated from SES in 1977, a year before the present school complex was built, he said. Andrews' father was on the board at that time.
Andrews and his wife Sally moved to Hillsboro in 1990, and he started working for the City of Hillsboro in 1994, where he still works. He takes care of the golf course and sports complex for the city.
Andrews said that he's been considering filing for a school board seat for the past few years. This is his first time running for public office, he said.
Andrews doesn't have a specific agenda in mind as he considers joining the BOE, he said. Andrews sees it as a way to serve the public.
"I don't have any particular item," he said.
Andrews knows that the district faces great financial hurdles, but Andrews doesn't have any specific cost-cutting ideas right now. It's hard to make any suggestions unless you're actually in the middle of things, seeing the whole financial picture as a board member, he said.
"You need to be in there," Andrews said.
Working for the municipal golf course, he's seen how an organization can run on a small budget. It's a matter of finding ways to cut corners, Andrews said.
"I look at it as a challenge," he said.
Although some Kansas legislators and superintendents are suggesting the consolidation of districts to save money, Andrews doesn't see that as a viable option for Hillsboro.
He has "mixed opinions" about the "pay-to-play" system of charging fees for sports and other extra-curricular activities, Andrews said. He wouldn't want a student to be unable to participate because of a lack of money.
Overall, Hillsboro has a good school system, with students ranking high academically in the state, he said. People like what USD 410 has to offer.
Andrews' two children are both in school: Gina is a sophomore at HHS and Lora is in eighth grade. With two children in the district, he feels that he has the "students' ear," he said. He's been on the HMS site council for two years.
Andrews' father has been urging him to run for the local school board. He expects long meetings and long nights, but he knows that the experience would be well worth his time, he said.
Rod Koons, owner of Rod's Tire and Service, has never before run for public office, but he's ready to serve his community on the Durham-Hillsboro-Lehigh board of education.
Koons is running for the District 7 position, which is currently held by Reg Matz.
Koons and his wife, Carrie, are both Lindsborg natives who moved to Hillsboro in 1993. They've owned Rod's Tire since 1999, where they both work — Rod as the manager and Carrie in the office.
Koons says that he tries to serve people in a fair and honest way, and he plans to bring that approach to the school board if he's elected.
Koons doesn't have a specific agenda in mind as he considers the school board, he said. There's no single issue that he's "real hot about" — it's just time to serve the community.
He has served on boards before, but now he wants to take the next step to public office so he can serve locally. It's a move he's been pondering for the past several months, he said.
Koons has two children, both in school: Shelby, a sixth-grader, and Samantha, a third-grader. He feels fortunate to have a strong school system to send his kids to, he said.
"We've got something to be proud of," Koons said.
He knows that the district is facing tough times financially, he said. That means making some tough decisions and realizing you won't please all of the people all of the time.
"All you do is make yourself sick trying," Koons said. "Decisions have to be made."
A school district is like a business, with fixed expenses, he said. But in comparing an actual business with a school, the district starts out with an amount of money and spends that money until it's gone. In a business it's the opposite: a business starts with nothing and works up.
Koons doesn't have any specific ideas right now about how the district might reduce expenses. He would need to see the whole picture once elected, he said.
He is against activity fees as a way of raising money through the "pay to play" philosophy, Koons said. It singles out students who may not be able to participate in their activities through no fault of their own.
Koons doesn't know if consolidating school districts would be a good idea, but he says that all options should be kept open.
"We aren't western Kansas, but we may face that," he said.
He likes how the current BOE has run things — professionally, with little upheaval.
"As a parent, I'm very pleased with how the board has done," Koons said.
Koons says that it's important for a good school board to support the district administration. They're the ones who handle day-to-day operations.
"That is not a board's duty," he said.
If elected, Koons wants input from the public, but he says that problems should go through the proper channels to the administration. One board member can't solve a parent's complaint, he said.
"There's a channel to follow," Koons said.
As a business owner, Koons has learned to trust his employees' judgment, and he views the district administration the same way, he said.
