BUCYRUS — Five candidates are looking to fill three soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Bucyrus City Schools Board of Education as three incumbents are not seeking reelection.
Randall Blankenship, Christa Graves, David Jones Jr., Sandra Stone and Russell Slanczka are seeking election Tuesday. All five are graduates of Bucyrus High School.
Stone comes to the election after a break from previously serving on the board of education. She previously was a board member for 20 years.
She said her experience is something the district needs.
“When I read and heard of all the upheaval going on in our district, I realized I needed to throw my name in,” Stone said. “If I am able to use my experience to help through this time of transition then that’s what I needed to do. Bucyrus City Schools has served our community well over the years and I want that to continue. I believe that a community is only as strong as it’s schools.”
Jones said he believes his experience as a former employee (Jones worked in the technology department at BCS before taking a similar job at the collegiate level), coach, volunteer, mentor and parent of a BCS student will allow him to do the job without much of a learning curve.
“I will work to make sure our direction and district resources are catered to ensure that every student receives the education they deserve in this district,” Jones said. “As the parent of a student in this district I have a vested interest to make sure we are providing every opportunity for our students to be successful.”
He said the district must continue to meet standards set to prepare students for the future.
“We have great students and teachers in this district,” said. “It cannot be argued that our test scores have improved over the last few years due to the hard work of our students, teachers and staff of this district. It should be the focus of the new board of education to push for continued improvements regarding our grade card and student achievement over the coming years.”
He said one change he’d like to see is a greater deal of transparency between the district and the community.
“I feel over the last few months we’ve seen a lack of communication and transparency with the various operations of this district,” Jones said. “I will strive for complete transparency and open communication. The community deserves to know and understand what is happening with our student’s educational direction.”
Christa Graves said she is invested in the district as a taxpayer and a parent and will strive to help make the district succeed.
“I am proud to be an alumni and want nothing less than success for the school system,” Graves said. “I believe student achievement, effective teaching, supportive administration, community involvement and fiscal responsibility are key components for any school to thrive.”
She said she wants to see an increase in student graduation rates to 100 percent.
“Every student needs to leave high school with a diploma in hand and a plan in place, whether it’s college, military, or entering the workforce,” she said. “We must do our best to provide guidance along the way for our future doctors, engineers, military heroes, construction workers, etc….”
She also believes character building needs to be at the forefront of the district’s objectives.
“I believe that Leader in Me has been a great addition in our school system to help build positive habits in our students,” Graves said. “I also think our mentoring program is a great way for students to lend a helping hand to one another. After all, we are all in this together.”
Blankenship said he and his wife decided to stay in Bucyrus for their children to attend BCS and he wants to help other parents have the same passion and belief for the district that he has.
“My commitment as a Bucyrus City School Board Member will be to make sure that decisions are made in the best interest of our students, teachers, staff, and our community,” Blankenship said. “Also, I look forward to bringing accountability and transparency to our school district and improving our communication with the community.”
He said he too wants to see programs like the Leader in Me continue after seeing his son participate in the program firsthand.
“This program gives students the opportunity to grow at a very young age and instill confidence in themselves that they can do great things in school and in life,” he said. “This program teaches students many life lessons including teamwork, communication, critical thinking, and problem solving to name a few. Those four skills that I mentioned will be used for the rest of their lives.”
He said one change he wants to see in the district is more opportunities for the district’s students to explore various future paths.
“In my profession I have the opportunity to meet with members of our community and surrounding areas, including manufacturers, banking professionals and people in healthcare to name a few,” Blankenship said. “The most common number one thing I hear from all of them is the skills gap that they face with employees. As a school district, we need to better prepare our students for life after high school.”
He said he wants programs like one which certifies students as STNA-certified professionals to be offered for students as a future pathway option.
He also said he wants more electives offered to students.
“Several classes were cut from the curriculum for the 2019-2020 school year,” Blankenship said. “Classes that I think are beneficial to our students. For example, seventh and eighth grade students were presented with the opportunity to take landscape design classes. Also, Bucyrus City Schools was awarded a grant to fund the construction of a greenhouse on school property. This construction was completed, but the landscape design classes are no longer being offered to students. I will fight to have these classes reintroduced to students…. These classes are no longer offered due to teachers not being replaced after the previous school year. I will make sure that we have adequate teachers to support these life changing opportunities for our students.”
Slanczka did not return a request for comment.
Voters will have the opportunity to cast their vote when the polls open Tuesday across Crawford County at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.