Five candidates seek spots on Medford School Board

Five candidates are seeking three seats on the Medford School Board. All candidates were sent a questionnaire asking them why they were running and questions about the future of the district.

Here are their responses in alphabetical order:

Aemus Balsis

I have been a member of the Medford Area School District School Board since April 2021. During my first year/term, I’ve been a strong advocate for our children, families, and school staff. I have openly embraced, expressed, and used my conservative values to help develop and implement local policy, protocol, and goals within our schools. I have been a strong advocate of community programs, coalitions, and education involving children.

I am a Detective with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, an active member, and part of the Medford Community for over 18 years. My wife Emily and I have a set of 7-year-old twins who are in the 1st grade at Medford Area Elementary School. We also have another set of twins who joined our family this past September.

I am an avid outdoorsman and enjoy spending my time with family and friends hunting, fishing, camping, and working outdoors. I hold my conservative small town and family values very close to my heart.

Why do you want to serve on the school board? I am seeking reelection to the school board because people including myself who hold conservative values have not necessarily been represented as well as we’d like in local politics which includes the school board for many years now. It is time many more conservative value minded individuals run for and become members of our local boards and offices. I believe a lot of ideas, issues, and agendas not necessarily supported by our local community were and are being pushed upon us. I recognize and know wholeheartedly that I stood by idle for far too long before I personally decided to help try to make a difference by being elected to our school board a year ago.

I fully support and have a strong genuine commitment to public education for all children. As a member of the school board this past year, I strongly believe that I’ve supported the values, beliefs, and priorities of the majority of the students, staff, and community members of the Medford Area School District. I believe board members serve in roles of extreme trust which is something I live by every day as a member of the Sheriff’s Office.

I bring practical solutions, ideas, and honest answers to our constituents within the community. I fully understand not everyone has the same ideas, opinions, and beliefs, but I feel everyone wants to be heard and respected.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the School District and what will you do as a board member to overcome that challenge?

I believe the biggest challenges facing the district are uncertain school district financial resources. Being a concerned community member and current member of the school board, I recognize and know policy must be setup and plans must be made to adapt to the future of our community and school district. The school district must budget and plan our future within the means of the financial resources available.

All school districts rely on revenue from local property taxes alongside state and federal funds. State funding may include general aid, as well as funds dedicated to specific types of districts. If the current proposed school referendum passes, it will provide much-needed money to address many specific needs at the Medford Area High School.

What can the school district do within budgetary limitations to attract and retain quality educators and staff?

This question can be answered by making long term financial and infrastructural investments into our school system. There is a local, state, and national shortage of quality and qualified educators. I believe providing financial and infrastructure funding would allow more money to be invested into our schools, educators, and staff. I believe this would attract and retain educators by promoting a healthy, positive, and safe working environment with financial incentive. It is clear that if we are not competitive with neighboring districts, many educators may very easily look for opportunities in another district that offer better compensation, and overall better benefits. We cannot expect people who have invested a lot of their lives and finances into their own education to simply sacrifice their wants, needs, and desires without offering them something in return.

How do you feel the school district can be more

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I believe investing in our school system and community is a must! I am a strong advocate of school to work programs, internships, and technical education classes that have direct correlation to known jobs, needs, and opportunities of employment in our community. The Medford community works extremely hard to keep our local business here and grow in new business sectors. We must support the needs of our employers and industry as much as they support our own personal needs and livelihoods within our community.

We must keep our children involved in activities and classes that develop strong positive influences, so they mature into healthy, strong, and independent adults. For our schools to excel, we must have qualified teachers, mentors, community support, and industry who all invest in our students.

A solid education system passes knowledge, skills, and habits from generation to generation playing a huge role in developing the foundation and backbone of society.

Corey Dassow

I am a father of four beautiful daughters, all of which are currently in Medford Public schools. My wife, Trisha and I are graduates of the Medford Area School District. I am in my 16th year of proudly serving the community with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. My current leadership role is Chief Deputy, where I assist the Sheriff with everything from jail, patrol, investigations to budgeting, training, and hiring personnel. My passions are spending time with my family and friends. This includes camping, hunting, running, biking, kayaking, pretty much anything outdoors. I very much enjoy serving at the Cutting Edge Youth Center by interacting with our youth and coming alongside them while they do life.

Why do you want to serve on school board?

I would like the opportunity to serve the community in a different way to ensure that all children are afforded the opportunity to learn in a safe environment. As I suspect most parents are/were, I have not taken