Engineering. I also found that ….
Engineering. I also found that I enjoyed creating positive educational experiences working with teenagers and decided to return to school, earning a Masters in Outdoor Education. With this background, I spent 10 years working with high school and middle school age students who needed mental health treatment. I was a leader and trainer for our organization in working with youth through challenging and stressful situations and teaching kids how to build emotional resiliency and skills for managing stress and conflict. I also worked on the leadership team, which included experience supervising employees and helping to build a positive company culture, budgeting, policy and procedure writing, and working with state licensing and accrediting bodies. After 10 years in mental health, I transitioned back to an engineering role and have spent the last year working as an engineer. My background in youth mental health and education as well as experiences as a supervisor and working with regulations and budget constraints have prepared me for responsibilities of the school board.
On a personal level, I moved to Medford in 2015. Since coming to Medford, I have gotten married and had two children, who are currently enrolled at MAES. I am a member of the Medford Morning Rotary Club. I believe that the strength of a community is based on how much people are willing to contribute to that community and I am trying to make sure that I help make this community stronger.
2). Why do you want to serve on the school board?
Although we can always point to potential areas of improvement, it seems that the Medford School District is something that the community should be proud of. There are a lot of special programs that offer enrichment for local students that are not available at bigger school districts - as someone who grew up in one of those larger school districts, I am impressed by the offerings that Medford has that go above and beyond the core curriculum. The Ag program, with the on-site barn; the technical program, including car mechanics and the house construction opportunities; onsite speech, PT, OT, and counseling staff for early intervention and resolution of student challenges; before school and after school programs to support working parents. There is a lot of effort from the school staff to create these positive outcomes and as a board member, I would want to highlight these positive outcomes and ensure that the district continues to offer these diverse opportunities that meet the communities needs.
The other reason I want to serve on the board is to ensure a focus on a positive culture among school employees. The current success of the Medford School District is due to the many employees who have dedicated their working lives to making the classroom and school a special place for student learning. People become teachers because they want to inspire learning and growth in our youth - the school board can help to ensure that the administration, teachers and support staff are working together and allowing teachers to focus on what they do best.
3). What do you feel biggest challenge is and what will you do to help overcome this challenge? The biggest challenge for the school district is ultimately the budget - getting quality experienced employees costs money, especially in a tight job market; healthcare and benefit costs are increasing; the use and need for specialty services in schools is increasing; federal and state budgets are tightening. All of these are squeezing the school district budget. Ultimately, a large role of the school board is to represent the community in balancing the many needs within the district and making budgetary decisions. Within this responsibility, though, there are a few critical pieces that I would emphasize that can help the board in finding a balance that is responsive to both community concerns and those of the district employees.
First, I think it is important to be committed to what is best for the district looking at a long-term outlook. Although budgets have to be considered on a yearly basis, the evaluation of individual programs, district employees objectives, employee retention, etc., need to be considered over a longer timeframe. I would bring a long-term outlook to this role.
Secondly, I think it is critical to listen. When making tough decisions, it is important to understand who it impacts and how it will impact them. This provides a chance to address concerns, to adjust the decision if appropriate, and to allow people to feel apart of the decision making process. This can improve morale in a workforce, even when not everyone gets their way. I would make sure to listen as a school board member.
Lastly, I think it is important to communicate intent transparently. School board will deal with contentious issues and many issues will have people wanting opposites results. We cannot make everyone happy, but we can provide honesty for the reason behind our decision.
4). What can school district do to attract and retain staff?
First, it is always important for the District to be aware of pay and benefits in nearby districts to ensure that we are competitive. although there is more to retention than pay, if we are not competitive in salary, we should expect to struggle in attracting and retaining staff.
Beyond salary, though, I think it is important to understand and feed the motivations of a workforce. Teaches join the workforce because they want to inspire learning and growth - fostering this in a group of children takes more than earning a degree, following a curriculum, or knowing what you're teaching. It takes passion for a subject, it takes patience to repeat yourself, it takes time to be creative and adapt, it takes time to collaborate with your coworkers. Although much of this work occurs in the daily interactions between staff and with administration, it is critical that this type of culture is supported and valued by a school board for it to thrive.
5). Public Ed has come under scrutiny at state and federal levels. How can local school board work to restore/reinforce confidence in the School District?
Like all things, public education is imperfect and we can point to and find faults. On the local level, though, I think the important question to be asked of our school district, and an important question for board members to be able to answer to and speak about, is does the district meet the needs of the community?
As a rural community, the Medford School District needs to prepare students for a wide variety of outcomes. We will have kids who graduate and go directly into the workforce. We will have kids who take on apprenticeships in a trade. We will have kids who attend 2-year colleges for associates degrees. We will have kids who attend 4-year college or beyond. Our community needs factory workers, farmers, electricians, mechanics, construction workers, EMTs, nurses and doctors. All of these roles need to be able to read and write, to have computer literacy, to know math and understand basic household or business finance. The Medford School District seems to be providing many opportunities to try and serve these community needs and help students find post-graduation opportunities that are a good fit. The role of the school board is to make sure that the school district continues to offer these diverse experiences and to highlight how attendance at the school district is setting everyone up for success, and not simply a springboard for pre-college students. I hope that the community already sees the many ways that Medford is trying to provide these opportunities and I think the District and the Board can do more to highlight these successes and ensuring it is looking at what is needed to educate the next generation of students.
Kurt Werner
Please tell us about yourself. What is your background?
I am a lifelong resident of Medford, and 1998 graduate of Medford Senior High. I am married with four children, ages 9 - 20. Since graduating, I have worked at my family's business, Werner Sales and Service. I enjoy helping our customers, whether it is finding the right chainsaw for them, or fixing a problem they have with their snowmobile. I enjoy building long-term relationships with customers. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, my children's sporting events, snowmobiling, and bowling.
Why do you want to serve on school board? I would like to renew my term to keep serving the community and be more active in my children's education. With my life and business experience, I feel that I bring an open mind and perspective to the board. I have been involved in the referendum building projects and I would like to see the finished product alongside serving the school board.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing the school district and what will you do as a board member to overcome that challenge? ' Finding and retaining qualified employees is the biggest challenge for all school districts and employers. Trust is also a priority. I believe Medford is a great community where we have great teachers and we are investing in our school and community. As a board member, I would like to align educational opportunities with the employers of our community. Additionally, I hope to bring awareness to the students about how their future can take different paths whether that be a four year college, technical degree, the workforce, or military.
What can the district do within budgetary limitations to attract and retain quality educators and staff? With the recently passed referendum, this will bring a great investment to our school district and the future of the students. Staying on budget, salaries, and benefits are crucial. However, it is also important to ensure our staff know they are valued, heard, and part of a winning team. Public education has come under scrutiny at the state and federal levels.
How can local schools work to restore/ reinforce the public's confidence in local schools? Keeping education as the priority of our teachers is most important for everyone, keeping political views and agendas at home. The focus should be educating students, keeping them safe, and keeping parents informed are three things I would like to focus o
