ThisWeek CW 10/15/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/12/groveport-madison-district-one-incumbent-two-challengers-vying-for-2-board-seats.html
Residents in the Groveport Madison Local School District will have the chance to elect at least one new member to the school board Nov. 3 with current board President Nathan Slonaker declining to run again.
That leaves incumbent Mary Tedrow and challengers Maria J. McGraw and Christopher Snyder competing for two open seats.
Both Tedrow and McGraw have spent most of their lives in the school district, while Snyder has lived in the district for five years and was employed by the district for another seven years.
Tedrow has been a board member for 23 years and has held several other positions in the community, particularly in leadership with the Girl Scouts. Both McGraw and Snyder co-chaired the district’s recent successful levy campaign and McGraw continues to serve as chairwoman of the Committee for Better Schools.
Effect of levy approval
Snyder and Tedrow both see voters’ approval of a 6.18-mill operating levy, a $33.3-million bond issue and a 0.5-mill permanent improvement levy in May 2014 as a positive and as one of the primary challenges for the school board when it comes to improving students’ academic performance.
“Our current issues stem from our greatest recent blessing,” Snyder said. “We have money to spend on our district due to the levy. The issue is going to be figuring out where to spend that money, and where to apply our resources.
“I believe that I can help to form the vision and mission of our district, alongside our other board members and administration.”
Tedrow said implementing several programs approved by the board since the levy was approved is important to meeting the challenge of responsibly investing in academic improvement.
“Improving our academic performance is the biggest challenge. The passing of the levy should be of great assistance,” Tedrow said. “We’ll be able to build the new high school, offer digital preschool instruction, institute programs for the gifted students, provide school improvement coordinators in each school, have sports programs in each middle school and provide College Credit Plus and the pathways programs at the high school. One more service I hope we can soon provide, if we can find room, is preschool education so our students can come to school ready to learn.”
Communications gap
McGraw said while she is proud the community elected to build a “state-of-the-art facility,” one of the biggest issues facing the district is a lack of communication and inclusion of community members in goal-setting and decision-making.
“The Groveport Madison community has shown that they want to be involved in meaningful change and progress,” McGraw said. “The district will need to modify communication techniques to keep the community apprised of the changes that are underway and the changes still needed.
“This way, community members will become stakeholders in the district when they know where we stand and their input is genuinely sought for questions involving the direction the school district is moving.
“As a mother, I understand the importance of improving the future for our students,” she said. “I’ve worked to move the district forward while fostering community relations and hearing concerns and ideas. I have a vested interest in seeing our school district improve.
“As we develop new plans to address the needs of our students, tough questions need to be asked and results will need to be succinctly conveyed to the community. Professionally, I have extensive experience with marketing and I will use those skills to guide the district in this endeavor,” McGraw said.
Snyder similarly believes in “bridging the communication gap.”
“I believe that I can be an asset in the community, helping people know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Snyder said. “I believe I can help lead our district and I believe that I can help bridge the communication gap that exists between the district and the community.”
Incumbent Tedrow said she hopes her past leadership has earned the voters’ confidence.
“My many years of services as a school board member and Girl Scout leader, my education, my desire and ability to serve, my respect of children and education, my knowledge of the community, my experience as a parent, and my desire and time available to serve should qualify me for school board member,” Tedrow said.