Four candidates are competing to fill three seats in the South Callaway Board of Education during the June 2 municipal election.
The election was previously scheduled for April 7 but was postponed in response to COVID-19. Candidates include Penny Felkner, Janice Howard, Stephanie Laney and Robert Munford.
This is the second of a two-part series of South Callaway candidate profiles and includes Laney and Munford. The first part ran in Friday's paper.
Stephanie Laney
Born and raised in Fulton, Stephanie Laney graduated from Westminster College with a bachelor's degree in accounting. This is her 20th year working for Callaway Electric Cooperative. She and her husband, David, live in the Hams Prairie area and have two children, Maebrie and Sage. They are actively involved in their church in Hams Prairie, where she has taught Sunday school for the past seven years.
Why did you decide to run for this position?
I have served on the South Callaway school board for the past three years, and I am currently the vice president. It was my love for kids and desire to contribute more to the SC community that first got me to run for the school board, and that still holds true today.
What are your qualifications?
My qualifications include a background in accounting, a knowledge of how boards function from my current position at Callaway Electric and the training I have received from being on the school board. I have attended the Missouri School Boards Association's fall conference the past three years where I have received additional training and served as South Callaway's delegate.
What do you see as the biggest issue facing your school district, and how do you plan to solve it?
COVID-19 has changed everything. Now, not only are we facing possible budget cuts from the state but dealing with new guidelines and some unknowns from the coronavirus (distance learning, grades, graduation and getting kids back to school in the fall). I commend the administration, teachers and employees of South Callaway on how they have handled the situation. I am so proud to be a part of this district.
What is your strategy for attracting and retaining quality teachers in your district?
I believe the strategy of the South Callaway board and administration is to stay as competitive as we can with wages and for the most part have smaller class sizes. We also pride ourselves on having an atmosphere where people want to work.
Robert Munford
Robby has lived in the South Callaway R-2 School District for 13 years with his wife, Jaime, and three boys. He works for Ameren UE. He enjoys hunting, fishing, crossfit, and coaching football and wrestling.
Why did you decide to run for this position?
I decided to run for school board to be more involved in the day-to-day decisions being made. As a parent, I feel like I would be a good resource of how other parents/guardians feel and maybe bring their opinions to the table to be heard also. Overall, I would just like to be more involved.
What are your qualifications?
As far as qualifications, I feel like being a parent and a taxpayer qualifies me to be a candidate. I've been involved as a parent and also a coach of multiple sports, so I've been a part of many activities and have seen areas where we have improved and need improvement. I've been as involved as I can be short of being on the board, and I'm ready to take the next step to the level of a school board member.
What do you see as the biggest issue facing your school district, and how do you plan to solve it?
As far as our biggest issue as a district right now, it is the COVID-19 issue. South Callaway has handled it well, but there are some improvements that can be made. As a whole, South Callaway in my opinion is one of the top schools and has one of the nicest campuses/facilities in Mid-Missouri and I'm very proud that my kids are South Callaway Bulldogs.
What is your strategy for attracting and retaining quality teachers in your district?
My opinion on how to attract and keep quality teachers at our schools is simple: competitive salaries and making sure they have the tools they need to teach. So many times you hear about teachers buying supplies out of their paycheck; that to me is unacceptable. Give them what they need to be successful.