The Informed Voter Coalition interviewed candidates for Willard School Board, including Matthew Young, Renee McKelvie and Megan Patrick. Amanda Gooch was invited but declined to participate.
You can hear the interviews recorded at KSMU by clicking on the "listen" button above or watch a video of the interviews recorded by Greta Cross of the Springfield News-Leader.
Matthew Young
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this office.
"Again, my name is Matthew Young. I'm in my second time — finishing up my second time as a school board member for Willard Public Schools. I decided to run again primarily because I feel like I still have a lot to give back to the community. This is my serve, being on the school board. I was a previous employee of the school district, so I've got some pretty in-depth knowledge of the district, and I feel like that's valuable to bring to the table. We just restarted our new strategic plan, and I was involved in that process and would like to stay involved and see that through as well, so, and I've got two kids in the school district — two boys, a senior and an eighth grader, and a couple of nieces in the district, as well — a sixth grader and a first grader. So public education is very important to me. I'm not a teacher, but I'm going to find other ways to support public education because it's foundational for our communities."
How have previous board service leadership roles or other experiences prepared you to serve as a school board member?
"Okay. Well, so like I said, I've been serving for six years. I've been able to see a lot of change in the district as far as leadership and staffing challenges. I was on the board during COVID, which was a very challenging time for not just Willard Public Schools but for all public schools and our community in general. SoI feel like that's given me a lot of opportunities to pull together experiences and have that as a resource when we're faced with new challenges. And so I'm excited to be able to take that experience and to continue to serve the community of Willard Public Schools and our students and our staff and administration."
What do you think are good indicators for student achievement?
"Well, you know, personally speaking for me, I think the best indicator is, is how our students perform, how their life is after public education, right? And I know that out at Willard, we've taken steps to try to track that and stay connected with our graduates and learn, you know, how they're doing, find out their successes, find out their struggles so that if we can help them out after high school, we would be glad to continue to do that as much as we can. So for me, that's number one, I think. And it's in our, a lot of the statements that we make at Willard Public Schools, you know, creating that life-ready graduate. Obviously there's testing, standardized testing. You know, I think it's a necessary evil because we do need to have benchmarks. We need to have the ability to assess where our students are throughout their educational journey. So, you know, standardized test, standardized testing is another way to to assess our students' success. But I want to make sure that we don't make that the focus or the priority. And then, you know, I think just, in general, the overall happiness of our students, you know, I think everybody's journey, every student's journey is different, right? There's different home lives. There's different, how would you say it? Abilities, right? But that doesn't mean that, you know, they don't all deserve the same chance. And staying on top of where they're at throughout their educational journey is really important."
Legislators in the Missouri House and Senate have filed bills in favor of school choice, also known as open enrollment. Can you explain what you think this means for your district? Would you support it? Why or why not?
"So my initial thought to open enrollment makes me think of competition. And there's no place for competition in public education. Public education should be foundationally about equity across all platforms and all students. And when you start messing with the structure that allows for that equitable opportunity, you open the doors for students not having or not receiving that equitable education. Now, my understanding is that, you know, with this legislation that, you know, they're trying to put in safeguards, you know, limit the amount of migration between districts that can be all of that type of thing. But I think what we should do as a society, as a state, instead of creating competition, I feel like we should actually address the issues at hand with public education, which is, one, primarily funding. You know, we have teachers that struggle. They have to use food banks, and they, you know, get government assistance because they don't make enough. They don't make even comparable to what other degreed individuals in industry make. That's got to affect teaching, right? So I think there's other ways that we can address the things that this legislation's ultimately trying to address without creating that competition between schools, public schools. We've got lots of school choice. We've got public schools, we've got virtual school, we've got home schooling, we've got private schools, we've got charter schools. I think we've got enough diversity options."
In the past few years, there have been increased attempts to remove books from public schools and public libraries. Who do you think should be making decisions about the books available to students in public schools, and what factors should be considered?
"Oh, a loaded question. You know, we have to trust our educators. The whole concept of education and educating our students, for me, is built around trust. We send our children to school for hours every day, right? So we have to trust the professionals that we hire and put into those positions. You know, if you boil it down, our librarians are the ones that select the resources that go into our libraries and public education, you know? I believe that there are guidelines and recommendations and requirements that are put in place by the state that they have to adhere to, but they also — they're professionals, right? They're the ones that they spend their whole life digging into literature and finding the connections between literature and our students. And, they live in our communities. They know what our communities are about. And, you know, they're the ones that walk with our students daily. And so they're the ones that I feel know what's best to, to have in our collections that will connect with our students and every, again, every student's different. And so some books will connect differently than others will. Now I think our — I think every community through the school board and administration needs to be able to set certain guidelines. And I feel like there's nothing wrong with having restrictions and having parent choice — so maybe having books that require a parent's approval, but you just don't know how some books will positively impact a student. And so I don't want to negate that."
How do you think public education benefits the Willard community?
"Oh, it's foundational. The Willard community is the Willard schools. You know, the Willard Public Schools' boundary is vast. It extends down into Springfield, all the way across over to Highway 13 up towards Morrisville. The district itself far surpasses the size of our town and our Willard community. So, you know, the school sets the tone. The school is what people think of when they think of Willard. So, you know, I think what we are trying to do as a school and as a Willard community, we're trying to work on those relationships and partnerships and expanding on what that looks like that, you know, the school and the city and then also trying to bring in that northwest part of Springfield because that corner is part Willard School District as well."
Renee McKelvie
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
"My name is Renee McKelvey, and I have had some people approach me about running for school board, and I thought, 'I have over 30 years of public education and, I have — I know how it works.' And so I would like to be the voice of reason, and I'm happy to listen to people. I'm accessible. I have children that went through the Willard School District and they are fine. They have been very successful and I feel that Willard gave them that background."
How have previous board service, leadership roles or other experiences prepared you to serve as a school board member? You have two minutes to answer.
"At Springfield, I was a fine arts facilitator for the district, and I also wrote a lot of curriculum. And the curriculum is a foundation on which K through 12 is based, and it should be sequential, it should be written or at the very least reviewed by people, the experts, people closest to the job. And so we would gather teachers from every grade level and hear their input, talk about materials that would enhance the curriculum or the things that we felt were important, and we would go from there. So it was built solidly. We could stand behind it 100%. I hear now that wit and wisdom is having some trouble — causing some trouble, and I'm sad about that and I wish that it was a little smoother, but it's raising lots of questions among the district."
What do you think are good indicators of student achievement?
"I think our job is to teach critical thinking skills. And if if a student graduates with critical thinking skills, I think we've done our job. And that is, that I think is our primary goal. I think if the student can demonstrate critical thinking skills, then I think that's success. I think that's the definition of success."
Legislators in the Missouri House and Senate have filed bills in favor of school choice, also known as open enrollment. Can you explain what you think this means for your district? Would you support it? Why or why not?
"I think if you live in the district, you should go to that district school. Personally, I wanted to — this area is so easy to fall in love with, and 48 years ago when I decided to move down here, I was very careful about making sure that I was — my children would go to Willard, not to any other school in, you know, in driving distance. So I made a good choice, and it was proven over and over to me that it was a good choice. If you live in the district, I think that I know in Springfield it's larger and you might want your child to go to Parkview instead of Central or Glendale instead of Kickapoo. But I — Willard's small enough we don't have those kinds of choices. As far as using money to send your child out of the Willard School District, I would be opposed to that."
In the past few years, there have been increased attempts to remove books from public schools and public libraries. Who do you think should be making decisions about the books available to students in public schools, and what factors should be considered?
"Once again, starts with a curriculum, and I know that there are lots of books under fire right now connected to the curriculum, but I also know that there are books on the shelves that are under question. I looked up one of the books, and I read "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl," and, you know, yes, it has language that is appalling, especially if you are the mother of a elementary person. But the book is supposed to be for ninth grade and up. If, as a parent, you are opposed to the language, the sexuality and those issues that the book raises, the book is not about that. The book is about where do I belong? Do you remember how awkward it was to find your place when you were in secondary school? Oh my heavens, where do I belong? And for the students who don't know, well, I'm the cheerleader or I'm the prettiest girl in the class or I'm the smartest or I'm the highest scoring basketball player. There are very few kids that fit into those realms, and there's a lot of kids that walk in, walk down the halls every day and go, 'well, I'm afraid to be with that group, but this group would never have me. And so maybe I should just walk here and look down at the hall.' I think they're important. I think the books are important to — if they're in, if they're on the shelves in the library, then they're there for a reason. And if you don't think your child should see those books or read those books, then they should be restricted. But if you remove them, you also remove them from my child. And I don't think that's right."
How do you think public education benefits the Willard community?
"Oh, Willard schools are the Willard community. I mean, the lights are on for games, and there was a theater competition yesterday . I was a band parent. Oh, my heavens. There is so much parent interest and participation in Willard School. It's wonderful. It is really wonderful. And I think that that's kind of the perfect all American scene right there is when we're not we're not a huge community, but we're not a tiny community either. And that we all know what's going on and whose kid is there. And one time I was driving to work and there was a pair of band shoes on the side of the road on 160, and I picked them up and took them to the band room, and some child went, 'oh, thank you.' You know, we all take care of each other. It's very — it's a warm. it's a warm atmosphere usually. All districts have issues and Willard is no different. And right now it seems like there's a few floating around."
Megan Patrick
"Great. Well, thank you for having me. This is fun. My name is Megan Patrick. I am a mother of four sons. No daughters, unfortunately. They are 19, 17, 15 and nine. I've been married to my husband for 22 years, but we were high school sweethearts, so my forever boyfriend. I have always been involved in school. I have been a PTO president, a room mom, a parent volunteer. I've been in charge of project grads, fundraising events for schools, all of that. And so I've always been involved. I've never been a person to sit back and let things happen. During COVID, I became more involved with attending school board meetings, and I. That was 30 seconds. Okay, I won't finish. I'll finish in another question."
How have previous board service, leadership roles or other experiences prepared you to serve as a school board member?
"Okay, well, I decided to run for board because, after going to all of the meetings, I felt that there was something that I could contribute. One of the things — I am a stay at home mom, so I have a lot of time to research everything that's happening in the schools, and I have done so. I also have served in leadership roles in my church. And recently, in 2022, I started a chapter of Moms for Liberty, Greene County, and I am the chapter chair of that, which is an organization that educates, empowers and organizes parents in schools and everything that's happening in schools. So I think I work well with others, and I do my due diligence to advocate for things that are right for my kids and for, I think, the future of our country."
What do you think are good indicators of student achievement?
"I would think literacy us the best indicator of student achievement, and I think that's something that we are lacking in our schools right now. I know in Willard we have 47% of students that are proficient or higher in reading. And so I think that a student that cannot read is going to have a hard time succeeding and be able to read well. Of course, there are life experiences and being involved in activities and such, but I think getting a good education and being a good reader would be my number one concern."
Legislators in the Missouri House and Senate have filed bills in favor of school choice, also known as open enrollment. Can you explain what you think this means for your district? Would you support it? Why or why not?
"I think open enrollment has pros and cons. As I had said, I chair an organization called Moms for Liberty. We are ultimate champions of parental choice for everything, so I do think that parents should be able to choose which schools their kids can go to. However, the other side of that would be the funding. And I think if you have, you know, if you were to get money to say to go to whatever school you wanted to, I think then that brings in government money, which also comes with strings, which then takes away parental choice and parental rights, if that makes sense. I think there are pros, but I'm not sure that it would 100% work. There'd be a lot of things that need to be worked out when it comes to school choice."
In the past few years, there have been increased attempts to remove books from public schools and public libraries. Who do you think should be making decisions about the books available to students in public schools, and what factors should be considered?
"Well, I actually have a lot of experience with this. I believe that books in schools should be age appropriate. I believe, you know, our schools have filters on all the Chromebooks and devices. Children cannot go to certain sites with certain content. I think that the books should be in line with with that policy. I think having one and not the other isn't a clear message. Ultimately, I think parents have the right to decide which books their children can and cannot read. But also taxpayers do fund the public school libraries. And so I think they should have a say in what is in our, in our libraries. I believe in protecting children, protecting their innocence and letting them be kids. And I do not believe that any child needs to read graphic sex scenes in a school setting, and I do not believe that any school official or library or teacher, librarian or teacher should be allowed to hand that material or make it available to a child."
How do you think public education benefits the Willard community?
"Well, I mean. Willard School District is the largest employment in Willard. Our school district is unique as we only have one high school, one elementary or not one elementary school, one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools — five elementary schools. East. South. North. Orchard Hill. Central. Five elementary schools, excuse me. Willard School District is Willard community. I think every single person is involved and benefits from Willard School District running and working properly."