Herr looks to continue what she started four years ago

Shelly Herr

by Charlie Comfort

OSKALOOSA, IOWA- Four years ago, Shelly Herr threw her hat in the ring for Oskaloosa School Board as an involved parent who wanted to give back. Today, little has changed in why she wants to run for a second term.

“Four years ago I ran initially because I’ve always been involved in things my kids are a part of and I care about education and workforce readiness.  It’s also a chance to give back to the community.  Those reasons have not changed.   This time, in addition, I’ve received encouragement from community staff and fellow board members to run again,” Herr said.

Herr believes that she is a quality candidate for the board because she has a kids first focus, is open minded, and is a good listener.

“I’m a learner and will commit the time it takes to get up to speed with issues and ask questions. I work well with others and seek to find common ground — a board can only make progress together. I appreciate that differences in opinions a discussion about those differences can ultimately bring us to a better solution,” Herr said.

Herr said that if she was a young parent looking to move into the Oskaloosa School District, she would enroll her children in Oskaloosa Schools because of the opportunities that students in Oskaloosa are afforded.

“I think these help kids find their way, gain confidence and explore what interests them,” Herr said.

She added that some of these programs include fine arts, awarding wining student council, unique FFA, dual credit opportunities, and a robotics club.

Herr also address the issue of student behavior. She said that she, in general, agrees with the way the board has handled the issue over the past year.

“I think the board listened to the parents who brought the issue forward and realized that behavior issues were at a level that it was affecting kids ability to learn.  At that time the board said it needed to be fixed and fixed now.  Parents, Administrators and Board members worked together to create a policy and practice of dealing with the problems,” Herr said. She added that the school district’s recent contract with Take Action Consulting on the school discipline issue has also helped.

“Now, the school year has just started, but any feedback I’ve gotten so far on the training has been that is “top notch”.   The board will continue to get regular reports and have conversations about how that’s going at future board meetings,” Herr said.

Test scores and student achievement have also been discussed since the 2013 school board elections. Herr ran unopposed in an election that saw two incumbents defeated largely on the issue of student achievement, and two other incumbents retire. She said that generally, test scores are not the only way to judge achievement.

“They are not the only way in which we should measure the effectiveness of our district,  but I do believe they are one indicator we should be using to figure out where we need to improve and how we continuously improve.   They can help us see how much students are growing and where we may need to apply other resources or work to improve,” Herr said.

She added that she is not satisfied with present test scores for the district.

“Am I satisfied with the scores?  While we are seeing some improvements in scores generally, I would answer no because I’m not sure I could say I was satisfied until we get to nearly everyone proficient.  I believe that virtually all kids can learn at high levels given the right supports,” she said.

Herr addressed the issue of the public perception of the board by saying the board needs to build trust and teamwork within all of its board members and work together towards that goal.

“I believe that all of the board members have best interest of kids at heart, but we need to do a better job setting an example for them.   I’ve advocated recently for some additional board development work.  We need to work on providing better long range vision for the district and work on setting better ways to disagree and handle conflict.  And that should be done and agreed to before the conflict arises.   If we productively discuss the areas where opinions differ, we likely will make better decisions in the long run,” she said. “I can tell you this, I’m committed to civility and working towards the betterment of our district and willing to put in that type of work and listen to the suggestion of others,” Herr added.

In regards to open enrollment issues, Herr said that Oskaloosa is not the only district facing this issue and that it is a statewide problem, especially among districts Oskaloosa’s size. Herr advocated for more communication among all parents who open enroll their children into or out of the district as they look to resolve this problem.

“The school should continue to keep in touch with parents because this is a useful dialogue to continue and learn from. I think we should do the same for the 50-60 kids who are enrolling into our district each year —  Let’s learn more about why and make sure we are talking about those reasons as well. Continue the focus on  improving student achievement as a district; then let’s also take a more purposeful approach to P/R for our district so people have facts and a balance of information from which to make the best choices for their families,” Herr said

Incumbent Shelly Herr is running unopposed for the Director District 2 seat on the School Board. All votes in the district can vote for the Director District 5 seat regardless of if they live in Director District 2. School Board Elections will be held on September 12. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots can be cast until 5 p.m. on September 11 in the Mahaska County Auditor’s Office. On election day, voters can vote at one of two vote centers, whichever is most convenient. Voter centers will be located at the ISU Extension Office on North I Street or at the Assembly of God Church on Highway 23 South.