When voters fill out their ballots on Nov. 3, the number of candidates vying for spots on the Board of Education will be limited: three candidates for two spots.
Current board members Lee Barclay and Pam Phelps are not seeking re-election, which leaves two four-year seats to be filled.
Franz Langegger, Robert Martin and Kim Shumaker are the candidates who hope to fill those seats.
A third board member, Bill Keenist, is running unopposed for his seat, the term of which expires Dec. 31, 2010.
Langegger, who does facility maintenance for Rochester Community Schools, has lived in the school district for the past 13 years. He has two daughters who attend Lakeville Elementary. He worked on the Addison Fire Department for 10 years and is a member of the Elk club.
One of the reasons that Langegger is running is to make sure that no programs or staff get cut in these difficult financial times.
He said that there are excellent programs currently in the district that he would like to see expanded district wide.
‘The districts need to find different ways to budget the Federal and State funding, we need to also not just go with that, we also have to go with different public and private grants…something to help subsidize the programs that are out there.?
‘We have excellent, dedicated staff in the schools, teachers, support staff, principals, administrators; they’re all excellent and we can’t afford to lose any of them.
Langegger feels that as long as they keep the budget in line as well as a rainy day fund, the school district can keep moving forward in a positive direction.
‘We do need to find other ways of getting funds into the districts.?
Langegger sees the function of a board member as maintaining education, making sure that the budget is accounted for, that there is no wasteful spending and being a mediator from the public to the board.
Langegger noted that one of the problems with the board is the lack of communication between its members and the public.
‘We need to have more open communication, not just listening to the students and the staff, we have to listen to the community. We are not only accountable for the students and staff, we also have to be accountable for the whole district.?
‘We have to account to the state what we are doing and account to the federal government on how we are teaching our children in academics.?
Martin, an Oxford resident for 13 years, works maintenance for Oxford Parks and Recreation. He has three daughters; one is a junior at Grand Valley State, one is a junior at the University of Michigan and one is a senior at the high school.
He has also served as the co-chair of Oxford Community Schools Strategic Planning Committee, the Oxford Band Boosters President from 2006-2009, the co-chair of the Kids Kingdom Community-Built Playground and he served on the Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Design Committee.
Martin is running for the school board because he wants to have a voice in setting the policies that would further enhance the educational atmosphere, environment and programs available to the students.
He believes that it isn’t the responsibility of the School Board to run the District, but that the District is run through effective policies that the board sets.
He is also in favor of the direction the district is headed.
‘Our students will not only gain the knowledge important for their future success, but also the ability to apply what they’ve learned and how they’ve learned it in solving problems they’ve never encountered or expected,? he said.
His most important issue is finding ways to continue to improve student achievements while receiving less state aid.
‘I will explore every possible way to leverage the District’s resources in addressing the needs of Oxford students and seeking out alternative revenue sources.?
Since moving to Oxford in August 2008, Shumaker has been actively involved in the community, volunteering her time in the schools. She is also a dental hygienist and owns her own interior decorating business.
She has four children; her oldest son attends Kettering University, she has two juniors in high school and one eighth grader at the middle school.
She wants to run for the school board because of how welcomed she has felt since moving to Oxford.
‘I wanted to be part of that and give back to the community and be that same type of person…this community is very open and the schools have been the same way.?
She has served on the school board in other communities in the past, and she finds herself missing that.
‘Our society is going to be global whether we want it to be or not, so I think that it is really important that our kids are prepared for that,? she said. ‘I think that it is really important to keep moving forward as best as you can; if you aren’t moving forward, you are pretty well going to go backwards after a certain amount of time.?
With potential larger cuts looming in the future, Shumaker wants the district to be prepared to be in a position of financial health.
‘We need to focus on keeping Oxford strong so we can take care of our kids in our community.?
Another thing she sees as important is staying up with the current technology.
She also sees that regular communication between the district and parents, students and staff is important.
‘It’s hard to understand things if you don’t have the facts and you don’t know what is going on. It is real important to have discussions with your community and staff as you are going through decisions.?