Five persons interested in becoming members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education appeared during a forum Monday night in the Atlantic Middle School Auditorium. Three seats are up for election on November 5th. One of the candidates was an incumbent, Jenny Williams, who has served for the past four-years. The others included: Mark C. Foegen, a combat Veteran of the U-S Marine Corps and owner of the Fireside Lounge; Nicholas Hunt, a businessman and farmer who has served on several committees; Laura McLean, who has kids in the district and has a Masters Degree in Non-Profit Administration, and Benjamin Winford, who has lived in the area for five-year after moving with his family from Denver, CO., and has worked for the District under Russell Peck.

Atlantic School Board candidates (Left to right): Mark C. Foegen; Nicholas Hunt; Laura McLean; Jenny Williams, and Benjamin Winford.

Questions the candidates were asked included their opinions on the Direction the District is Heading, how do we stem the loss of teachers, and what do they see as the main problem with communications from the administration on down? With regard to the Direction the District is taking, Nick Hunt said the “School culture needs to be improved” by setting the tone at the top, by building trust. Benjamin Winford said he too is concerned about at times, a lack of communication from the top down, and more questions need to be asked on issues, rather than having them being “rubber stamped.”

Incumbent Jenny Williams mentioned some successes, including a pilot program that started five-years at Washington Elementary that has caught the eye of the Dept. of Education in Washington, D-C., because of its success. Williams said a negative, is the “disconnect” on the Board, with people not willing to talk to the Board because they don’t think the Board will listen. She suggested having the Board meetings be videotaped so the public can see what’s going on.

Mark Foegen said there “Is a lack of communication” between the teachers and administration. He said we need to pay more attention to the teachers, and suggested their be liaisons advocating for Junior and Senior students and teachers from each school. Laura McLean said the District has many positive things going for it, like the Aviation Program and other new initiatives. She said teacher turnover, along with attracting and retaining teachers is a problem, but addressing communication and the compensation  structure will foster a better culture within the district.

All but one of the candidates had children or grandchildren in the district, and all but one owns property in the district. Each of the candidates favored regular pay increases for teachers, based on the Cost of Living (COLA), but within the District’ Budget, as it relates to enrollment numbers and other factors, such as early retirement savings, etc.  And as far as what they would favor seeing off-limits if it should come to budget cuts, said STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), should not be touched, while Winford would also prefer not to have the arts and music programs left alone, if possible.

The forum was sponsored by a local media outlet.