Parents, teachers, students, and other community members shuffle into the auditorium as the clock crawls to 7 p.m. Once entered, the audience members take their seats and wait patiently for the 2024 school board candidate forum to begin. The four candidates return from backstage to arrange themselves in their chairs, center stage under the many spotlights aimed at them. The crowd settles down, and the barrage of questions, subtle remarks, and political intricacies start to fly. Mrs. Melanie Renken, a mother and graduate of the district, felt that overall the forum was successful in introducing the candidates. 

“I thought the forum went well, and I felt that the students came up with fantastic questions,” Mrs. Renken said.

The forum opened with a short self-introduction from each of the candidates, addressing who they are in a brief two-minute monologue. A set of questions written by FHC Publications Staff followed, with each candidate receiving 90 seconds to respond to every question. The candidates were able to discuss a number of topics — ranging from details about themselves to certain stances they take on issues. 

As for the details regarding who each candidate is, they all were asked about why they would be the best choice, their background, and why they want to be on the board. When it came to their specific views towards problems within FHSD, they were provided questions about COVID-19, bathroom policy, literature, racism, fiscal policy, and teacher retention, which can be found here.

After intense discussion of these topics, audience members were invited to write their own questions on index cards which would be soon after asked to the candidates. With many of the attendees fired up about this election, their questions were direct and incited the most heated debates of the night. Mrs. Renken asked a question regarding being able to keep teachers in the district.

“All candidates: What experience do you have that you could bring to the table in helping to retain teachers?” Mrs. Renken said. After candidates explained their action plan for this hot-button issue, Mrs. Renken felt that the importance of maintaining teachers shouldn’t be understated.

“I thought it was important that all four candidates recognized problems with teacher retention,” Mrs. Renken said. “It is critical that our district does something to keep teachers from leaving and stop the bleeding.”

With the number of teachers leaving (138 after the 2022-2023 year) the district each year, it leaves community members wondering why. Among all of the arguments made that night, a few stood out. On one side, disciplinary and salary issues are pushing away ignored teachers, which board candidate Adriana Kuhn supported. On the other, teachers grow tired of being called “sexual indoctrinators,” similar to what Steven Blair believed. Beyond why, though, Mrs. Renken believed that Carolie Owens had the best plan of action to fix this.

“I felt that since she was an educator herself, Carolie Owens is going to have more insight in terms of what it takes to keep a teacher. It’s not about simply economics, it’s about feeling valued,” Mrs. Renken said.

Teacher retention was but one conversation among many that night, however. A major talking point of candidate Kuhn was related to the previous board’s plan of removing advanced classes and adding advanced curriculum to all other classes in middle schools. Kuhn contended that the removal of such classes was taking away opportunities for accelerated students to get an education that challenged them. Supporting Kuhn’s claim, Senior Class President of Francis Howell North Grant Kilen described his view on the use of advanced classes in school.

“Those advanced classes got me ahead in multiple subjects in middle school, so they’re very important to me. Classes like those help students get credits out of the way so that they can pursue courses that are going to apply more to them,” Kilen said. 

The forum posed many thought-provoking questions and was the catalyst for broad discussions among the community about the direction of the district. As Apr. 2, 2024 – the election day for the school board – approaches, local voters are brought to consider their values as they relate to their community’s public education. Those interested in more information about casting their vote may find it here.