Brad Noel for Jackson R2 School Board
I was born and raised in Springfield, Mo., where I graduated from Central High School in 1990. I attended Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis from 1991-1996 and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration. While in college I met my wife, Jill Gentry-Noel, which brought me here to Jackson. We were married in 1999 and have been blessed with two wonderful children, Lindsey, age 11, and Jason, age 7. Both attend Jackson R2 schools. I have been employed with the City of Jackson for 14 years and am currently the Water Plant Lab Technician.
Over the past few years I have been greatly disappointed in the direction that the Jackson R2 School District has been heading in regards to the education of our children, so I began researching and learning and then began addressing our current board on various issues. They soon grew tired of hearing that we the public were not happy with what was taking place. To avoid having to do their job and address the issues they began refusing to allow us to speak at their monthly meetings for one self-imposed reason or another culminating in the board's statement that all requests to address them must go through the superintendent. A publicly elected body has an inherent duty to allow the public to speak freely and to listen to them intently at their open public board meetings. I believe that transparency, openness, and honesty are of the utmost importance when it comes to overseeing a school district and it is time for the tail to stop wagging the dog at Jackson R2.