Woodland School Board candidates speak out

Three candidates have filed to serve on Woodland School Board. Two seats are available. Voters in the April 5 municipal election will choose from Lance VanGennip, Shari Cook-Koenig and Tim Hastings.

• Lance VanGennip was elected to Woodland School Board in 2019 after serving the previous year as a fill-in, and he is the current sitting president for the school board.

His past board experience was with Bollinger County Coop and Harmony Church, and he is still serving on the Bollinger County Soil and Water Board.

"As a school board member I am very interested in seeing the vocational, agricultural and business trades being offered to our students," VanGennip said. "As a rural community, these trades will benefit many students who will not have college ambitions, but will give them the opportunity to lead productive and stable lives.

"Retaining and attracting teachers is a high priority for Woodland. In order to attract teachers, Woodland School Board has done its best to stay competitive with surrounding schools with salary schedules and benefit packages, while still staying within our budget means. Our community can be very proud of the teachers we have retained in our district. Many have a vested interest in our students and community that often goes far above what is required of them.

"Mathematics is the program that I feel needs the most attention in our school. It is not just a problem within Woodland, but across the nation. No matter the career of choice, math is going to be an essential part of life."

VanGennip grew up in Bollinger County, attended Woodland from K-12 and graduated in 2005. He has been a lineman for Black River Electric Cooperative for 16 years. He and his wife, Betsy, have two boys who both attend Woodland Elementary School.

• Shari Cook-Koenig is running for school board because she wants to be an advocate for students and staff and support the mission of the school.

"I feel I can bring a level-headed, curious and open-minded approach to the situations and responsibilities handled by the board," Koenig said. "I am proud to be an alumnus of Woodland High School, and I want to serve our school and community by being a member of the board.

"I was asked to answer the question, 'What could the school district do to attract and retain teachers?' At this moment, I can only answer this with the approach I would take within my own team at my employer. There would be many things to review, one of which would be to evaluate the reasons for attrition. Another would be to examine other school districts where attrition is not occurring and determine if there are best practices that can be adopted. I also think it's valuable to solicit feedback from existing staff for concerns and issues that could be contributing to the challenges of attracting and retaining teachers. Once the data and feedback are gathered and analyzed, then determine the best plan of action to move forward based on the options available that are best for school as a whole."

Koenig has spent most of her life in Bollinger County and graduated from Woodland High School in 1995. She is married to Randy Koenig, a 1992 graduate of Leopold High School, and they have a senior and freshman attending Woodland High School who are involved in both academic and athletic programs.

"My family and I live in Scopus where we have a small cattle farm. I have been employed by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for over 20 years and am currently a senior manager of a multi-functional support team with over 30 team members. I also co-manage a small home baking business, Sister's Sweets, and I am the organizer of BOCO Student Travelers. I am a member of Connection Point Church in Jackson, and also the Woodland Booster Club."

• Tim Hastings wants to make a difference, be an advocate and a voice for the taxpayers and students in Woodland School District. That is why he is running for a seat on Woodland School Board.

Hastings said he wants to "make a positive change for the future of our students and school. I want our school to progress. To unite the school with the community, to make an allocated budget for all entities at the school; there is none. To spend some of our reserve money which is millions -- the public isn't informed -- to make our school great again."

Labor retention can be solved, he said, with some easy steps.

"Treat employees with respect and treat them good. By increasing some pay, you will get better staff that will be invested in the community," he said.

Hasting said Woodland's ratings are C+ for academics, B- for teachers, A- for club activities, C for diversity, C- for college prep, A for health and safety, and that 37% of the students are proficient in math, and 44% are proficient in reading.

"We have millions in reserve money. Let's spend some and increase all of our state grades in academics and all school entities," he said. "No telling how great our school could be. It's been stagnant for many years. Let's make Woodland great again."

Hastings is a carpenter and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He attended school at Lutesville, Woodland and SEMO.

He is a member of the Optimist Club and Booster Club, and he has three children who are in seventh, eighth and 10th grades.