Cape Girardeau School Board candidate Missy Herbst Smith

Name Missy Herbst Smith

Age 44 years

Place of Birth Cape Girardeau, MO

Spouse, children's names

Husband: Lee Smith

Children: Cooper Smith, 12 years and Emma Grace Smith, 9 years

Occupation: Child Care Supervisor

Employer: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Business owned, all or part

none

Previous offices held or sought

none

What makes you the most qualified candidate for this position?

The Cape Public Schools have added several pre-k classrooms in the district and would like to expand these programs for the children they serve. I believe my education and experience in child development and early childhood education would benefit the district as they seek ways to expand and provide more opportunities to children in the district that are not already served by quality early childhood programs in our area.

What do you see as the opportunities and challenges in the district?

I believe the time is right to expand early childhood programs throughout the district. While there are many children that have the advantage of attending a high quality early childhood program, I believe we can better serve those children who do not. We can do this by creating new classrooms and working with existing programs in our area to benefit more children in the district.

How will you communicate your work to your constituents?

I think that there is already ample opportunity for the constitutes to communicate with the board, but not everyone knows how or where to start. I would like to board members have a presence in parent meetings to introduce ourselves and explain what the board does. It gives our constituents a "jumping off" point to communicate with someone they know.

What are the factors on which you will base your decisions as a school board member?

I think that input from everyone with a vested interest, of course, is key; however, without that communication it is hard to know the wishes of the constituents. I think that over the past few years the board has greatly expanded their availability, but continuing find new ways to communicate is important. There are always factors in any decision that not everyone will know about or understand, and working with key people will be important.