Oak Ridge School Board: James Seyer

Age: 49

Place of birth: Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Spouse, children's names:

Lisa LeAnn Seyer

Hunter Seyer 20 years old 2013 graduate of Oak Ridge and currently a Junior at Missouri S&T at Rolla, MO

Hayden Seyer 14 years old and is in 8th grade at Oak Ridge Middle School

Occupation: Service Mechanic

Employer: Forklifts of Cape - Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Businesses owned, all or part: J&C Seyer Farms, Oak Ridge, MO

Previous offices held or sought:

Currently Vice-President of Oak Ridge School Board

Do you currently hold the office for which you are running? Yes

What makes you the most qualified candidate for this position?

Having served on the board the past 6 years, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience on what it takes to make a school succeed. I have lived and farmed in the Oak Ridge area for the past 49 years and I am proud of our community. I want to do my part in making sure we are giving our children a great foundation to become successful students and successful adults.

What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing your school district?

With safety as our number one priority, looking for continuous improvement in our equipment and challenging our thinking on how we can be a safer school for our children, teachers and staff members. Another challenge is the reduced State and Federal funding that is making it difficult to have a balanced budget. It is key to the change and needs of the children and staff.

If elected, do you have any plans for improving the school district?

My main focus is making sure the students, teachers and staff have the right "tools" for their education/job. The board team must put the children's needs in the forefront of every decision made. The great people of our community have answered the schools needs by serving on different committees formed to evaluate improvements in areas of technology, facility and extra curricular. These teams and the board team working together is what improves our school.