This is the fifth story in a nine-part series featuring the candidates in the city and School Board races.
There will be two open seats for the School Board, with five people running for the seats.
Early voting for the election will begin in-person Oct. 15. Advance ballots will also be mailed Oct. 15. The last day to apply for an advance voting mail ballot is Oct. 28.
The county election office will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 15 through Oct. 24, then 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 27 through Oct. 31. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 1, Eudora City Hall and the county election office will also be open for advanced voting. Nov 3 is the last day for advanced voting, which will be from 8 a.m. to noon at the election office.
Regular voting will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 4.
Tony Barron
Current Job
Director of Facilities Management for Johnson County government.
Community involvement
Coaching various sports in town, formerly on Eudora Schools Foundation board, capital bond campaign, middle school Linkup program, youth program at church.
Why are you running for election?
I think community is important. I love working with youth, and I think giving them the opportunity to be successful in the future is something that I truly believe in. Opportunity is important to me. I just want to ensure that our community, particularly our board and school district, is providing those opportunities and in a caring and passionate, loving way.
What issues are most important to you?
There’s not one that really resonates with me right now, but I’ll speak a little bit to the strategic plan, which I think that the “future ready” part of is something that really, as I look through that, is something that’s important.
And in my role in as a director of Facilities Management, I see students come in and making sure that they’re ready for the workforce, whether it’s college, whether they’re going to four-year college, two-year, or just coming straight out of high school, there’s so many skills to learn, so many different paths. The future ready part, somewhat it does resonate with me as far as just making sure that those kids are set up for success and prepared, and it’s going to be different. So, just want to make sure they understand that.
The culture of belonging, I think, is important on that same focus area. I remember we transferred in 2017. We lived in Lawrence and decided to come over to Eudora schools and just the atmosphere as I walked with my high school principal at the time, as my kids transferred over, it was just instant welcoming and belonging, which I think was very important. And then at the same time, when we moved over in 2018, the neighborhood, the community welcomed us also.
What steps need to be done by the district to continue to prepare for any growth as Panasonic is officially open, if any?
Yeah, I think just being – this is really a yearly outlook – I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to plan too many years in advance, but also with the understanding that infrastructure, housing, other things, schools, are important to be prepared for. We’re fortunate, in my opinion, from what I’ve seen on the numbers, we have capacity in our schools to handle an increase. What that number looks like, I don’t know, but it’s not just the schools. It’s also the community, right? How can we build affordable housing for people who are coming in, who may not have a livable wage? That’s important, because it’s going to affect the students that come in.
So, just making sure, if we do see an influx of manufacturing jobs, I don’t know what the pay level is, but if we’re seeing those students come into our district, just making sure that we’re recognizing that and making sure we have programs in place to help a system to get them in place, and then if they’re struggling with whatever situation they might be in, as far as trying to relocate and being prepared for that.
How do you hope to improve the educational experience for students in the district?
You know, that’s a great question. As a board member, I understand my role as the policy. How do I help modify, reinforce or create new policy that’s best for our kids? The instructional excellence part of the focus area is something I believe is important. If you look at the scores, I did look at the Kansas state grade card, and we’re very fortunate, compared to the state, that we’re doing well in many of those, in all three areas.
I do see a little bit of a fluctuation in one of those areas. And just trying to identify, you know, if we’re on an increase, that’s great. But if we’re seeing some decline in areas or what, how can we identify those pinch points and what that looks like?
So really, just leaning on our administration, leaning on our staff, leaning on our superintendent to make sure that he’s seeing those trends and understanding those trends, making sure we’re aligning with our district plan and so, yeah, just making sure I can help him reinforce policy,
What is the board’s role in helping to recruit and retain staff and teachers?
Yeah, I think the sense of the culture and engagement, in my opinion, is something that’s important. I don’t think we can look across the board at salaries and say that that’s what’s keeping people in Eudora. In my opinion, I think the values that we have here, the community values, are more important to make sure that we are assisting our teachers and administrations in accomplishing the goals that we’ve set forth for them.
But those values play a big role in that we also, I mean, I’m not going to say we can’t be competitive. We have to be competitive with the salary. Inflation and escalation is just rising every year. How do we keep up with the cost of living? Because that’s important. At the same time, how do we market the community? Right? How do we market it if we do lose a teacher, whether it’s retirement or to decide to move on, how do we market it to bring teachers in, to understand that there’s so much more than just a wage that we offer here?
What would you like to see from the Legislature to provide better support for K-12 education?
Yes, from my past experience in education, I feel like special education has been a big draw on funds. And I understand by law, districts, not just Eudora, but all Kansas districts, are allocated to receive more funds than what they currently receive. What I’d like to see from the Legislature is just taking a very comprehensive look at that per pupil cost, integrating into it the programs that have been introduced in the schools over the past 10, 15 years with mental health, with, of course, IEPs, have been around for a while, but just making sure that if we’re going to take time to do more one-on-one with students and making sure they have the opportunity that the state is following that with legislation to be able to fund those initiatives.
What is the district’s greatest strength?
I think the community value of just belonging is good, and the expectations also. I feel like when we walk into this district, there’s an expectation on many levels that you perform to your highest level. I see it with teachers. I’ve had it with my own kids, where a teacher may notice that my son may not be putting the effort out that they believe they’re capable of. And I’ve received those emails. I’ve received those phone calls.
And I think that, to me, is very important for that to be recognized. So the expectation to do the best that you’re capable of doing, right? Doing your best is something that’s important. And then just from – I think about an extracurricular activity, of being involved in extracurricular activities, studies show that that just creates a higher GPA, more involvement, and I think that expectation, whether it be the arts, whether it be sports, the expectation to perform in those areas to the best of your ability and to be recognized at the state level. The expectation is that we’re going to compete, we’re going to do our best, and we expect to be one of the better 4A schools in Kansas.
What about the biggest challenges for the district?
I think, without being really involved in it right now, I’m going to say, just for me, it’s just recognizing kids who are walking into school with less opportunity, and being able to identify that and help them. We don’t want to enable by any means. But how can we afford to take that extra time to be able to have those conversations and recognize the challenges and struggles that some of these kids are walking into school with, and then just being able to give them the opportunity to be successful. They’re going to have to work harder than some kids, and that’s just a fact of life, but I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s a challenge today or not. That’s just me from the outside looking in.
What is your vision for the future of the district?
The vision for the future is really just to continue to progress and while keeping the small-town values that’s a balance, you know, how do you move forward? Be innovative, be progressive, at the same time you want growth. But while keeping Eudora at a 1,600 to 1,700 student level and keeping the community small, and keeping those values in as people move in and out of the community, you know, how do we reinforce the fact that we are a loving and caring community and we care about one another? I think that’s kind of just keeping that, keeping that alive is something that’s important for me.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I just appreciate the opportunity, for one, to speak with you and to share my perspective on things. I also understand that we have four other candidates running, and I think the community is fortunate to have that many people interested in the School Board position. So I’m excited about the opportunity … and excited to see the outcome.