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Age
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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No response provided. |
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Family
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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Married – Robin – School Teacher, Gardner-Edgerton
One child – Mallory – Student, Prairie Trail
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Occupation/place of employment
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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Sr. Vice President – Barr-Thorp Electric Co., Inc.
brucedroge@att.net |
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Education
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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BS-EET – Kansas State University
Executive Fellows MBA – Rockhurst University
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Political experience
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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NONE |
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Civic involvement
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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NONE |
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Number of years you have been a resident of the city
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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5yr – Olathe, prior to that 7yr – Overland Park with a short stay in Gardner during construction of our home in Olathe. |
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Would you support an increase in the LOB (Local Option Budget) to enable the district to increase staff salaries?
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uncategorized )
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It is my understanding that the district is already at the maximum LOB rate. I voted in favor of this when it was on the ballot last fall. |
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Do you believe that the cash balances of the school district are too low, about right, or too high?
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General )
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I believe the cash balances are significant. I do not have enough information at this point in time to comment on whether the balances are too high or too low. I do believe that the current system does not provide enough flexibility in how the cash balances are spent which creates excess in some funds while others suffer. |
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How do you feel about the district’s consideration of moving ninth grade students to the high school?
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uncategorized )
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I believe the 9th grade move to the high school has merit. I believe busing kids to and from location is a waste of recourses. I am concerned about how the 9th graders will be mixed in with the upper classmates and about managing a high school effectively with over 2500 students. I spent some time recently with the superintendent of Seaman High School USD 345 in Topeka and their model addressed both of my concerns. At the time of writing this survey, I am not familiar with what Olathe has planned for the integration of the 9th graders. |
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What is your position on charter schools/vouchers that allow for public funds to be spent for private schools?
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uncategorized )
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I believe that if a city cannot create an effective school system then a tax payer should not have to pay twice to educate his or her child. Fortunately for us, we do not have that problem in Olathe or Johnson County. |
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What is the role of a Board member versus the role of the Board? What do you see as the major role of the board of education?
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uncategorized )
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A board member is an individual that hopefully represents the views and interests from their respective district. Together, the board is a forum for parental views, providing administrative oversight and policy design. The board ultimately represents the interests of the community on educational issues. |
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What do you see as the major priorities of the school district for the next five years?
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uncategorized )
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The major priority for our district, and all districts, is the current budget reductions. With the economic decline and housing prices falling, our primary concern will be how to maintain a suitable education for our kids with a revenue decline of 15-20%. There are many that believe the crisis will be over in another 9-12 months. For the sake of everyone, I hope this is correct. The concern I have is what if it is not?
As a businessman, I read the Wall Street Journal everyday. I also listen to a variety of business news shows, investment conference calls, and attend economic outlook meetings. My concern is we are currently preparing to take on more debt at time when the entire country is trying to deleverage. I’m not convinced assuming more debt at this moment in time is the financially responsible thing to do. I have not had a lot of time to research this concern so I hope it is unwarranted. I will say that the company I help run is working hard to shore up our balance sheet, not leverage it further.
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What changes, if any, would you recommend in the school finance formula?
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uncategorized )
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I do not know enough about the formula to comment on this question. |
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Do you support recent actions by the Kansas Supreme Court to increase school funding?
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uncategorized )
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I believe that our schools are producing excellent students at the current level of cost to the tax payer and would question what benefit would be realized by the additional revenue. |
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Why do you want to serve on the Board of Education and what makes you especially qualified to do so?
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uncategorized )
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Why I decided to run for school board:
I have been asked by many of my friends why I decided to run for the Olathe School Board. It was not an easy decision. The time commitment involved is extensive and I really have no interest in becoming a politician. But after watching the 6/9 bond issuance unfold, I felt it was time to learn more about where my daughter was going to school and how my taxes were being spent. And the best way to learn is to get involved. Just as the old saying goes:
Tell me and I forget
Teach me and I remember
Involve me and I learn
- Ben Franklin
I believe the parents and community deserve someone representing them that can bring a high level of fiscal accountability. I am a parent of a child in the Olathe School District (so I do have a stake in the game). As I have become involved in the schools, attending a few of the board meetings and reviewing the issues, it has become increasingly apparent to me that the parents of this district need clear and open communication.
I am a businessman and have strong experience in demonstrating smart leadership during challenging economic times. At the same time, I am the husband of a school teacher. I understand the challenges a teacher faces in Johnson County. As such, I want to advocate for teachers and the job they do in the classroom.
As a graduate from Kansas State University and Rockhurst University, I am pro-education and I want the best for my junior high daughter. At the same time, I believe we have placed enough burden on the taxpayer. Simply raising taxes, increasing fees and elevating debt levels during a time of economic challenge is not the only answer and is certainly not the best answer.
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If the Olathe District Schools Board of Education is called upon to make significant budget cuts in the 2009 and 2010 budgets, what approach you would take? (For example, should cuts be across the board or should they be more strategically targeted? If the latter, please list the first 5 budget items or categories you would examine to reduce, prioritized from 1 to 5.)
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Education )
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Considering I received this survey 2 days ago, I have not had time to review the Olathe School budget in detail enough to provide direction at this time. I am concerned that based on Dr. All’s presentation, we need to prepare for 15-20% budget cuts. As Dr. All pointed out in her presentation, 75% of the operating budget is staff. In her view, meeting the 09-10 budget means there will be less staff.
That said, I have always felt that terminating people is a last resort during an economic downturn. I feel this way because it doesn’t help the problem. With less people employed, there are fewer people spending money. Furthermore, hiring and training quality people is extremely expensive and time consuming. If a business is properly managed, it should be prepared for the inevitable swings in a market. The question that remains is if what we are currently facing is a swing or a more serious decline.
Given the fact that Dr. All says there will be less staff, then class sizes will inevitably increase. If class sizes increase, how will this affect the 6/9 transition plans? I believe that the 6/9 transition is something that needs to be considered with regards to our current budget crisis.
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Our local school districts are facing the potential of cuts in previously proposed FY2010 funding increases due to the lack of revenue being generated, and projected to be generated, by the state. As a locally elected member of our school board, please explain your perspectives on the following issues:
i. Should statewide tax rates be increased?
ii. Should local tax levels (i.e. property taxes) be increased?
iii. Should the Legislature grant greater taxing authority to school boards to utilize the Local Option Budget?
iv. Should the local school district simply absorb the loss of revenue through spending cuts?
v. Other thoughts/ideas?
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uncategorized )
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Taxation is the easy way and sometimes the only way. It is very easy to simply raise taxes rather than doing without. I believe that educating our children is very important but feeding them and providing shelter is equally as important. If the budget has grown beyond what the tax base can support, then we have failed to properly manage the business. Furthermore, it is a bit insensitive to increase the burden on the community when so many of them are losing their jobs.
That said, the Olathe School District has significant contingency funds available to them but unfortunately the funds are not available to cover operating expenses. I believe that the state should authorize the decoupling of the LOB and also allow the school some flexibility with how it uses the money currently held in the various reserve accounts.
Lastly, I would support a tax increase provided it was offset by an equal decrease in another area, I.E. moving money from one bucket to another.
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