School District 49 has a few new Board of Education faces following the Nov. 1 election. New members were sworn in Nov. 22, and officers were elected at the same time.Take a gander at the new board members.Board of Education president:Tammy Harold(tharold@d49.org)Harold is a returning BOE member, who has two daughters in the district. She said her interest in the BOE started when her older daughter was in kindergarten. ìI started going to board meetings, then got involved with the PTA,î Harold said. ìI started being on district committees and just decided that serving on the BOE was the next step after being on all these different committees.îHarold has owned an accounting business for 15 years. Because she is able to set her own schedule, she said she tries to visit at least two schools per week. ìI love to be in the schools and see the kids,î she said.The Innovation Zones are helping parents and teachers become more connected, she said. The zones are successfully facilitating the flow from elementary to middle to high school. ìIn this format, teachers can let each other know what the students are missing,î Harold said. ìI think we have some good momentum with our Innovations Zones, and I would like to continue and see that through.îIn her opinion, the biggest obstacles the district faces are the mill levy and bond issues. ìFor the sake of our staff across the entire district to make education better for our students and easier for our staff, I think the mill and bond are necessary,î Harold said. ìThe staff hasn’t had a pay increase in four years, but the benefits they have to pay for have gone up.îAnother challenge is reaching out to the community. ìI just feel like we try to communicate in so many ways and we get to our parents, but we don’t necessarily get to our community that doesn’t have kids in the schools,î she said. Harold would like to encourage everyone to keep up with the district by signing up for the e-mail recaps of board meetings. Board of Education vice president:Joan Ann JohnsonJohnson is new to the BOE as of the Nov. 1 election. She declined to comment at this time.Board of Education treasurer:Marie LaVere-Wright(marielaverewright@msn.com)LaVere-Wright is new to the BOE. She hails from a background in teaching, with three years at Falcon High School. LaVere-Wright resigned from teaching when she and her husband adopted their children. ìI love being home with them and being able to see the impact I have on their lives,î she said.LaVere-Wright said she felt now was the right time to run for the BOE because she can bring a different point of view to the table. ìI felt that we really needed to provide an additional perspective from someone who’s been there,î she said. ìBy the time my youngest graduates, it will have been more than 15 continuous years of having kids in school, which means that we really have to be invested in the long term issues with the district now, not just the short term. In the end, it will affect my family.îOne of the most important things the BOE needs to accomplish is to fully engage the community, LaVere-Wright said. ìI think there is a consensus on that,î she said. ìWe are a board of oversight for the district so we need to make sure that the district is reflective of the community. That’s the entire community, not just the ones with kids. I don’t think that exists right now.îLaVere-Wright said she hopes to have a positive influence on the district. ìI really view this as a position of public service and see myself as a public servant,î she said. ìI view myself as a leader, but I think we all need to remember that we serve our community and our kids. We need to say ëis this truly best for our kids and best for our community?í We need to make sure our perception isn’t just perception. It’s the way things truly are and how our community truly feels.îBoard of Education secretary:Charles Irons(chuck.irons49@gmail.com)Irons is new to the BOE this year as well. Two of his four daughters have already graduated from Falcon High School, and the other two are following in their footsteps. Irons is retired from the traditional work force. ìFor 65 years, I have been the recipient and the beneficiary of other people’s good works,î he said. ìI now have the opportunity to go the other way.îWith 37 years in business, Irons said his experience in the operational aspects and support functions of business makes his perspective unique. ìIf it’s done in this district, I have been exposed to it one way or another in the last 37 years,î he said. ìI think that’s given me a different perspective … I hope to make a contribution to help the district be more productive from an operational point of view, to find ways to help save money to invest in the classroom.ìI want to hear from parents because I want to hear their concerns. I want to interface with the associates of the district to learn how they feel about things, to get input from them and understand their real concerns in the classroom.îHe also would like to hear from students. ìI began to hear from my customers about what concerns them, and we need to do more of that,î Irons said. ìI’m sure it’s been done before but one of my goals is to be in schools to observe and listen. It’s something I look forward to doing.îIrons said the community needs to understand that public school isn’t free. ìAs a community, we have a responsibility to further develop the educational system in Falcon,î he said. ìI am basically a fiscal conservative, and I intend to be very careful and very frugal about how the district uses its resources. Since 2005, we haven’t had an increase in the mill levy or bond issue. If the public trusts us in the future with additional resources, we will be very prudent about how we use those resources.îAbove all, Irons said, ìI enjoy working with people, and I must confess I’m having fun.îBoard of Education director:Christopher WrightWright is a returning member of the BOE. He could not be reached for comment.
