By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Two incumbents on the Hays USD 489 school board are out, and four new faces were elected to seats during Tuesday night’s election.
The new board members will be facing a rewrite of the capital outlay budget, which is due back to the board and January, and strained relations with teachers. The board has yet to come to a contract agreement with the union.
Tammy Wellbrock, Allen Park, Craig Pallister and Lori Hertel all won seats on the Hays school board as the top four of nine candidates. Incumbents Luke Oborny and Paul Adams did not retain their seats. Incumbents Mandy Fox and Greg Schwartz chose not to run for re-election.
Wellbrock, a business owner, said she has a unique view of the economic impact schools have on the community and attributed that in part to her win.
“I think that is a distinctively different advantage that I’ve had over some of the other candidates,” she said, “in just being able to see where the school district kind of plays a factor in all of that— in the bigger scope of what our community needs and what is looking at in terms of progress.”
Wellbrock said her first goal as a newly elected official will be to learn more about her new post. She plans to attend the Kansas Association of School Boards training in January.
“It is not just me coming on. There are four of us,” she said. “I have to figure out what that group of people, this new group of seven, starting in January, what we need to accomplish.”
She acknowledged the school board is going to be facing some difficult issues come January, including infrastructure and teacher relations, but she said even in two months those are going to be evolving issues.
Wellbrock said she thinks there is a need for another attempt at a bond.
“There is a need to focus on the bond and what should or could that bond be,” she said, “but what makes a passible bond is different from a bond that is going to address needs. Those are two different conversations, and I think we are going to need to look at what makes a passible bond.
“What is needed, but is not necessarily going to be addressed at the bond level, is going to have to be discussed separately. The board is going to have to move forward as if there is not a bond.”
Allen Park, former Washington Elementary School principal, said he is appreciative of the vote of confidence from the community.
“I think if we all work together, we can make a difference,” he said. “We are going to need to pull the community together to accomplish what we need to — the whole entire community. We need to involve them, inform them and be very open and request their assistance to move our district forward.
“I think people in Hays care, and I think they want what is best for our kids, but I also think they want to be involved more.”
Park expressed concern over the report given to the school board on Monday night, which indicated the district is going to need to rewrite its capital improvement plan. The director of building and grounds told the board the district can no longer wait to make repairs on some of its older buildings. District officials had hoped to address some of these issues with a bond, but two bonds have failed since 2016.
“We are going to need to prioritize what needs to be done,” he said. “The board is going to have to work together and cooperate and try to do what is best for kids.”
Park said building trust is going to be important with the district’s teachers, who have entered fact-finding in negotiations after being unable to settle on a contract for the second year in a row.
“I think it is going to take time to build that back,”he said. “Two years in a row — that really damages that relationship. That needs to be improved because that sets the culture, and if the teachers aren’t on board, it is hard to accomplish our board goals when we have that stress on our teachers.”
Craig Pallister, former Hays Middle School principal, also said building trust is going to be important for the board going forward.
“Several of the things that I mentioned during my campaign was building trust between the board and the teachers and all the staff because that is key because of where negotiations are right now,” he said.
“Also letting the people know in the community how good our school district is. We have an outstanding district with outstanding teachers and staff, and we need to get that information out. That is why I suggested maybe hiring a public relations person for the district, not only to talk about the good things that our district is doing, but also what our district needs are like our facilities.”
Pallister said the board needs to look at another bond issue, but issues such as leaking roofs and HVAC systems need to be addressed more immediately through capital outlay funds.
He said he thought the four candidates who were elected are all pro-public schools and should keep the district on track.
Hertel, a mental health professional, said she thought people believed she can make a difference and that was why she was elected.
“I think I have done that in this community on multiple occasions,” she said, “and I think people have known that about me. I think that I can do that over and over and over again and help children. I have a special feeling about children.”
She said she would like to turn the board to focusing on the children and the staff. She also said she was concerned about the inability of the teachers and the board to come to an agreement on a contract.
“I think that is not very good for the working relationship between the board and the employees,” she said. “I think the employees think the board is not looking at their needs. That may not be true, but I am sure that is how they feel.”
Hertel said the board is also going to need to study infrastructure needs and make sure the community is well informed about those needs. She said she thought the board needs to consider another bond attempt.
The new school board members will take their seats in January.
DISCLOSURE: Tammy Wellbrock is married to Gerard Wellbrock, Eagle Radio sports director. He is employed by Eagle Radio, which owns and operates Hays Post.