College hosts forum for Mesa Public School governing board candidates
Mesa Community College hosted a Mesa Public Schools governing board candidate forum on September 17 at the Southern and Dobson campus, where candidates spoke on the future of the district in preparation for the upcoming governing board election.
The event took place in MCC’s Navajo Room and lasted for about two hours. The event was broadcasted live on Mesa Public School’s YouTube channel.
On November 5, voters will elect three Mesa Public Schools board members in the general election. This year’s candidates running for the three openings are Sharon Benson, Lacy Chaffee, Josh Chilton, Courtney Davis and Ed Steele.
According to the Mesa Public School’s website, the board members are elected by Mesa voters and serve staggered four-year terms without pay.
Among other responsibilities, the governing board sets district goals, approves and monitors the district budget, approves curriculum and textbooks, hires and evaluates the superintendent, the website added.
The event was organized by Tawn Hauptli, advisor for MCC’s Educators Rising club. Hauptli described her mission was to give her students an overview of what it takes to become a teacher, to run a school district, and get familiar with different aspects of the field such as politics and funding.
“My hope is that this forum allows my students to understand the agenda, as Sharon Benson said, but understand the goals of those individuals who serve on the governing board and how that impacts their future as a teacher, how it impacts the well-being of the students that are in the school, and how it impacts the community,” stated Hauptli.
The forum was moderated by ABC15 multimedia journalist, Elenee Dao, who introduced all five candidates prior to the forum.
The candidate forum covered a variety of topics ranging from visions for K-12 education, safety measures at school sites, community engagement and obstacles for academic proficiency.
“We need to be developing strategies to help those students and those families be successful. It requires a great deal of support for those families and I want to make sure that their voices are heard and that the students are feeling like they’re a part of our community,” stated candidate Lacy Chaffe.
Many candidates such as Josh Chilton expressed their excitement about being involved in Mesa Public Schools and bringing positive change to the district.
“I am so excited to be running for school board, I’ve never done the politics thing before, but as a dad and as somebody who’s been so involved in school’s for the past number of years, I see so much potential and so much great things already being done at Mesa Public Schools, and we need people who can get on the board, who can work collaboratively, who can work together, who can work in interest of our schools,” stated candidate Josh Chilton.
Candidates such as Ed Steele, expressed that their experience in the field and strategies to build the district are what make them right for the job.
“My engineering experience of applying critical analytical skills to complex systems, to identify deficiencies and implement solutions is going to be critical to improving our student outcomes,” stated candidate Ed Steele.
Candidate Sharon Benson spoke on the importance of having an agenda to create many opportunities for students that attend the Mesa Public School district.
“We have many future educators here, you’ll have an agenda on your board that sets the order and structure of your classroom. When we are at board meetings, we have an agenda that sets the order and structure of our meetings. So as a board member I do have an agenda. That allows me to be focused on what it is that needs to be done in Mesa,” stated Benson
Candidate Courtney Davis stated in her closing statement that even though public speaking could be out of her comfort zone, she still commits to it in hopes of becoming elected and helping pave the way for the district.
“Coming out and speaking in public is way out of my comfort zone, but when this open board seat came a year ago, I decided to apply for it because I knew the importance of public education in our communities and knew I had desired to serve. Because I am a parent in this district I am committed to this district, to doing good things and wanting good for all of our students,” stated Davis.
After the event, candidates walked the floor of the Navajo Room to speak with students and attendees, answering questions along the way.
Voter registration deadline is October 7 and early ballots will be mailed October 9. For more information, visit the Maricopa County Elections Department website.
