Recordpub.com - Crestwood Board of Education

By Don Jovich
Record-Courier staff writer
Seven candidates are seeking three open seats of the five-member school board in the Crestwood School District.
Candidates seeking the posts are incumbents William Guegold and Bonnie Crowder, and Kathy Schillo, Kenneth Justus, David Becker, Patric McCon and David Cline.
A common goal of all of the candidates is to ensure that the students at Crestwood receive the highest quality of education available.
"Crestwood offers a high quality academic program designed to meet the needs of every student," said Superintendent Joe Iacano.
Both Guegold and Crowder come with a wealth of experience serving the educational needs of the district.
Among the newcomers, are McCon, who is an engineer; Justus, who is a full-time firefighter; Becker and Cline, who both have extensive business backgrounds; and Schillo, who works for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The district serves approximately 2,600 students in Kindergarten through 12th grade from Mantua, Hiram, Shalersville and Hiram and Mantua townships.
Board members are elected to serve terms of four years each.
In addition to regular education programs, Crestwood offers extensive gifted and disabled student services, comprehensive intervention programs for students who need additional help, Advanced Placement classes for college credit and a variety of career and vocational programs.
Crestwood students also benefit from arts programs including instrumental music, vocal music and a wide variety of art classes. These programs have been recognized regionally, state-wide and nationally for their quality.
In 2006, Crestwood met 21 of 25 standards on the Ohio Local Report Card.

Crestwood Board of Education
Three to be elected
Term: Four years

Name: David A. Becker
Occupation: Plant manager and part owner, Catacel Corp.
Previous elected office: None
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "There are several important issues that face the Crestwood District. They range from the effect that pay-to-participate fees have had on the retention of star athletes to the effect that bottom-of-the-barrel teacher pay has had on the ability to recruit and retain star teachers and administrators. Other important issues range from the belief that teachers and administrators are not held accountable for the same level of performance that they expect from their students to the need for an objective performance evaluation process for top District administrators. At the core is the issue of trust. The ability of the District to raise the revenue that is required to provide an above-average education is tied directly to the level of trust that voters have in the Board of Education and District administration."

Name: David V. Cline
Occupation: Sales and marketing
Previous elected office: None
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "The most important issue facing the Crestwood Board of Education is credibility and communication. In order for the community to better understand the needs of our school district, the Board and administration have to become more esponsive to the community and begin to implement some of the communication methods suggested by the members of the Crestwood community. The second most important issue is funding. Crestwood has a short reprieve from it's financialwoes but the lack of adequate funding is a serious issue that will have to be addressed in the near future."

Bonnie Crowder
Occupation: Assistant manager at Aurora Farms, the Bass store.
Previous elected office: 16 years on Crestwood School Board
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "Trying to keep all the academic and extracurricular activities available for everyone. Also, there's always state funding issues. we never know year to year what we're going to get and that's our main portion for running the school. And making sure we maintain our good reputation for academics and extracurriculars."

William K. Guegold
Occupation: Professor, Director of the School of Music at The University of Akron
Previous elected office: Seeking a third consecutive term on the Crestwood Board of Education
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "First and foremost is attempting to maintaining the highest quality educational program with the resources provided by the state and the local community."

Kenneth Justus
Occupation: Full time lieutenant with the Mantua-Shalersville Fire Department and part time police officer with the Mantua Police Department
Previous elected office: None
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "My number one priority will be to ensure that the students receive an excellent education. I believe that an investment into the teachers is an investment into our children's futures. I believe in pinching pennies and improving employee efficiency."

Pat McCon
Occupation: Safety engineer
Previous elected office: None
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "1. Restoring the confidence of the community in the schools. The voters have repeatedly voted "no confidence' during levy campaigns, and the Board has sent mixed messages about the need for additional funding. 2. Ensuring that the district remains financially secure without creating undue hardship on parents and students. 3. Increasing the percentage of Crestwood graduates who go on to further their education in college or technical school. The days of getting a high-paying factory job right out of high school are over. Some of those jobs are still there, but they are now very competitive and often require education beyond high school. Our academic test scores are high, but many of our students aren't motivated to continue their education. Only a little over 40 percent of our students go on to college or technical school."

Name: Kathy Schillo
Occupation: Office assistant for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Previous elected office: Village of Oakwood Councilwoman from 1995 to 1995
Question: What are the most important issues facing the school district?
Answer: "1. Tight budget restraints due to unfair state funding formulas, which adversely effect the quality of education by making it difficult to maintain dedicated teachers, fully supported sports programs and providing transportation. 2. To improve community relations."