Kimball School Board, ISD #739
Positions open:
BOARD MEMBER (3 four-year terms) with 4 candidates: Kurt R. Helgeson (incumbent), Matthew R. Lindberg, Allan Mancini, and Patrick Libbesmeier
Questions asked: (candidate responses are posted below)
1. Why are you running for office at this time?
2. What skills and strengths do you bring to the school board and district?
3. What makes you most proud of the school district?
4. What are your spending priorities for the district’s limited funds? What projects do you see coming up that will require attention (and money)?
5. How do you propose bridging the divide between school and city government, and school and community (especially those taxpayers without children actively in school)? Is this important?
6. What solutions do you envision for making up the $2.3 million that failed to pass with voters?
Kurt Helgeson (board member)
- I have been involved with the planning of the remodeling and addition approved by the voters. I would like to be able to help see the project to completion. I have experience in construction, and feel I would be an asset to the project.
- I have been on the school board for 9 years, and involved in education for over 24 years. This gives me an understanding of the issues facing education, and I feel I can help continue to support the good things happening at Kimball Area Schools.
- The people: this includes the students, staff, teachers, and administration. We have an incredible team of people focused on supporting students and helping them be successful.
- This is a difficult question to answer as there are so many different funds that have to be dedicated to specific areas, and mandates that often must be paid for from the general fund. The two areas that I would focus on is the classroom and facilities. By classrooms, I mean to focus funds where they have the greatest impact on student success in all areas of the school. Facilities is about maintaining the great facilities we have so they will last for many years. The voters support of the levy will allow us to do some very important upgrades to the buildings that will have a positive impact on students and will show off the great things happening at Kimball Area Schools.
- This is very important. The school is an integral part of the community. The key is communication. Communicating with the city (and townships) and all of the residents of the community allows everyone to know what is important to the school and how this helps support the city and townships. Continued growth of enrollment at the school is critical, and this needs a strong community that is growing to make it happen.
Communicating with taxpayers without children in school will help them see why the school should be important to them. We also need to communicate with them about the opportunities for them offered by the school.
- The school will need to explore different options. Hopefully the cost of the remodel and addition will be underbudget as that may allow for some funds to be available, especially the parking lots that really need to be replaced. There also are grants and other funding sources that will have to be considered. This could include using some of the general fund money to address the needs. Unfortunately, this will mean we do not have those funds for the classroom and other areas needing funding.
I think the levy was a good example how the district has focused on the critical needs of the district. There are always “nice” to have items. The district simply does not have the funding for those items, but that does not mean we are not providing an outstanding education for our students that I would compare to any other school in the state.
Matthew Lindberg (board member)
Introduction: My wife and I moved to the Kimball area to start our family in 2002. We have 3 children in the Kimball schools and have been very pleased with the education that they have received. We live on a small farm south of town, and I work as a Mechanical Engineer for a local manufacturing company. I volunteer in 4-H, FFA, and Kimball Robotics. I am active in St. Anne’s Catholic Church, and my wife and I teach religious education in the Holy Saints ACC. I feel that my most important job in life is being a positive role model for my kids and others in the community.
- 2020 & 2021 opened my eyes to the importance of a strong school board that upholds the values of the community. I love freedom, and want to ensure that we continue to foster that spirit in our schools.
- Community & local business connections. Knowledge and resources for agriculture and STEM programs. Ability to come up with creative solutions for complicated problems.
- I am very proud of the fact that our students still recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, and that we are focused on learning.
- Security for a safe learning environment, building maintenance, and core learning resources should be the focus for our budget. The school budget and what we are spending community members’ hard-earned money on should be an open book available at any time.
- I don’t feel there is a divide; I feel that community members are very supportive of programs and spending that make sense.
- I don’t believe that we need to make up the $2.3M as we never had it to spend. We will need to come up with creative, economical solutions that offer the same level of education for our kids. Possibly schedules that allow the current playground equipment to be used by both elementary and preschool students, and the parking lots will have to do for now.
Allan Mancini (board member)
- As a Kimball graduate, recently moved back to the area, I am looking to get more involved and give back to the community. I have two young children who will be starting school in a couple years, so I am looking forward to helping improve the Kimball School District for current and future students.
- In my current occupation, communication is very important. I need to be able to listen to the entire problem as well as be able to explain the solution in a clear manner. I have a very well-rounded point of view. I feel it is very important to be able to see both sides of a debate clearly.
- It has always been felt that the District has had a tight budget but, even with a small budget, Kimball has been able to improve/add activities and make some much needed classroom updates. Since I was in school, Kimball has added activities such as a Robotics program and has built some very competitive sports teams.
- The referendum that passed is a good start to improving the schools. I feel it is important that we find a good balance between spending on different activities and making improvements to classrooms. We need to make sure we are spending taxpayer money wisely on students and necessary facility updates, while guarding against any unnecessary expenses. To best assure taxpayers that their money is being spent on students, we should be transparent and keep them up-to-date as projects are being completed, via social media, newspaper, or in-person tours.
- I feel it is important to close any divide between school and city government. To do this we need to make sure everyone in the community has a voice, and that they are being heard. As the School District grows and gets better, it will draw in more families to the community, which in turn will help our community to thrive.
- We need to work with the community to better understand their needs and priorities, and to help them understand why these improvements are important for our schools. We can work with the community to pass a smaller levy to cover the more pressing updates now while delaying some of the other needs to a later date.
Patrick Libbesmeier (board member)
No response was received to our questionnaire before press time. Answers may be printed in a subsequent issue, if/when received.