Melissa Bynum by Mary Rupert
Commissioner-elect Melissa Bynum tonight said she was “absolutely delighted” to win the 1st District, at large, Unified Government Commission seat.
“We really look forward to moving this community forward and continuing this fantastic progress we’ve seen for 18 years now,” Bynum said in a phone interview from her campaign party at Breit’s in Kansas City, Kan.
Bynum, the executive director of the Shepherd’s Center, and Mark Gilstrap, a retired UG deputy revenue director, ran county-wide for the 1st District, at large, seat. The election returns are unofficial until they are certified at a later date.
Bynum said it appeared Nathan Barnes’ write-in campaign had some effect in this contest. Barnes ran a write-in campaign for this office, and according to the unofficial election returns, there were 798 write-in votes. The write-ins were not attributed to a particular candidate. Bynum had 52 percent of the vote, with 5,408 votes to Gilstrap’s 4,128, a 1,280-vote margin.
“I was extremely focused throughout this process,” Bynum said about the campaign. She said she knew she had to talk to voters and get her message out, and worked every day to do that.
“People don’t really respond well to negative campaigning and I’m not a negative person, so that was not part of my tactics,” she said. “We just tried to stay on focus and get the job done, and I think we did that.”
Bynum said she anticipates that some of her first projects in office will be to work on the UG budget, since the budget process is already underway.
“Looking for efficiencies and ways to provide tax relief are No. 1 priorities,” she said.
Candidates for the Piper Board of Education appeared at a candidate forum on Monday, March 30, at Piper High School. (Staff photo) by Mary Rupert
Candidates for the Piper School Board cited school finance and growth as issues this year.
The candidates spoke about the April 7 general election issues at a candidate forum Monday, March 30, at Piper High School. Students on the debate team asked questions at the forum.
Five board members will be elected, including one two-year unexpired term of Morris Letcher, and four others. Tom Beebe, Lisa Sullivan, and Neal Palmer are three incumbents running for re-election.
Tom Beebe, incumbent Piper School Board member, said the top two issues were growth and school finance. (Staff photo)
Beebe said the top issue now is the space issue. A mail-in bond election has been set for June on building a new high school in Piper to accommodate the district’s growth.
Beebe has served on the school board for eight years. He has been with Empire Retirement for 18 years in the retirement planning industry. He also is a member of the Piper Optimist Club, and Kaw Valley Youth Football board of directors.
Beebe said the district has an annual 4 to 5 percent growth in enrollment during the past five to 10 years Since he has been on the board, one bond issue has been passed that expanded the high school and added an elementary schools.
“We’re running out of space again,” he said. “I think we’ve come up with a viable plan that is a long-term solution, that would take us out to 2025-2030.”
The building of the elementary school several years ago was a short-term solution after another bond issue had been defeated, he said.
The other pressing issue for the Piper schools is school finance, he said. Piper has recently lost $340,000 out of its budget in June, and with the block grant proposals, the district is at the same funding levels for the next two years. “Managing through that will be a pressing issue for us,” he said. Ashley Biondi, a candidate for the Piper Board of Education, at the March 30 forum, talked about looking at all areas of the budget if cuts are needed. (Staff photo)
Ashley Biondi agreed that space was an important issue, and she hoped the plan in place would help solve this issue.
Biondi grew up in the Piper district and is a Piper High School graduate. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s in education, in curriculum and instruction. She taught six years in the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools and is currently spending more time with her family.
The school finance situation could mean cuts in the future with the loss of $340,000.
“We need to be more informed about looking at the budget and where we are spending our money,” Biondi said. “We need to look at all areas, we can’t just pinpoint one area.”
Board members need to ask questions to make sure that the money is spent in the most efficient way, she said.
Biondi also said she is concerned about teacher professional development time. She believes it is important to set aside time for professional development.
“The curriculum and instruction that goes to our students is vital,” she said. “It’s important because that is where everything begins, in the classroom.” Steve Buff, a candidate for the Piper Board of Education, agreed that budget cuts and growth are two important issues. (Staff photo)
Steve Buff, a candidate for the unexpired term, said the budget cuts would be extremely hard to overcome, although there is a plan in place.
He has lived in Piper about 22 years, is on the board of the Piper Optimists and is a leader in the Village Community Church.
As far as growth issues are concerned, he said the elementary school is at 100 percent capacity, and the district needs to figure out how to build something with the plan it already has in place. Desiree Fergus, a candidate for the Piper Board of Education, also agreed that the main issues were overcrowding and budget cuts. (Staff photo)
Desiree Fergus, also a candidate for the unexpired term, agreed that the main issues were overcrowding and budget cuts.
She is a lifelong resident of Wyandotte County, has worked for the Board of Public Utilities for 11 years and is a field service representative in the electric operations division. She has an associate’s degree from KCKCC in 2013, and is a member of Village Community Church and the NAACP. She is the union steward for Local 53, Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
“I’m not going to tell you that I’m going to fix everything,” she said. “I’m not going to make any promises I can’t keep. What I can tell you is that I believe with my desire to commit to working as a team with the other board members, and being able to bring new and fresh ideas, that I will be able to provide new and fresh solutions to the district’s problems.” Neal Palmer, an incumbent Piper School Board member, said one of the issues would be how to maintain the same standard of excellence on a decreasing budget. “We need to march down the highway to Topeka,” he said. (Staff photo)
Neal Palmer, an incumbent, said one of the main concerns is how to maintain the same standard of excellence the district now has on a decreasing budget.
Palmer was originally appointed in 2002 to the Piper board and has been elected since then. He has worked for 30 years as a construction engineer at J.E. Dunn Construction Co., where he has served as senior vice president. He received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University.
He is a member of the Optimist Club, Workforce Partnership Board, and is on the board for the Mo-Kan Teamsters Pension Board.
“We have an apathy problem in the district,” Palmer said. “Until the district stands up and galvanizes itself … the board’s going to do what the board can do with the money that gets transferred to us. We need to march down the highway to Topeka and make sure that our legislators and our governor understand that public education is the number one thing that drives economic growth in this state.”
The Piper district also needs to work with the UG and neighboring schools districts to figure out what it can do to transfer some of the tax load off the rooftops and onto businesses that have received deferments, reassessments and other breaks, Palmer added.
He said the bond issue is a good value, he’s confident if the bond issue goes through, the district will have a solution to the growth issues it faces, and if it doesn’t, the board will have to rethink what it is doing. Lisa Sullivan, an incumbent board member, said the Piper School Board so far has tried to make cuts without affecting the quality of classroom education. (Staff photo)
Lisa Sullivan, an incumbent, said in her past eight years, the board has continually been looking at what to do the next time Topeka takes the money away from the district. Through planning, the Piper district has received recognition as one of the most efficient districts in Kansas, she said. The district has worked on cutting areas that do not touch the classrooms, she said. The quality of the students’ education is important, she said.
Sullivan said she has been involved in PTA as president, in the Booster Club, and chaired the Auction Committee this past year.
Sullivan said she doesn’t want to see trailers, and she believes the building plan is a good one, which may get the district well into the year 2025 before it has to add more space. Jeb Vader, a candidate for Piper School Board, talked about the need to be transparent about the reasons why budget cuts were made. (Staff photo)
Jeb Vader, also a candidate, agreed budget cuts were problems, and said important issues would be to be an advocate for the community, be extremely transparent about making cuts and explain why they are making the cuts.
Vader, a lifelong Wyandotte County resident, is a Piper High School graduate. He is a property claims supervisor with Farmers Insurance.
He said the board members had looked at all the different options concerning growth, but sometimes the community does not see that. With transparency, the board will build trust with the community. Cory Appl, a candidate for Piper Board of Education, said adequate space for the children was important. (Staff photo)
Cory Appl said adequate space for the children was important. He said he came from a teaching background with portable classrooms, which was not good for learning, and a lot of students were late to class.
Appl has lived in the district 19 years, and has been a home health administrator for 17 years. He said he has experience putting together budgets, and has worked with goals and objectives. He has been an assistant basketball coach and his wife has been an on-call school nurse for the district.
He said the board had done a good job of putting together a bond issue. One of his issues is the property tax.
“We don’t have many businesses here to offset that, so asking patrons to pay an extra $50 or $60 a month or whatever it is could be a hard sell,” Appl said. “If we don’t have a good educational system here in Piper, that’s what attracts people here.”
A lot of people move to Piper because of the schools, he said. “We need to make sure we can adequately take care of our kids, which are the most important aspect of the school setting,” he said, “and make sure it’s affordable, which I believe the board has done an excellent job of putting together something that’s affordable for the whole district and for all buildings.”
“What a great representation of our community with these individuals,” Piper Superintendent Tim Conrad said at the forum, “that raised their hand and committed to being nominated and serving on the school board during probably the most difficult times in education in the last 20 to 30 years, not only in what we face, but what we’re about to face, on into the next several years. A strong district is built with a strong board of education.”
All photos by Mary Rupert.
To see the candidate forum video, which contains more questions and answers, visit this website: http://www.piperschools.com/
Recent college graduate challenges four older board members
by Mary Rupert
This year’s election for the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board of Trustees includes one challenger and four incumbents.
Four positions are open, and the incumbents are running as a slate.
At an election forum on March 18 at KCKCC, only the challenger, Victor B. Trammell, was present to discuss his campaign and answer questions. According to information at the forum, two of the candidates, Don Ash and Clyde Townsend, were out of town, while two, Mary Ann Flunder and Ray Daniels, were ill.
Two other college trustees who are not running for re-election this year also made comments during the forum.
Victor Trammell (Staff photo)
Trammell is a freelance writer and author. Trammell was the president of The African-American Student Union (TAASU) at Kansas City Kansas Community College in 2007, and also won the Milestone Award for Academic Achievement that year. He also was a student representative on the college senate at KCKCC.
He said he has previously worked with some political campaigns in the area, including as a canvasser in the midterm elections of 2006, and has served as an election poll judge. In 2014 he was elected a ward captain.
In 2011, Trammell was appointed to the Unified Government’s drug and alcohol advisory board, which he said has enriched his knowledge of how public funds are spent.
He is a graduate of KCKCC with an associate’s degree in general studies, and received a Bachelor of Science in business administration and management in 2013 from the University of Phoenix.
Trammell,34, said his experience as president of the student group TAASU would be helpful, and it was necessary to have a vision when taking office. Adversity gives a person a visionary strategy that is necessary to be successful, he said.
At times a board member has to make difficult decisions, he said. If it benefits the most number of students, that is the decision that would have to be made, he said.
The TEC Center is a step in the right direction, Trammell said, with skills learned at the center as a pipeline from the public schools to jobs in the community. Trammell agrees with the incumbents that a continued effort is needed to bolster success at the TEC Center.
If four-year universities become more expensive in the future, Trammell said he would encourage increased marketing for growth of student enrollment at KCKCC.
“I have a heart for this position,” he said. “I value this institution.”
Two current KCKCC board members whose terms are up in 2017 also spoke at the March 18 forum, although they had not planned in advance to speak.
“We have had a lot of challenges and a lot of opportunities,” said Cathy Breidenthal, a KCKCC board member. She mentioned the new Technical Education Center and new athletic fields as some of the newer opportunities at the college. “It is a true state-of-the-art facility,” she said about the TEC center.
The board, along with all community colleges, has faced challenges with the budget in the current school funding climate in Kansas, and has had to reorganize and make some very difficult decisions, she said.
J.D. Rios, a trustee also attending the forum whose term is up for election in 2017, said the community college was the economic engine for this county. The more forward progress it makes, the better for Wyandotte County, he said.
The Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools Diploma Plus program will only be successful if KCKCC has the capacity to add 1,000 more students within the next four years, he said.
He said it was important to know that the TEC Center is college. “It is passe to say people are not cut out for college,” Rios said. “It is essential for the new economy. Your board of trustees know this, understand it, live it and will continue to serve you.”
Ray Daniels, and Don Ash, incumbents running for election this year, were at the Feb. 25 Armourdale candidate forum, but incumbents Mary Ann Flunder and Clyde Townsend were not able to be there. Flunder was having surgery.
Ray Daniels (Staff photo)
Daniels has 48 years experience in education in Wyandotte County, including 40 years with the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools, where he was superintendent his last seven years. Two years after he retired, he became a trustee at KCKCC, and has served two terms.
There is a need for this community to have quality people to fill quality jobs, he said. The University of Kansas Medical Center was recently talking about 1,000 new jobs, he said.
“If our young people and our elderly people are not prepared to take those jobs, Wyandotte County is going to fall behind,” Daniels said. “Education is the answer.”
KCKCC works with the local school districts to provide quality education, he said. KCKCC just opened a new Technical Education Center last year at 63rd and State Avenue, he said.
“There’s a prediction that by 2020 in Kansas, almost 80 percent of the jobs are going to require some post-secondary education,” Daniels said. “It’s doesn’t mean a four-year degree, it doesn’t even necessarily mean a two-year degree, but it does mean there will have to be some additional sort of work done by people to get those jobs.”
Good jobs with good benefits right now include occupations such as welder and electrician, he said. He said he heard recently there were 9,000 technical jobs available now in the Kansas City area, and not all require degrees, some just require training and certifications available at such places as the TEC Center.
Don Ash (Staff photo)
Don Ash, another KCKCC incumbent trustee, also has served two terms as a trustee. He is also the Wyandotte County Sheriff. Ash served with the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department until his retirement, then he ran for Sheriff.
In addition to all the reasons mentioned by Daniels, Ash said KCKCC also is notable because of the “economic engining” that goes on through the college. He said $12 million of federal Pell grant money passes through the college each school year.
In the years since 2007, KCKCC completed the merger of the technical school from the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools into KCKCC, which was required by the Legislature, he said. Since the merger and the $30 million renovation of the TEC Center, enrollment has grown to more than 400 students seeking technical certificates or degrees, he said.
More than 90 percent of the students complete their training, or are hired before graduating into jobs that pay well and can support a family, he said.
“We want to continue the work we’ve begun, we’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the last eight years we’ve served,” Ash said.
Mary Ann Flunder (Staff photo)
Flunder has served as a trustee for about 23 years. A member of the local NAACP, she also has been a Silver-Haired Legislature member and a member of the Kansas Black Chamber of Commerce, according to the candidates’ campaign information. She has done work at the national level on behalf of community college associations.
Clyde Townsend (Staff photo)
Townsend was appointed in 2005 to the board of trustees and has served two full terms, according to the candidates’ campaign information. He is a former Wyandotte County commissioner and a former member of the Board of Public Utilities. He is a former employee at the Kansas City, Kan., Street Department.
The general election is April 7, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and advance voting also continues on Saturday, April 3 at two sites.
The March 18 candidate forum will be shown on cable television from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 6, on the college’s cable channel, 17 on Time Warner Cable and 146 on Google TV.
To see the video on YouTube, visit www.kckcc.edu and click on the YouTube icon in the bottom right corner, then select the candidate forum for KCKCC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XKwdZLhhx8.
Advance voting is already underway for the April 7 election. For more information on voting, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/walk-in-advance-voting-begins-today-march-28/
or www.wycovotes.org. Victor Trammell, left, a candidate for Kansas City Kansas Community College board of trustees, explained his positions at a candidate forum March 18 at KCKCC. In the center was Murrel Bland, moderator; and on the right were Cathy Breidenthal and J.D. Rios, trustees whose terms are up for election in 2017. (Staff photo)
