School Board appoints Yocom new member

Scott Groginsky swears in new school board member Jerry Yocom.

by Michelle Fire Eater Northrup
On Monday, April 21st the school board met at 7 p.m. for a special meeting to fill the seat recently vacated by Ron Slinger. Slinger's term would have held until 2011, but he resigned the seat to take an appointed position on the Board of Gilpin County Commissioners. State statute requires that appointed members run in the next election, which will take place in 2009.
The board interviewed two candidates for the seat. Jerry Yocom is a former law enforcement officer for Gilpin and Black Hawk now working in communications and has two daughters enrolled in Montessori at Gilpin. Mary Flowers is also a long-time Gilpin resident with two children who have graduated from Gilpin and two currently enrolled. Flowers is also a substitute teacher for the school.
The candidates were asked identical questions with some follow-questions from board member Scott Groginsky. After the interviews, Groginsky thanked both candidates for going through the application process and having the courage to come before the board, and stated this would be a "tough decision, since we can only choose one of you," and opened the meeting for discussion.
Member Bob Masslich immediately motioned for appointment of Jerry Yocom, which was seconded by member Rusty Hardy. Groginsky called for discussion but there was none, and the board then unanimously appointed Mr. Yocom to the seat.
Flowers was thanked again for her participation and Yocom was sworn in. While Yocom was intelligent and professional, two parents inquired after the meeting if Flowers would be running for the seat in 2009. Mary was unavailable for comment.
Questions asked of the candidates included the relationship the board should have with the community, local government and the state legislature, as well as why each candidate wanted the position and what qualities each would bring to the board. Yocom took little time to answer questions, identifying clearly and firmly his philosophy. Flowers, who has been active at the school as both a parent and teacher, took more time and offered greater specifics on her views.
Yocom presented a very professional demeanor befitting a law officer, and offered to bring a sense of civility to board discussions that can sometimes be heated. Asked what sort of relationship he would like to have with other members, he responded, "A civil and working relationship. It would be nice if I gain new friends in the process but it's not necessary."
Yocom had little specific experience with school budgets or board concerns but showed an intent and ability to understand and act decisively regarding the tough decisions before the board. "Staying focused on the welfare of the students, whatever it takes - upgrade the computers, pay the teachers more, whatever it might take. It's important not to have too many objectives because you can't spend beyond your budget. There are so many things you'd like to accomplish. The main focus is to provide an education and turn out great students. I rarely make knee jerk decisions. If I have the chance to give it considered thought I will. I will check with my resources and speak with others and take as much time as I can."
Regarding the relationship of the board with the superintendent, Yocom stated, "We need to have that trust. We need to be sure that he's following through with the school board's direction. The flip side of that is that the superintendent needs to have trust in me, that I'm going to have the welfare of the students, teachers and community at heart and support him in his endeavors to implement any policies that we have directed."
Yocom was also clear about his feelings on participation in local government. "I think the board should have a good relationship with every entity in the county that makes decisions on behalf of the county. They all affect us. This is a small community. Participating and making sure you're avail to the council, attending those meetings - it's important to get out and meet these people."
Asked what his main contribution would be to the board, Yocom replied, "I believe I would bring common sense to the table. I believe in civility. I've seen the consequences of a lack of civility. I have the ability to disagree and do it agreeably - but I'm not a windsock. I won't always go the way of the prevailing breeze, but I'll explain my position to be considered."
"In our world legislation establishes state policy," said member Craig Holmes. "To what extent would you want to be involved in legislative activity?"
"It would be important to be as involved as you could," answered Yocom. "Anytime you've got an opportunity to be involved in discussions that directly affect you and your community I think that's important."
Yocom took the additional time at the interview's end to speak on behalf of Flowers. "I'm volunteering, so is Mrs. Flowers, and I have no reason to question her veracity, that she has a great commitment for the welfare of these students. I won't have my feelings hurt if you decide to choose her. I'm sure she'd be a fine addition to the board."
Flowers then took her turn with board, answering identical questions with some additional follow-questions from Groginsky. "I think we're at a turning point in our school and our community," said Flowers, in answer to why she wanted to be on the board. "I think we've been through some rough times and it's time for us to take hold of our future and the direction we're going. I'd like to see a better standard of education; however we have to keep in mind that we are a rural community. We can't compete with Jefferson County, we can try but we need to keep in mind what who we are and where we're going."
Groginsky asked for clarification on this statement, specifically what she meant by "a better standard of education" and what being a rural school means. "I think we're not utilizing our curriculum to our best potential. As a substitute teacher I see places where we could improve; for example our technology could be used better. I don't think we have so much a lack of technology as much as we have an underuse of what we do have."
"Our student population is changing," said Flowers. "With No Child Left Behind, we need to satisfy the state in that respect, but it doesn't always follow through with the kind of children we have in this school. We need to address the voc-tech kids and their needs, for example."
Asked about how to build trust with the superintendent, she replied, "I don't necessarily need to be the super's best friend. He needs to implement and carry out our policies and be accountable. We need to follow up on procedures that have been implemented and if they aren't working be flexible enough to change them."
"I've seen in the past where things have been implemented and they obviously don't work from the standpoint of the teachers or students or parents and the board has been inflexible about changing." Groginsky then asked for an example from Flowers regarding her statement that the "board has been inflexible" in the past and not reactive to the needs of parents and the community.
"We were having a community meeting when we were having some issues with past administrators," said Flowers, "and one of the comments made by one of the school board members was, 'That's what we've decided to do, that's how it's going to be and that's the end of the discussion.' We need to be more reactive than that to the needs of the community and the parents, and most importantly the students."
"You feel it's time for Gilpin to be what a small rural school can be," stated Groginsky. "That we can't compete with other schools... would you talk more about that?"
"There are issues we don't have to worry about," said Flowers. "We don't have to worry about gangs, we don't have to worry as much about drugs, and we don't have to worry about a teacher finding time for a hundred students. Just because of our size we should be able to do things for these kids that they can't get in the bigger schools."
"When my kids came to this school they lost a great band program. You can't expect to have the same programs that the big schools have. But on the other hand, we have a small enough population that we can do things like an overnight campouts and small things like that, where we can get parents involved. I know we don't have a lot of money, but you'd be surprised at what people will be willing to chip in. While you lose the big curriculum and programs, there are other things you can do because you're small."
Flowers was asked how to monitor student growth and objectives. "Of course testing, but I think we need to look at what is going on with our graduates. Where are they now? How many have finished college? How many are professionals? What are they doing?"
Asked what contribution she would bring to the board, Flowers addressed recent concerns over loss of enrollment at the school. "I'd like to see enrollment increase, and at the same time reestablish more pride in our school," said Flowers. "We have fewer kids and parents who are willing to sacrifice time. The school pride isn't there like it used to be. We need to find out why people are pulling their kids out of school, rather than finding out information from the people here now. We need to find out, 'why did you take your kids out and what would cause you to bring your kids back?'"
"One thing I bring to this board is that I have two daughters who have graduated and two currently enrolled and they have gone through Gilpin School all the way," stated Flowers in closing. "I've been in the community since we were in one building so I've seen how things were. As an educator I can bring some sympathy for teachers and administrators because I've been on the other end. I also have knowledge of this community. I taught quilting and had a small store in Idaho Springs, I'm aware of the issues that confront the small community versus the larger community in Jefferson County as I taught there as well. As a substitute teacher, my schedule is flexible and I can devote time to things like legislative duties."