Lamar RE-2 board appoints Tress Gadash as new board member to replace Shannon O’Bryan

The Lamar RE-2 School Board held a special meeting on Monday, April 7.  The purpose of the meeting was  to interview three candidates for a recent open position on the Board.  District D board member Shannon O’Bryan had to step down because of a recent move outside the city limits (board members are required to live in Lamar).  Since O’Bryan’s term expires later this year, the new member will fill the remainder of his term but be required to submit for re-election in August if they choose to continue. Three people submitted applications for the open position: Susan Crites, Tress Gadash and Tamela Williams.  Each candidate was given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the board before the interviews began. The candidates were interviewed separately, with each answering two questions from each current board member (each board member chose 2 questions from a list of topics and asked each candidate the same question).

First of the interviewees was Crites.  She is the owner of Lamar Book Depot, a downtown book store.  She told the board that she had children attending Lamar schools from 1980-2012, including a special needs student.  In response to a question about the role of technology in schools, she said technology needs to be used more, adding she is a “big fan of technology” As the owner of the book store, she thinks the costs of textbooks is much too high and that they change too often and would like to see textbooks online for a smaller fee.    She also feels that technology is wonderful for students to have accessibility to knowledge and as a means of connecting with others, but shouldn’t be used for playing on their phones at school.  Her top priorities if chosen would be to improve the district’s relationship with the local community and be responsive to parents and students.  She added that she feels having student board members was “an amazing idea”  and that being open to listening to them was very important.

Second to be interviewed was Gadash.  He explained that he is a lifelong resident of Lamar and has two young children.  His professional background includes 17 years at Prowers Medical Center, where he was in a management role for the past 10 years. He recently went a different direction in his career, taking over as an insurance agent for Farm Bureau when Lloyd Brown retired.  He was asked what experience he had that he felt made him a good candidate for the position.  He answered that his years of management at PMC taught him about budgeting, managing people and emergency preparedness (fire drills, lockdown drills etc.) all skills that carry over into education.  In answer to a question about what his top priorities as a board member would be, he said the district needs to continue to provide a good education, retaining good staff members and providing a safe environment for students.

Williams introduced herself saying she has been an R.N. for 9 years and is working towards her master’s degree as a nurse practitioner.  She also has three young children just reaching school age and has been a resident of Lamar for 12 years.  Her husband is a teacher in the district.  In answer to the question regarding priorities, she said “putting kids first is huge for me” and that they must be a priority.  She feels that students need to feel valued and used the new stadium as an example of how that has made the students feel pride in their school.  She said parents need to stay involved and suggested having more volunteer opportunities for parents as well as keeping the parents better informed as to what is going on within the district.  Also of importance to her was keeping the community informed as to how the board is using their funds and that continuing the summer lunch program for students, some of whom may be underserved, is extremely important.

After the interviews, all three candidates were brought back into the board room.  Board President Lanie Meyers-Mireles told the three that she truly appreciated them all for applying and that it would be a very tough decision to make a choice.  Board member Rick Robbins told them that “you all bring something to the table that we see as value”. Board member Jake Chamberlain made a motion to select Tress Gadash for the position and it was seconded by Robbins.  Mireles was the lone “no” vote on the decision.

Due to O’Bryan’s departure, it was necessary to reorganize the board, as he had served as Vice President.  Ms. Mireles moved to appoint Chamberlain as the new Vice President, seconded by board member Cody Laughlin.

The next regular Lamar RE-2 meeting will be Monday, April 14^th at 5:30 pm.

By: Barbara Crimond