Q&A with Berryville Zone 1 school board candidates

None of the Berryville City Council seats are contested. To find the political action in Berryville, it seems one must look instead to the school board.

Two Berryville board positions are contested this year. Of these, three candidates will vie for the Zone 1 seat on, making this the most hotly contested school board position in the county this year.

The contenders for Zone 1 include incumbent Vonda Bailey and newcomers Darrell Stidham and Jennifer McCall. Following is the text of a Question-and-Answer exchange with each candidate meant to introduce voters to each one.

(Zone 2 candidates will be featured in Friday's Weekend edition of Carroll County News.)

Each candidate was given the same set of questions, with instructions to restrict their answers to 100 words. (Note: Question 5 is a two-part question, so candidates' full answers were allowed in that question.) Candidates' responses were received by email and have received only minor editing. The contenders are presented alphabetically. A short biography is followed by their answers to the questions.

Vonda Bailey, 47, has served on the school board since 2006. A graduate of Berryville High School, she has lived in the city for 36 years. After high school, Bailey completed one year of college. She now owns and operates Diamond B Feed and Farm Supply. She and husband Terry Bailey have three children: Shea, Breawna, and Kinsee.

Why are you running?

BAILEY: "I am running because I enjoy serving my community through the educational process."

What are your priorities and goals if elected?

BAILEY: "My priority and goal in office is and would remain to work toward a stronger relationship between the district and the community it serves to ensure every student receives an education."

Do you have any personal connection to the position?

BAILEY: "I have one daughter who still attends school."

How do you feel about public participation at school board meetings?

BAILEY: "Public attendance provides knowledge about district policies, guidelines, needs, strengths, and challenges. While the public is appreciated and encouraged to attend board meetings, participation should be included on the board agenda."

What do you admire most about the school district?

BAILEY: "The most admirable quality about the school district is our community support. This allows both students and staff an opportunity to succeed."

What do you least admire?

(Bailey offered no response to this question.)

What would you change if elected?

(Bailey offered no response to this question.)

Jennifer McCall, 36, is a graduate of Green Forest High School and a licensed insurance agent.

A resident of Berryville for the past 18 years, McCall worked at Tri-State Equine until 2006. She and her husband, Bruce, have owned McCall's Welding for 16 years.

The couple has two sons, both enrolled in Berryville schools. Lance, 15, is in the 10th grade, and Clay, 9, is in the 4th. The family attends Green Forest Cowboy Church.

Though this is her first time running for political office, McCall has volunteered regularly in Berryville schools for 11 years and served on the Parent Advisory Committee for the past two.

Why are you running?

MCCALL: "Because of my volunteering within the school system, this feels like the natural next step to serve my community. I also enjoy being involved in my children's education."

What are your priorities and goals if elected?

MCCALL: "I don't really have a main agenda once elected. I would like to just take each task at hand, making the best decisions for teachers, students, and the system as a whole. If I had to choose one goal, it would be to see the district have a bit more fiscal responsibility. Our citizens work hard for each dollar they receive, and no one likes to see someone else wasting that hard earned money.

Do you have any personal ties to the school district?

MCCALL: "Berryville is still a small, close-knit community. We all know someone who works in the school system. I have several friends that work on the various campuses, and both my children are enrolled in Berryville schools. Also, as mentioned earlier, I am a long-time school volunteer.

How do you feel about public participation at school board meetings?

MCCALL: "It would be nice for people to feel more welcome to speak their opinions at meetings. We should support more parental involvement in our schools. Each child enrolled should have a voice on their behalf. I don't see anything but good coming from parents and schools working together more. If that means allowing parents to ask their questions or speak their opinions at board meetings, so be it, as long as they are presented in an orderly fashion. Everyone should be made to feel welcome.

What do you admire most about the school district?

MCCALL: "The thing I admire most has got to be our teachers. I feel like Berryville has some of the greatest educators. Each teacher shows our students how to be successful in life. What could be greater than that?

What do you least admire?

MCCALL: "It's hard to find something less than admirable about our school system, but after much consideration, I've decided it would have to be the older buildings and classrooms. I know environment plays a large role in children's educations.

What would you change if elected?

MCCALL: "I hope to make a difference in our schools in many ways. First, I plan to make educated votes. I plan to ask questions and learn what would be most beneficial before voting. Second, our staff -- both classified and non-classified -- deserve the respect and support of our entire community. They work together as a well-oiled machine to educate our children in the best possible way, and to me that deserves my respect above all else. Lastly, I would like the road system in front of the lower elementary and intermediate buildings to be re-evaluated. In my opinion, it is not safe for children to be dropped off and picked up in the same parking lot that parents must drive through to return to Highway 62. I would like to learn why it is this way and how we can make it safer for our children.

Darrell Stidham, 63, served the Berryville School district for 26 years as a teacher before his retirement. Originally from Grandview, he has lived in Berryville since 1977. Stidham has a Bachelor's degree in Vocational Education and an Associate's degree in Construction Technology.

Stidham and his wife, Lola, have two children; stepdaughter Gwendolyn Wells and son David Stidham. He also has one grandson, Michael Kennelly and one great-grandson, Matthew Kennelly.

Stidham worked for 26 years for the school district; 13 years were in Career Orientation and for four years he was a 6th grade teacher. He is a deacon at Grandview Baptist Church, and he teaches Sunday school and is active in church mission trips.

Why are you running?

STIDHAM: "The main reason is that vocational education seems to be going away at the Berryville School. They closed two or three vocational programs over the years and most kids that leave school go into vocations.

What are your priorities and goals if elected?

STIDHAM: "Make sure that the Berryville schools and the public knows that the school belongs to them- it doesn't belong to the school board; it doesn't belong to the administration; it belongs to the people. That doesn't seem to be what has been going on in the last several years. I am that person that walks on the campus every week and talks to every person that works there and the students. I take the time to talk with custodians, cooks, maintenance people and the teachers. A lot of employees have good ideas but no one listens to them.

Do you have any personal ties to the school district?

STIDHAM: "I have nephews in school there, I taught there for 26 years, my children went to school there and I attended to school there.

How do you feel about public participation at school board meetings?

STIDHAM: "We need more public participation at the school board meetings. I think the public has been closed out over the years. The last school board meeting I attended I couldn't hear anything said by the board. The public should have input how the school is ran, administration should listen to them because it's their school. I agree they need to have some order and if I understand this correctly they use Robert's Rules of Order and someone has to be recognized and they should notify the school board if they want to speak before they're there.

What do you admire most about the school district?

STIDHAM: "I think it's the students -- quality of the students and the quality of the teachers and we have had some really good teachers that have left recently.

What do you least admire?

STIDHAM: "The fiscal responsibility -- schools waste millions. Some of the positions could be gone. I realize that doesn't go over that well, but that's a fact.

What would you change if elected?

STIDHAM: "The athletic department. In the history of Berryville schools we have turned out one professional athlete and we have turned out many professionals in other areas. I have nothing against athletics but we spend entirely too much money on it and we let other things go like education. We don't have enough English teachers, science teachers or math teachers but we have plenty of coaches.