Meet the School Board Candidates

Name: Chris M. Smith

Bio: I am 41-year-old married father of 3 daughters currently in the MHSD. I have been in the Mt. Horeb community since 2006. For the past 12 years, I have worked in the healthcare life sciences industry, particularly in cancer treatment and screening. My education and work background specializes in business development, marketing, strategy and solutions. I love this community and have a passion and drive to support our parents and students any way I can. I can bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to the school district that has done an amazing job navigating unprecedented challenges we have faced. 

Why are you running for a seat on the Mount Horeb Area Board of Education? 

Smith: I have a passion for serving the community and helping the mission of serving the families and students. My own family has three young daughters currently in the MHSD. The last several years have been complicated, unlike any challenge that our school district has faced in the past. Parents, students, and administrators are exhausted and burned out. I want to volunteer myself to help bring in some fresh perspective. I feel a duty to support this incredible community. I believe that parents need a strong voice on this board; I want to represent the parents and students the best way I can. 

Which qualities, skills and/or experiences make you the right candidate for the job?

Smith: I bring to the table hard work, focus, and a conscious effort to be dispassionate about decisions. I steer away from over-correction and, as much as possible, emotion. I bring transparency, honesty and strive for open communication no matter how difficult the topic. I hold an MBA in executive leadership and finance from the University of Wisconsin - Madison that I believe can fill many different school board needs.

The past two years have been difficult for everyone, including children and teens in the Mount Horeb Area School District. What has the school district done right during the pandemic, and what should it do differently moving forward?

Smith: The passion our teachers bring every day is inspiring. Our community families have had to make formidable decisions about our children’s education while keeping our children safe as a #1 priority. I applaud the school’s commitment to keeping children in school and doing a decent job of risk vs. reward in safety and understanding the impact that isolation has on our students. Global health guidance in this period has been fraught with inconsistent interpretation, gray areas, unclear direction, conflicting reports, exaggeration, and underrepresentation of facts. We must continue to make decisions on a local community level and try not to overcorrect to broader national narratives. 

The physical toll of the COVID pandemic is clear and fairly easy to quantify. The long-term developmental, psychological and emotional damage caused by the pandemic (and the steps taken to try to fight it) are much harder to gauge. But it’s clear that people – particularly children – are increasingly isolated and fearful, and that learning outcomes have suffered, in Mount Horeb and across the country. How can the school board balance the risk of physical harm from COVID with the amorphous problems the fight against the pandemic can cause? 

I believe one of the most powerful relationships in our children’s lives is between the school/teachers and the parents. School leaders in close collaboration with parents can identify emotional and learning distress – because we know our children well but in different ways. Open and transparent dialogue policies combined with proactive intervention are critical. The board must continue making decisions on a local community level and consistently access risk vs. reward impact. The power of our close-knit community is exceptional, and we can keep a close eye on early warning signs together. 

The local school district includes about 2,500 students and serves eight communities. It receives $30 million in funding annually, and receives 40 percent of the local tax bill. Talk about the current state of school funding, and your vision for its future?

Smith: I believe there are tremendous opportunities to focus our funding on a practical curriculum that better prepares our students for life after school. Technology is racing forward rapidly, and I would be a big advocate for inserting more functional real-world critical skills development. Communication skills, leadership, time management, financial literacy, technology, trades, and modern career education are just some examples I feel have a significant opportunity to expand to a progressive and contemporary curriculum. For students who cannot take on post-secondary education debt burdens, prioritizing critical skills for the current and future workforce gives our students an edge in a very competitive work landscape. 

 What, as you understand them, are the responsibilities of a local school board member? What is the scope of your responsibilities if elected? Local issues? County issues? State issues? National ones?

Smith: Our school board should first and foremost focus on local policy. Decision-making needs to be focused on the community members that need it the most: Our parents, Students, Teachers, Staff Faculty, and Taxpayers. While we can learn a lot from trends and issues outside of the community, at a county and national level, we must prioritize decision-making to our local community and the taxpayers that support our outstanding school system.  

Who are school board members elected to represent? With the complexities and problems of the pandemic thrust upon everyone in a way that was maddening for pretty much everyone, the community debated whose interests the school board should be looking out for, particularly because those interests do not always run in tandem. Students? Teachers? Parents? Taxpayers? 

Smith: Our parents and students should, in my opinion, receive a close focus. Parents and students are a big group of our community. They are most likely to be considerably impacted by school board decisions. While we all must work together, parents and taxpayers need special attention and representation. The school board becomes the best voice we can provide to our parents.

What can the school board do to promote and protect local government transparency?

Smith: Transparency is fundamental. In my opinion, a sound board is efficient, allows for respectful challenge and conflict of ideas, is focused and not distracted by outside noise, and is simple. Importantly, communication is integrated and synergistic into modes that the community will use to voice policy opinions and concerns that promote oversight. Enabling transparency means that behavior, structure, and expectations are communicated clearly and concisely in an easily accessible way. I believe there are additional technology applications to disperse communication and make that board more accessible widely. 

How do you define Critical Race Theory and what do you feel its role, if any, should be in the classroom?

Smith: I know CRT is a divisive topic. In my experience, most tend to fall into two camps; you are either a supporter or not. I don’t particularly like having only an Option A or Option B as a decision point. Smart leaders find a way to the “and.” The role of CRT in our schools should be one of thorough discussion and active listening from all community members. We should continue to pressure check each other’s assumptions and opinions on the matter with facts and appropriate application in the classroom. I firmly believe that these decisions should be made within our community and not by outside organizations, however well-intentioned they may be. Our community is such a remarkable place. I am confident that we can find our way forward together. 

If elected, what are your top priorities? 

Smith: Budget Review and improvement. I bring with me a background in business development and finance. I believe I can help get creative and bring fresh ideas on spending. School infrastructure (technology and building/grounds) upgrades are of particular interest.

Curriculum opportunities for opportunities to insert more critical skills applications; Particularly within the technology and communication spaces

Learn and listen; I want to become well informed about the dynamic needs of our parents, students, faculty and staff, and taxpayers.

What are the school district’s biggest challenges in 2022 and beyond? 

Smith: The ability to move at the modern workforce’s speed and prepare our students to meet those challenges. Technology and information transfer at an incredible pace. The last several years have exposed workforce gaps and technology needs forward tenfold. Our students need to be prepared for a totally new landscape. 

What are its greatest opportunities? 

Smith: Many parents, students, and teachers had a poor experience rolling out our ed-tech distance learning curriculum. Our teachers, in particular, made a herculean effort to march forward, despite knowing the widening learning gaps of the significant number of students who adapted poorly to this new way of life. I know this took a heavy toll on our teachers and staff. Bringing in technology opportunities as a fundamental teaching process can be successful long-term if we prioritize policy and budgetary priorities. As the pandemic wanes, we have an excellent opportunity to be better prepared and upgrade our infrastructure and training to considerably reduce this strain in the future.

What role can/should local schools play in addressing mental health issues in the community? 

Smith: In healthcare, interventional strategies are the primary tactic used to find solutions to concerns before they progress to the point of crisis; cancer, diabetes, mental health, etc. Our schools should be leaders in mental health strategies for our school district. There is an excellent opportunity for mental health crisis prevention tactics and innovative training for our district’s faculty and staff. I would strongly advocate adding additional pediatric trained mental health professionals to the MHSD faculty, specifically focused on mental health and intervention programs for students and parents. 

Three years ago, the Mount Horeb Area School District completed work on $38.5 million in building expansions and upgrades approved and paid for through a voter referendum. It was the largest successful referendum in district history, and future referenda are currently in the works. What role should these ballot measures play in funding the district going forward? 

Smith: I am in favor of the referendum process. It takes a lot of money and careful planning to execute a comprehensive strategy to give our students the best opportunities and exposure to high-quality education. Rapid rises in costs and inflation mean that long-term budget planning is challenging, and previously approved budgets quickly become outdated, leaving gaps. Referendums give the community a voice as taxpayers to prioritize the use of additional money in the best way possible.  

What is the district currently doing well? 

Smith: The community has always done a great job prioritizing our student’s needs. Our teachers are fantastic, and there is no doubt in my mind the dedication and love our faculty and staff have for our children. We are family. I also believe that MHSD has done an admirable job constantly evaluating and prioritizing keeping students in school and doing everything they can to mitigate risk. 

In what areas could it improve? 

Smith: There is a tremendous opportunity to infuse a modern curriculum that brings more critical real-world skills to a student body to make them competitive in the modern workforce. Post-secondary education is a financial liability to a lot of families. I want to prioritize creating competitive students for success outside of school, which means aligning more of our curriculum building on students’ strengths and areas of interest.  

In a very crowded field of candidates, what message would you like to make sure voters hear about you and the job you would do on the board if elected?

Smith: I am a mission-driven parent, first and foremost. My top priority is providing the best educational opportunities for my family and yours. I want to prepare our students for the challenges of a fast-moving workforce with critical practical skills, particularly those who will not be going into post-secondary education. I will bring dispassion, honesty, and devotion to transparency, no matter how hard the topic, while identifying root cause issues, not just symptoms. My love of this community fills me with passion, drive, and excitement about the future.