Three Poplar Bluff R-I school district residents are vying for positions on the Board of Education in Tuesday’s election.
Two seats are up for election. They are currently held by Ken Davis and Tim Gaebler.
The incumbents are challenged by Kevin Ellis.
The two elected will serve a three-year term.
Each candidate was asked the same series of questions and their profiles appear in the order in which they are listed on the ballot.
Tim Gaebler
Gaebler was appointed to the board in 2020 to fill the unexpired term of Heather Tuggle and now is seeking election in his own right.
“Education has always been important to my family,” Gaebler said. “I am currently a third-generation Poplar Bluff R-I school board member.
“My grandfather, Herbert Gaebler, was on the school board and helped to establish Lake Road Elementary. My father, Dale Gaebler, was on the board for many years. Community and educational development has been passed down.”
Gaebler said his experience as a teacher, and also as a mechanic and a farmer, are strengths as a board member.
“I value all aspects of work and those that do it,” Gaebler said. “After graduation, I went to work at our family-owned business as a mechanic. Several years later, I went to college and completed my education in order to earn my teaching degree. I understand that our families work jobs in order to support their children. ... (Teaching also) gave me an understanding of how a classroom works, how administration is run, as well as the needs of students.”
Gaebler said education is the most important issue of all.
“Our children are the future, and they must be educated above all else,” Gaebler said. “That means that we need to provide them with competent teachers and staff. We, as a board, need to support that staff so that they can do their best every day for our students.”
Ken Davis
Davis currently serves as the vice president of the Poplar Bluff R-I Board of Education and is seeking a third term on the board.
When asked why he is running again, Davis said, “Basically, it’s the same reason as when I ran six years ago — I don’t have an agenda. I’m not after anybody or for anybody. I think the students should come first in all of our decisions, and I’m an unbiased person.”
Davis also said his experience and his understanding of the board make him the most qualified for another term.
As far as being the most qualified candidate or the more qualified candidate, Davis said, “I think the first year or year and a half, you’re just getting in there and trying to figure everything out because there’s so much to learn.
“I understand where things are going now and I understand what hoops the school has to jump through to get things done.”
As for important issues, Davis said he believes the district will continue to deal with issues related to COVID-19 for the immediate future while trying to strengthen the virtual learning.
“They say there’s another wave of (COVID-19) coming, so who knows what that’s going to do to us?” Davis said. “With all of the stimulus money coming into the school, I think the school’s going to have to keep their nose to the grindstone, or whatever the terminology is, to make sure we do things legally — we do it all right and we protect the kids.”
Kevin Ellis
Ellis is seeking his first term on the board and said he is running to make a difference.
“Thirty-six years ago, I graduated from Poplar Bluff High School with no understanding of how to develop a career,” Ellis said. “I had dreams, ambitions and a strong work ethic, but I didn’t understand why I had to attend and graduate from school.
“(Now) I’m asking high school students two central questions — first, where are you going to college? And second, what do you want as a career? Ninety percent of the time, I’m given the same familiar answer — ‘I don’t know.’ ... Most of our students don’t have a clue about the wide variety of career opportunities, nor how to pursue them.”
Ellis said he will bring a fresh voice to the R-I board.
“I bring a different voice, a different choice and a lived experience the average candidate has probably not lived through,” Ellis said.
As for important issues, Ellis said, catching up to and competing in a virtual society will be key over the next decade, plus preparing students to compete for higher wage jobs and bringing equality and fairness across the spectrum throughout the district.
“The best method of dealing with change is to be a change agent,” Ellis said, “having the ability to see enough into the future and to develop processes and programs that will put us into a position to graduate classes equipped for the 21st century.”