3 file for Neelyville school election

Neelyville voters will elect two members to the R-IV board of education in April.

Amanda Wolfram and Vernon Barker filed Tuesday as candidates and Chuck Reinbott tossed his hat in the ring Thursday.

Wolfram and Barker are first-time candidates, while Reinbott has run for the board once.

Wolfram’s children played a role in her decision to seek election.

“I have three kids in the district,” Wolfram said. “We have been highly involved in other areas of the school.”

The family volunteers at the school and is involved with the basketball teams.

Her husband Chad Wolfram is executive vice president of the Ozark Federal Credit Union in Poplar Bluff.

“I think this is probably a good move for our family to be involved and to be there when certain things are decided for our school system,” Wolfram said.

Wolfram is the children’s ministry director of Fellowship General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff.

Working at the church has been a blessing, Wolfram said.

“I’m a mom; that usually trumps most things,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to be where I could actually still have the title of stay-at-home mom. So that’s been a blessing.”

The Wolframs have a 15-year-old high school freshman, a 12-year-old and a 7-year-old.

While she has never held an elected office, Wolfram said, “I’m excited, excited and nervous. I’ve served on boards, obviously at church, but none of them are elected.”

Wolfram said, “I think it’s important, especially in the world we live in today. The way the world is as parents, we stay really connected in our children’s lives. I think one of the ways to do that is to be a part of a board that would represent the kids. My No. 1 priority has and always will be our teachers and our children of Neelyville school. I want to make sure that they have a voice constantly and always. That will be my No. 1 goal.”

Barker, who is a lifelong resident of the Neelyville School District, gave the decision to run for school board much thought.

“I am excited to bring new ideas to the table while trying to make a positive impact on our school,” he said.

He and his wife, Stacey Barker, have been married 17 years. Their son Gage Barker is 13 years old. He is the owner of Barkers Towing & Auto Repair in Poplar Bluff.

Barker said, “as a graduate of Neelyville High School, and the father of a current Neelyville Tiger, I want to ensure we continue to improve the quality, success and growth of our district.”

Like many other districts, Barker believes, “our district is being forced to make some hard decisions to pave the way of the future. With significant challenges arising, I feel I can be instrumental in the process while working with the other board members to protect and prepare for the future.

“I believe with my background, managing my own business and my dedication to the Neelyville School, I will make me a great asset to the board,” Barker said.

Reinbott said a recent school board decision captured his attention and resulted in him making the move to run for the board.

Reinbott is unhappy with the way the school board “is approaching hiring a superintendent. Basically, what they are doing is they’ve hired an outside individual to find a superintendent for them, which, with the poor district like Neelyville, that is not a good idea. It could be a bad morale for some of the employees saying you’ll spend money on this, but you won’t spend money on pay raises.”

If the school board members are not able to hire a superintendent, Reinbott asks, “why are they on the school board, is the way I see it.”

“Basically, hiring an outside person is spending money that the school district don’t really have,” he said.

Reinbott doesn’t recall the Neelyville board hiring an outside consultant before.

He’s also concerned for the school’s academic standing.

“The Neelyville school has a reputation of having a real good record, and they’re slowly getting away from that,” Reinbott said. “They have real good scores for what they are teaching the kids. I think they need to get focused back on the academics. They need to teach the kids what they need to know to be productive citizens.”

Reinbott is proud he, his wife and both of their daughters are graduates of Neelyville schools.

“My wife’s name is Traci,” he said. “My oldest daughter is Paige. The youngest daughter is Peyton.”

Both the Reinbott’s daughters are in pharmacy school. He worked as an area supervisor for Ozark Border Elective Cooperative.