Farmington chamber presents election forum: Part one

The Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce (FRCC) recently hosted an evening at Long Memorial Hall to help voters become better educated about the bond and levy issues on the ballot for the Farmington School District voters and to learn more about the candidates in the two contested Farmington races for Ward 2 Councilperson and mayor. Due to the amount of content, the mayoral candidates will be featured in a separate story.

FRCC Executive Director Candy Hente moderated the evening, and Chamber Ambassador Mark Toti kept the stopwatch running for timed responses. Hente thanked Black Knight Television for recording the event, available for viewing on the BKTV YouTube Channel.

Farmington School District Propositions F and S

Dr. Kyle Gibbs, Farmington School District Superintendent, was first on the agenda to present information on Propositions F and S, bond and levy issues that voters will see on the ballot. He expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the forum and share the propositions. With a 26-year-long career, he is a lifelong educator and has been the Farmington R-7 Superintendent of Schools for two years.

“I grew up not too far from here. My parents still live on a farm for which they worked their whole lives. My dad retired from the mining company and raised three sons, and we’ve all been very successful. I think that’s a tribute to public education, so I’m so passionate about it.”

He explained it as two buckets of money that local tax dollars operate from: the bonds and the levy. He said the ballot will have Proposition F, which he would elaborate on regarding facilities, resources, and safety; it aims to address critical needs through a $48 million bond issue. Proposition S would relate to people and programs; the 40-cent increase is designed to generate $2 million.

“Bonds are for building and for making improvements all across our district. The levy focuses on learning, keeping the lights on, food, the buses going, and the fuel for the buses. The biggest component of that is for our people, the benefits, the salary, and all of the programming that we have going on for our students. Those are the two things that we’re working from and talking about when we come to these two propositions. There’s a timeline for when we work through this. A lot of these things were in place from before I came, and after I came here two years ago, we launched a demographic study, really studying the needs of our community. So this came about over a series of work and just trying to make sure that we were meeting the needs of our school and keeping our community strong in turn,” he said.

The first facility improvement he touched on was the proposed dual-purpose building at the high school campus that would function as a 2,000-person capacity storm shelter and a 740-seat auditorium. He said that was a current hot topic in the community, and the slant of many conversations is that the building isn’t needed, particularly the performing arts plans, because of the Centene Center right across Black Knight Drive.

“So the first thing, that safety piece, and I’ve heard people kind of dismiss that as, ‘Oh, we don’t need that!’ Well, we don’t need it until we need it. We’ve got communities all around us that are following building codes that have been there for 10 years at this point, and continuing to ignore those is not what schools are doing in this day and age. So what message would that be for our community if we chose to forego those building codes? So we’ve got West County building theirs right now, Ste. Genevieve is building theirs. We’ve got Potosi with almost the exact same storm shelter and performing arts center on their ballot this April. Arcadia Valley has two storm shelters that they’re putting in on their ballots. Fredericktown already has a shelter in place, and Valley with theirs in place.”

“We look at the dual purpose part of it, the performing arts side. We have so many events that we highlight in the high school and so many things that can be a part of that building. Our drama program is preparing for its spring play right now. One-hundred ten nights out of the year, our director said, they are in that space practicing, preparing for the performances. Our band program should be able to showcase them on a stage that’s their own, that they can practice on all throughout the day. Events can be held there like college speakers coming in, replicating what it feels like to be in a college auditorium for a class for our students. Assemblies can be held with multi-grades going into that space.”

Washington-Franklin School is a legacy building with students attending classes in the same building some of their grandparents used. “It’s a beloved building,” Gibbs said. “It serves 400 students on any given day, plus staff. We need exterior and interior updates to the building to give it the love and attention it deserves for this community.  I rarely speak anywhere where people don’t say, I went to school there.”

Middle school enhancements would include the removal of temporary walls to create dedicated classrooms for teachers and adding three classrooms that can house over 650 students as a storm shelter. “We would have two additional campuses covered with storm shelters,” Gibbs said.

He said an athletic facility has been identified as a need at the middle school despite some public comments to the contrary. He was speaking to track and field athletes at the middle school, and the group filled the cafeteria.

“Rarely have they practiced on an actual track or get to feel what it’s like to run 100 meters or a regulation 400 meters of rounded track because busing to the high school is a challenge. Or they’re at the high school, and it’s very crowded because we have all the high school team, which is large, and the middle school together. Then, when you think about the fall we have so much going on between marching bands, two soccer teams–JV and varsity–7th and 8th grade football, and JV and varsity football. They’re all vying for one field. An athletic facility at the middle school would give them a regulation field to prepare for all of those activities and really give opportunities, including all the youth programs that use our facilities. It would also serve the community over on that side of town to have a walking track to get in and off the streets.

Several district-wide upgrades are planned, including HVAC upgrades, roofing projects at four campuses, and building efficiency upgrades. Updating the bus fleet is another key component, addressing the need to replace aging vehicles. The district maintains 39 buses, the average age of which is 14.36. One bus is 26 years old.

Focus on improving safety measures across the district, beyond the storm shelters at the high school and middle school, would include upgraded intercom systems, exterior lighting, and cybersecurity systems.

Proposition S focuses on people and programs, addressing the operational needs of the school district. It aims to enhance learning environments, provide for education staff retention, and maintain essential services. The average teacher salary in Missouri is $55,600, while the average Farmington teacher salary is $51,447. The district operates with a high student-to-teacher ratio of 20:1; the administrator-to-student ratio is 225:1. The state average is a 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio and a 158:1 administrator-to-student ratio, showing that the Farmington School District is doing more with less.

Proposition S also ensures that non-educator-classified employees and support staff are maintained. This includes food service teams, bus drivers, maintenance teams, custodians, nurses, paraprofessionals, social workers, librarians, administrative assistants, physical therapists, counselors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and others.

Proposition S aims to maintain robust programs for students such as CTE courses, internships, ROTC, Dayse Baker program for at-risk students, counseling services, and the three-year-old learner program at Truman Learning Center.

Citizens opposing and supporting Propositions F and S

Executive Director Hente then said there would be two citizens speaking about the propositions, one in opposition and one in support; each would have five minutes to present their position.

Local attorney Tom Burcham spoke first, opposing both propositions and voicing concerns that have been echoed recently in the community.

“I want to start by saying thank you and recognizing Dr. Gibbs. He has been nothing but respectful to me and gentlemanly in providing information as I’ve asked for it. I appreciate it; this is not personal,” Burcham said. “This is a $48 million bond issue that the school district asks us to pay over the next 24 years. That’s three times larger than the last bond issue that the school district asked us to pay. At the current tax-free bond rate, the cost of borrowing that amount of money over that amount of time is an additional $21 million. That’s a total of $69 million that we, the taxpayers of southern St. Francois County, are being asked to pay over the next 24 years. The $21 million isn’t going to teachers, not going to the school district; it’s not benefiting the kids. It’s going to benefit bond investors around the country.

“Five years ago, our assessments sharply increased in southern St. Francois County. The fault of nobody in this room was the state tax commission that applied pressure for those assessments to be increased. When the assessments increased, the taxes we paid increased. Unfortunately, that pressure isn’t gone. As you read in the paper, the state tax commission is in discussions with the county to increase our assessments even further. We must raise our assessments another 20 percent in the primary school district to get to the state tax commission’s minimum. That means that we have paid more taxes in the last five years, and we will pay more taxes even faster going forward.”

Burcham said the school district has $17.5 million in reserve, and money will come in even faster going forward.

“Pay the teachers. Pay them. We’re all for it. The school district isn’t a bank. Pay them. This is not a question of revenue. It’s a question of spending priorities. We all agree that the purpose of public education is to educate our kids and to prepare them better for life. So we have to ask this question. Are our kids any better educated? Are any better prepared for life? If they perform the school play at the performing arts center owned by the school district at the bottom of the hill, as opposed to the performing arts center owned by the city at the top of the hill? The storm shelter requirement is easily waivable; it’s a city ordinance. The city grants relief from the international building code to citizens, institutions, and businesses based on local conditions.

“My understanding is nobody has come to the city from the school district and said, ‘Hey, if you waive the storm shelter requirement, we’ll save the taxpayers millions of dollars to put that money into the classroom.’ There’s a 100% chance, not a 99% chance, but a 100% chance that if the school district went to the city, that money could be saved because that requirement could be waived. There’s money in the bond issue for additional athletic facilities,” Burcham said.

He said nobody questions the importance of athletics, especially at the high school level, but the issue is priorities.

“Can anybody look each other in the eye and say, You know, we haven’t spent enough on athletic facilities in Farmington and the school district in the last 15 or 20 years? Go back to the theme. Are our kids any better prepared for life because they are being tackled on turf than they are being tackled on grass? It’s a matter of spending priorities. It’s a matter of taxpayer priorities. It’s a matter of keeping the mission in focus. You can be for education, and you can be for kids and be against these tax increases.”

Dr. Keith Zoromski, Mineral Area College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, countered Burcham’s opposition and shared the reasons why he supports the bond and levy issues.

“I am here as a parent of a middle schooler and the spouse of an elementary teacher. I’m not here to debate. I’m not here to rebut. I believe we should all vote our conscience. I’ve taught social studies and history my whole education career. I believe that this type of dialogue is healthy for our republic and our community. But in believing that everyone should vote for their conscience, I’d like to share my conscience with you. My conscience does prioritize safe and secure schools. If you know me, you know that I relocated from the Joplin area and experienced the Joplin tornado. That did occur on a Sunday evening. But had it occurred even on a weekday night with activities, history could be very different in that community.

“As tragic as it already was. In that, too, I realize it’s a low probability, but there are other accidents and ways to keep students safe. Ways that we can make traffic flow safer for drop-off, pickup, and walkers. Other ways to make our schools safer environments, more hygienic, cleaner, and up-to-date. Safe and secure means that none of us should ever worry when we drop our kids off at school, they drive themselves to school, walk to school while they’re there. That, to me, is my conscience and a priority,” Zoromski said.

He said that as a historian, he takes pride in the historic buildings that make Farmington unique, but future-ready facilities are crucial, even though construction costs continue to rise.

“To be able to invest in these facilities means that in the future, we do not have to spend more on something that we wish we would have done at this time. It’s preserving the past to invest in the future. That’s not just with Washington, frankly. That’s with active learning classrooms, spaces that accommodate programs that we may not even know exist yet. As education needs change, programs and opportunities reach our students in ways that we couldn’t have even imagined when we went through school. Doing so allows us to put students in a safe and secure environment in a future-ready facility for that instruction to expand on student success.

“When we relocated here, there was no question as to what district my family wanted to live in, and that was Farmington. Its reputation precedes itself beyond the Parkland. In knowing that, we can give students even more of a chance to expand their success academically through extracurriculars and opportunities to determine their passions. The types of things that you and I experienced in realizing this helped me as a lifelong learner. It helped me realize this is the profession I wanted to go in. We need to invest in our educators. Getting salary equity is a challenge.”

Zoromski said that investment would become more expensive each year, and while there is no debate on the need to pay teachers a competitive salary to retain staff, he said the issue should be resolved now.

“I believe that we shouldn’t be pushing a problem on future leadership of the school district when we have the opportunity to address it now. In doing so, we can help with teacher retention that promotes instructional continuation. In doing so, we have less teacher turnover. We have teachers who are experienced and more devoted to a district, who make their careers here rather than starting a year or two here and going to another school district. Taking that knowledge, that professional development, and that love of the community with them.

“In doing all of those, we strengthen the community. We will allow more opportunities for the community to use the facilities. We make it a place that draws those seeking to relocate to the parkland. We make it a place that our children can pass it off to their children in a way that we found it better and we did so for them. I believe that these two measures serve teachers, students, faculty, staff, leadership, and the community that will benefit from these measures,” Zoromski said in closing.

City Council candidates

In explaining the order of the evening, Executive Director Hente said, “Candidates have been given the questions in advance and will have two minutes to answer each question. We flipped a coin before this meeting to determine which candidate we will present first. That order will be altered with each new question. We will be timing the speakers to ensure we proceed in a fair manner. At this time, we’d like to invite our two candidates for Ward 2 City Council, Josh Smith and Jessica Layton, to the stage.”

Question #1: What made you decide to run for city council?

Candidate Simpson, who said he has a large family and works full-time running a small business, was first to the stage, so he was chosen to answer first.

“I spent about 10 years of my life in law enforcement, and that was about 15 years ago. Since then, I’ve felt like I was missing community involvement. I always enjoyed those years of helping people and being involved in our community and working with community leaders on problems that we had within the city. I miss being involved in my local community,” he said.

Candidate Layton said she and her family had moved to Farmington about two years ago and found the city to be a place she loved because everyone had been so welcoming to them, but she found a problem that concerned her. She said she found her niche when she found City Hall and inserted herself into the process.

Layton said, “I realized that we had a really bad intersection issue with vehicles ending up in my yard where my children are playing.I go to the safety meetings. I go to all the meetings that we have, like the City Council meetings, the safety meetings. I go to luncheons. I put up a four-way stop, and I’ve gotten a few other things done. I’m not trying to pull anything bad. I definitely go to businesses, and I try to help out, and I ask if there’s an issue. Sometimes there are. Sometimes there’s not. If there is, I do what I do. I do what I can. I go get records. I go get the information that’s needed, and we do what we have to do.”

Question #2: What do you hope to accomplish by being on City Council?

Simpson said he wants to be able to represent the residents in Ward 2. “Any of their concerns, any of the issues that they have, that they come to me for, trying to find either a solution for them or an answer, whether it be working with Public Works or the police department, whatever their issue is, to be able to connect those two and basically be their liaison. The second part of that would be to kind of be a voice of reason on City Council. You’ve got resolutions or ordinances being passed. I think there’s a lot of, you know, I kind of, I like to ask a lot of questions, I’ll put it that way. I don’t believe in just asking something to pass it because somebody else told me it needs to be passed.”

Layton said she hoped to be very proactive and had already demonstrated that for more than a year by attending safety and city council meetings. She said she is a good listener and goes to business owners, residents, and neighbors to “see if there’s something we can do to fix or help.”

“Yes, we have a wonderful town. But some say, yes, there are some issues. So what I do is I go get the records. I go do the due diligence. So what I’m hoping to accomplish is just to help our town. It doesn’t matter if it’s Ward 2, Ward 4, Ward 3. I don’t care. I just want to help. That’s all I’m here for. That’s all I’ve been doing for the two-plus years that I’ve been here. I mean, as a citizen, I got a four-way stop put in, which is not a big deal to a lot of people and I’m proud of it. There’s been a few other things. I’m hoping to accomplish a lot more. I listen to everybody and I do what I can do,” she said.

Question #3: What qualifies you to be a city council member?

Simpson said that his years of service as a police officer provided him with experience dealing with law enforcement, city officials, and the local community and learning about citizens’ concerns. He said homelessness is an issue in Farmington, and he has personally dealt with hundreds of members of the unhoused community.

“I’ve seen their side of things and the side of the city and also the side of the law. The law has to be followed on that, and maybe there’s room for some ordinances to help with that or work with other officials. But that experience helped me a lot as far as I feel like dealing with a lot of the city issues that come up. I would also say being a small business owner here in Farmington has helped me. I think we need a good representation for those small businesses because they are honestly the heart and soul of our city.”

Layton said she didn’t have many formal qualifications from her more than two years of residency, but she loves Farmington, and had refrained from bringing up the issues she saw with the homeless situation.

“There’s several churches. There’s a homeless shelter, of course, which has a 270-person capacity, and we maybe see 20, 30 people ever from what they call communities, which is kind of sad, but you can’t be a doctor all when you’re in the homeless society. But anyway, not just that. I’ve gotten rid of a couple really sketchy houses, and I think everybody can agree with safety, safety, safety there with our children going to school, and not just that, but yeah, my big four-way stop. It was my big thing. There’s a couple other things that are in the works, though,” she said.

The mayoral candidates’ questions and answers will follow in a separate story.

Lisa Brotherton-Barnes is a staff writer for the Daily Journal and Farmington Press. She can be reached at lbarnes@dailyjournalonline.com.