Ripon School Board Candidates Participate In Forum
19 March 2019 News
All four candidates running for the Ripon School Board participated in a candidates forum put on by the League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area. One of the issues addressed was the use of the Barlow Park Loop by parents to drop off their kids at Barlow Park Elementary School. Nate Zimdars believes it’s good to have multiple drop off points at the school, but feels conversations about keeping the loop open need to continue. Margaret “Betsy” Heffernan is concerned about the safety, but feels closing down the loop will have some unintended consequences in other drop off areas. Dan Zimmerman would like to see the loop remain open. He says it was used for dropping off students for a reason and closing it will create more congestion in front of the school. Gary Rodman says they never used the loop to drop off their kids off. He says the city and the school district could do a better job to see if there is a better way moving forward. District voters will be voting to put three of the candidates on the school board April 2nd.
Student Mental Health A Growing Concern In The Schools
All four of the Ripon School Board candidates recognize the need for providing mental health services to students in the district. They talked about it during a candidates forum put on by the League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area. Dan Zimmerman says when he served as the state’s Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary they dealt with a lot of veteran suicides that were the result of mental health and substance abuse issues. He feels the school district has done a good job bringing in mental health experts to deal with students’ issues. Gary Rodman says the district has spent more money on mental health experts and in developing curriculum that could alleviate some of the problems. Nate Zimdars says he serves on a youth coalition that tackles those issues and he says while the coalition is fairly new it is making progress. Margaret “Betsy” Heffernan says she served on an anti-bullying committee and they saw some kids that needed additional mental health support. She feels students are under a tremendous amount of stress and it is a growing issue. Three of the candidates will be elected to the school board on April 2nd.
Candidates Would Like More Information About Barlow Park Charter School Proposal
Candidates for the Ripon School Board would like more information about a proposal for a play-based charter school at Barlow Park Elementary. All four expressed that opinion during a candidates forum put on by the League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area. The district has applied for a grant for a charter school in the lower grade levels of the school. Dan Zimmerman says he attended meetings before the board voted in favor of applying for the grant. He says it is an interesting idea, but isn’t convinced there is enough information to move forward if the grant is received. Gary Rodman does support the proposal. He says they have some very enthusiastic teachers that play a role in successful learning in the district and would in the charter school as well. Nate Zimdars says there are a lot of questions about the proposal, but he believes a play-based charter school is a good thing. Margaret “Betsy” Heffernan feels the charter school would help younger students. She says while there are a lot of questions teachers made a compelling case for it and the school board made a good decision to apply for the grant. On April 2nd voters will decide which of the four candidates will serve on the board.
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