00:00:13,500	Welcome to this debate with the candidates for the Mandan School Board. I'm Janelle Moos, member of the League of Women Voters, and I'll be your moderator this evening. This debate has been organized. And the questions developed by the League of Women Voters, the Bismarck Tribune, the Bismarck Mandan Chamber, EDC, AARP of North Dakota, and Dakota Media Access.

00:00:32,470	There are six candidates running for three open positions on the Mandan School Board, and we have four of those candidates that have joined us here today. They're Justin Bailey, Ashley Jacob- Jacob- Ashley Jacobchick I even practiced that. I'm sorry. Ashley, Jill Miller and Julie Cronin Skaret The other two candidates had prior commitments and could not attend.

00:00:55,430	Our purpose is to provide voters with information and the candidates and their positions on issues that affect the citizens of Mandan. The candidates have not received questions in advance. Viewers watching this debate live on April 20th 9th May submit questions by texting LWVBISMAN 152 to 22333 to join the session and text your question.

00:01:18,730	So the debate format is as follows. Each candidate will have 60s to make an opening statement, and after those opening statements, the candidates will respond to questions. The first responses to the questions will be rotated between the candidates, and each candidate will have 60s to respond to each question.

00:01:37,170	After each candidate has responded to the question, there will be up to three additional minutes allowed for the debate or additional comments from all candidates. After the final question, each candidate will then have 60s to make a closing statement. Candidates are asked to comply with our time restrictions so that we can get as many questions in as possible.

00:01:54,600	Our timers will let you know when responses are down to 30s, then 10s and stop for the debate segment. There'll be indicate that there'll be one minute and then stop. So let's get to the candidates then. Each of you will have 60s to make an opening statement and we will start with.

00:02:16,100	Miss Miller. Go ahead. Hi. Thank you for hosting this. The League of Women Voters. My name is Jill Miller. I lived in Mandan. It's on. You want to call it? I've lived in Mandan since 1999. I have two daughters that have gone through the Mandan School District.

00:02:33,470	I worked for the Mandan School District for 13.5 years, with 9 or 10 of those years serving as the school board secretary. I feel I'm knowledgeable on some of our issues that we have, and I want to run to support our teachers, to support our students, and to support all of our staff.

00:02:56,600	Thank you, Miss Jacobchick Good evening, and thank you all for being here. I'd like to thank the women of the League of Women Voters and the other sponsoring organizations for inviting me to join tonight and putting on this event.

00:03:11,800	My name is Ashley Jacobchick, and I'm running for Mandan School Board because I care deeply about the future of our students and our community. As a parent, a lifelong Mandan resident and a graduate of our school system, I'm committed to serving the community and making a meaningful impact for our children and educators.

00:03:28,170	My husband and I are raising our family here and were invested in ensuring our schools remain strong for years to come. Professionally, I serve as a clinic manager where I lead a team, manage operations, and make decisions that require accountability and clear communication. Those same principles matter greatly in our schools.

00:03:49,500	I believe in strong academics, safe and structured learning environments, and supporting the teachers and staff who make it all possible. I'm not running to make a change for the sake of change. I'm running to listen, ask thoughtful questions, and help build on the strong foundation our schools already have. Because like so other many families here, this isn't just where we live. It's where we're building our future. Thank you, Mr. Bailey.

00:04:08,430	Yeah. Thanks, everybody, for setting this up. League of Women Voters and everybody else that's in attendance tonight. My name is Justin Bailey. So I'm running on three core focus areas in. The first of that is career in college readiness. The second is educator support and the third is measurable student achievement.

00:04:24,730	I've enjoyed my time serving on the Student Achievement Committee here at Mandan Public Schools. I also have experience working in higher education. And currently I serve at the Department of Transportation, managing our Vision Zero programs to prevent vehicle fatalities in North Dakota.

00:04:42,800	Part of that mission is safety and saving lives, and I also manage federal and state dollars to achieve that those program goals. So I look to my time on the school board to be able to serve the community, listen to input, and just ensure that our our financial commitments are tied directly to measurable student achievement. Thank you.

00:05:05,270	Thank you, Miss Cronin Skaret My name is Julie Cronin Skaret and I. I am a parent of a 14 year old at. And I'm one of those really common sense parents. I believe in common sense in our school system, and I believe that when our children spend more time with their teachers.

00:05:35,330	Do you want me to start over? You can if you. Okay. Yeah. Go ahead. Okay. My name is Julie Cronin Skaret, and I am a parent of a 14 year old over at Mandan Middle School or Mandan High School. And I'm just a common sense parent. I believe in just common sense decisions within our school system.

00:05:57,330	But more than that, I really believe in supporting our educators and our students because my child spends more time with her teachers than she spends with her dad and I on an average weekday.

00:06:16,330	And so I really just want to be a part of the decision making process of what's going on in our schools, because I don't want to be one of those parents that complains and doesn't do anything about it. I don't want to sit on the sidelines. I am a former journalist by profession and spent much of my time as an education reporter in every one of our schools, here in Mandan and in Bismarck and in other communities as well.

00:06:34,730	So I love children, I love our educators, and I feel that this is just a good fit for me, and I want to be a part of our community. Great. Thank you. And now we'll move to the questions. So we'll start with Miss Miller.

00:06:51,630	First question is what impact do you believe the new state law capping property taxes at 3%, will have on the 2027 budget?

00:07:01,700	I think it's we need the property taxes. And I'm not sure that I the cap is the way to go. We need the property taxes to help support our school systems. That to cut it off is not a good thing.

00:07:22,370	It puts a strain on all of our budgets at the school level at I mean, we can't supplies, teachers. We need we need our teachers. We need to support them with that, those funds. Miss Jacobchick absolutely. What Jill said capping, capping a budget or capping anything for a growing community I think can be detrimental.

00:07:45,800	I think Mandan is growing at a rate where we need to look for the future and see where we can grow and we can build. Obviously, we need to be respectful of the taxpayers dollars and where all that goes and what we use it for, but I think just having people competent on the board and using the funding for what it should be for,

00:08:02,730	I think it can go a long way as well. Thank you, Mrs. Miller. Yeah, I think, Mr. Bailey. I apologize. As was mentioned, I think it creates a strain. I think looking to shift our focus from what the problem is to what we can do about it is important.

00:08:21,430	I really am a big advocate for the business community. So striving to create partnerships to bring in larger businesses to the Mandan area, to just overall increase those funds is important to me, like trying to try energy and other partnerships that that have been talked about previously.

00:08:40,800	And I think as we do make decisions, we just need to be a little more frugal moving forward to see the bigger picture and just strive to look and see what the future has and not just what our current immediate needs are, so that we don't get hit with a bond or anything that's, you know, detrimental down the road

00:08:55,170	to try to manage those things frugally from the beginning. So. Miss Cronin Skaret. Yeah, I don't I don't like the idea of a cap. If 3% makes sense for our community in supporting our schools, then I think 3% makes sense.

00:09:16,170	But I don't ever like the idea of we're just absolutely never going to go beyond that, that we're just going to stop it there because we need to be able to give our students the resources so that they grow up to be responsible members of our community. We don't want them leaving our community. We don't want them leaving our state. We want them to stay here and to build up our community.

00:09:30,470	And so I feel like every resident, every business owner, everybody that's part of the community, you know, needs to pay their fair share of taxes so that we can support our schools. Now, we can get out of line with taxes. But I really strongly feel that our board has been very responsible in that area with the budget.

00:09:50,800	And, and, and I just I don't like the idea of a cap. I think we need to keep that open so that we can make the best decision possible for supporting our system. Thank you. Now we'll open it up. If there are any other follow up comments or information that you'd like to provide.

00:10:09,630	I personally, I love what Justin said about growing the community. Right. Getting more businesses in here, creating more tax revenue. I think there's ways to grow it without necessarily putting more on the taxpayers, but building businesses and building establishments that can actually bring in that tax revenue to help, to help that and not have to cap it.

00:10:32,100	Thank you.

00:10:35,330	Any other comments on that question? Okay. Great. Thank you. We will move to Miss Jacobchick. The next question is what is your position on redistributing staff from elementary schools, closing Custer Elementary, for example, to other elementary or middle schools? So I was actually at the school board meeting where they made the decisions

00:10:56,530	and all of the staff, it sounds like got to go where they wanted to, which was so important. Right? You're taking away some of these people's careers, has probably been there their whole career at Custer.

00:11:11,270	It sounds like most of them got placed in schools where they wanted to go their first choice, and to me, that's very important. It's about being comfortable where the where the teachers are comfortable to teach, where the kids are comfortable to learn. So that made me happy.

00:11:27,730	You're taking a school who's been around for a long time, and you're having to displace his teachers, but I feel like they all got their next best home and the next best thing for them, so I feel okay with it. Thank you, Mr. Bailey. Yeah, I think it was.

00:11:44,330	It was a tough process, but I believe that the administration handled it and they took into account what the needs and wants were of the staff and the children. I think when we look at our young learners, they have more of a need to have that teacher to student ratio lower so that they have that attention that they need and that they deserve, as you know, educate education and maintain public schools need to provide with those young students.

00:12:02,070	So I think it was done well. I think as long as we can reallocate and adjust those students accordingly to class size and make sure that we don't have too many students for one teacher, and that we keep that under control is very important. But I believe the process was handled pretty well. Thank you. Miss Cronin Skaret.

00:12:19,800	Could you repeat the question? Of course, of course. What is your position on redistributing staff from elementary schools, such as closing Custer Elementary to other elementary or middle schools? Well, I think that it's an obvious answer. I mean, we need to be placing these these staff members from the school closing into our other schools because they're talented.

00:12:41,070	And and like Ashley said, it sounds like that they've all found where they needed want to go and that it's been distributed well. So I'm very glad about that. We don't want to see teachers leaving our district ever. We we want to retain them.

00:13:01,230	And so this is just one way that we can do that is give them another opportunity in another school. Let them continue doing what they're really good at. Thank you, Miss Miller.

00:13:18,800	I know we don't ever want to see schools close, but when they do close, it's great to see that we can redistribute our staff, get them out in different schools, different positions, different experiences for our kids as well. My daughter started at Custer and had a great start there. It's a small school. It's a great experience this way, though, we didn't have to riff anybody. We didn't have to cut jobs. They're in different schools doing good in other schools as well. Thank you.

00:13:40,370	Any other comments or feedback regarding that question from the candidates?

00:13:51,100	We will move on to Mr. Bailey. We'll start with you on this next question. What do you envision for the future use of Custer Elementary School now that it's going to be closed? Yeah, I think this is something that a lot of the community has asked about.

00:14:06,330	As I've been walking around and meeting some of the people in their homes and, and chatting about those things, there's been different options talked about. I think one thing to keep in mind is the purpose of the closure was to save those maintenance costs. So I believe the district is looking to put that out for a bit.

00:14:24,730	I want the community to still have a place for their children to play, unlike the playground area. So I do support in some some way, some capacity to keep that as public use and available for that community there in that neighborhood. I mean, I see there's plenty of options for it.

00:14:40,170	I think as long as it serves the community in some capacity, that's really important, whether that be for younger, younger people, older people or anywhere in between, just to keep that as a public service location. Thank you, Miss Cronin Skaret.

00:14:59,630	I think that the district or the school board made the right decision in in closing the school, and, and we need to be reminded that they did that for a very good reason. And so, you know, I'd like to see that go out for bids and see who can come to the table and make an offer. And I'd really love to see some more child care or some more early learning preschool in Mandan.

00:15:21,900	And so I you know, they've done that before in Bismarck, where they closed an elementary school. Now it's a B Sep. I'd really like to see that be utilized in that way if possible. I think it's set up well for that. And and I think it would greatly benefit the community. Thank you, Miss Miller.

00:15:41,370	I'd have to agree with that with having more younger children programs. They're out. See what we can get in. Maybe partner with Parks and Rec. Maybe Parks and Rec would have something that they'd want to bring in another. Another playground facility with child care in there. But I'd like to see it used for something for our future.

00:16:07,370	Miss Jacobchick. Just to reiterate what they said, I think it would be great to go out to bid. I think it is already set up. Very wonderful for Parks and Rec or someone else to come in and open up a child care or a multi-use. It's already set up. Great for that.

00:16:24,270	My husband and I, we were part of the Saint Joe's crew. Our girls went to daycare there and we'd have to stand out line outside at four in the morning to get them a spot, and I think it would just be nice to have something that has that same feel here, and it's already

00:16:38,000	set up with the classrooms or even the Summer Mack program waiting list. There's waiting list for any before and after school program using it. Something still within the school district, but funds and maybe just getting some of that back, but still using it for community and our students of all ages. Thank you.

00:16:59,730	Any further comments on that question? I guess if I were to pick, you know, what's another way that I'd love to see that building be used? It would be something that kids or families can can do during the winter months.

00:17:21,730	Our winter months here are so long, and I know our family is always looking for things to do during the winter. Getting outside and doing winter sporting stuff is great, but you're even limited to that during a large part of the year. And so I really believe that our community could use more places for families to go to. I know at last time I ran for school board.

00:17:40,700	We were talking about the high school, and I had mentioned, you know, turn it into a movie theater or something fun like that. You know, if there were a second choice for me, I'd say to possibly bid that out for for something that would benefit the community in that way. Okay. Thank you. Other comments.

00:18:00,430	Okay. We will go to a question that we had texted in from one of our viewers, and we'll start with you, Miss Cronin Skaret. Are you flexible and able to attend meetings that occur before 5:00 in the evening? Absolutely. I am making a commitment when I'm running for school board that I will be at every meeting.

00:18:17,470	I campaigned on that last time, and I will say it again, if I'm not Abe, I know when the meetings are. They take place at 5:00 and if I'm not able to make those meetings, then I should not be up here running for school board. They don't meet more than twice a month.

00:18:33,100	So it's it's not a huge commitment to attend those meetings. I have been a little disappointed when I look at our current school board and how many meetings are missed. I don't want to call anyone out, but anyone can go online and check that out.

00:18:52,600	But there's no reason why it's understandable to miss a meeting here or there. I do believe that God and family need to come first, but this is my commitment. I'll be at every school board meeting and and yeah, that's it. That's Miller. Yes, I will be flexible to be in meetings.

00:19:13,800	There's there have been times where there's been meetings at 8:00 in the morning. I've attended those I will I have a job where they're very willing to work around a schedule for this type of issue. I will be at all of the meetings that I absolutely can. Things happen. You get sick, kids, husbands, spouses of whatever last minute emergencies.

00:19:38,630	But yes, I will be at attendance as many as I can. Thank you, Miss Jacobchick. Yes I am, I plan to be at everyone. I'm very fortunate to have a husband and family who are able to either pick up the slack with my children where need be.

00:19:56,630	If it's getting someone somewhere, and I'm very fortunate and very blessed to have a job that's also flexible, where I'm able to attend and plan to attend all of them. I'm diving feet first into this and I'm ready to be there for everybody. Thank you, Mr. Bailey.

00:20:14,530	Yeah, I think, you know, as was stated, the flexibility in my career allows me to do some of these things when they might not be on the regular schedule. But I think the overarching thought for me is stewardship to this community and to the voters that would, if be, elect me. And that's important.

00:20:29,700	And I think as as times go on, things become more and more online and less and less connected. And I think in education, keeping that connection and that face to face interaction is very important for being able to make decisions. Being able to read the room is very important to know how your peers are feeling. If you're on a board, sometimes you can't pick up on those things.

00:20:44,600	If you attend via zoom or here's not there at all. So I believe in stewardship and and serving this community, you know, as well as I can in person. So yeah. Thank you.

00:21:02,970	Any other comments on that question? I think the other reason why it's really important, I know that you all agree with me on this, I'm sure is like you said, you know, there's something to reading a crowd and and sitting next to your peers and, and doing face to face. I think it's important to be here though, too, because this room is open for every school board meeting for the public to attend.

00:21:22,170	And they can come and they can make arrangements ahead of time to do some speaking on whatever it is that they want to talk about. And I think that's important. As a school board member, I would like to advocate that we have more of that.

00:21:36,470	Of course, it's a challenge to get more people to come to the school board meetings, but I'd like to work on that. But it's important for us to be here and sit here when they come to watch what we're doing. They voted for us, so we need to be here. Thank you. I'd also like to piggyback off that.

00:21:52,270	I made that comment when I came in and I said, wow, there's a lot more people here than on a school board night meeting. So I would also invite the public to attend and also as a school board member if I are elected.

00:22:06,730	I'd also like to be out in the schools, visiting schools to make sure that the staff know that I'm here to support them. You can come and talk to me. I'm not just here at the school board meetings, but I'll be present in your schools to.

00:22:22,370	We'll move on to the next question and we will move back to Miss Miller. We'll start with you as a school system, how do you see your role in solving workforce gaps across our region? It's hard. There's no easy answer to that. I mean, you it's all over.

00:22:41,230	It's not just in the school district, it's in retail, it's in construction. It's you have to find those workers that are willing to put in the hours that are willing to get to you, and once you get there, you have to keep them there. You have to support them. You have to listen to them.

00:22:55,430	And that's what I plan on doing on the school board. Thank you, Miss Jacobchick. Just attending some of these school board meetings. The last few times I've heard that they're starting some new technical programs at the high school level.

00:23:15,900	I think teaching our students how to be responsible, how like giving them a career, giving them something to look forward to, and then just treating the people that we do have well and make it a place that everybody wants to be at, I think is very important. Our workforce. My husband and I owned our own business for about 13 years and it is scarce and it is hard.

00:23:34,630	But I think educating our students, giving them trades that they can work towards education and different programs, and there's so many out there nowadays. But even teaching our young students at the high school level that there's so much out there, right? And then being able to retain them and keep them in our community is very important.

00:23:55,530	Thank you, Mr. Bailey. Yeah. I mean, my first goal is career in college readiness. I believe heavily in the work that we do with the heart River CTE center and other ways that we educate our youth to prepare them for the workforce and propel them into that.

00:24:13,370	I know we've we've recently looked in a few years back with the work based learning coordinator at the high school, and I think that that is instrumental in connecting students with employers and also the communication to those employers.

00:24:30,330	I know some employers, when they're hiring young, young employees to work for them, they're worried about things like insurance and other, you know, things that might trip them up in that hiring process and that communication between the work based learning coordinator with our our great director, Andres, and over at the high school, he does a lot of work for just communication to those employers and bringing those businesses in not only to support our students for employment opportunities,

00:24:46,370	but also support and lessen the burden on our residents in terms of tax paying. So I definitely support that. And that is that's a huge reason. That's a huge thing I feel like I missed out on when I was in high school. So thank you, Miss Cronin Skaret.

00:25:00,470	So I wasn't clear on the question if you if you meant retention in our community or within our schools. But I'd like to answer both, if that's all right. As far as our community, I would I would piggyback a little bit on on what he just said.

00:25:17,170	I think that it's really, you know, we all know this, but I think we really need to make a very big effort in our schools to make sure that our kids are growing up to be critical thinkers and understanding democratic values and civic duty. And I always tell my daughter, you know, you need to grow up to be a responsible member of your community.

00:25:38,230	And so I'd like to see the schools partnering up with businesses a little bit more and seeing that if we can get some of those kids partnering up with some of our businesses and really giving them those skills, and then going out there and using them right here in our community.

00:25:57,330	Secondly, with teachers and retention, I think we need to use our teachers now, give them the best experience possible. And there are many things I could say about how we could do that.

00:26:13,800	But, you know, I'm running out of time here, but give them the best, the best experience here in school now and have them help us to recruit others, tell their stories, let them talk and be the testimonial of what it's like teaching in this system. Thank you. Further comments on that question. In particular.

00:26:32,530	I will have to say I loved how she had mentioned working with our students, maybe job shadowing a little bit more, having some programs where there's certain businesses in town in Mandan where they're open to bringing just our young students in and letting them see what they do for a day, helping them make that educated decision on what they want to go to school for and continue continue education after high school. Thank you.

00:26:49,470	Okay. We'll start with you, Miss Jacobchick. We did have another texted in question. So do you support public private partnerships that include advertising and sponsor or business names and student view or on student spaces? Absolutely. It's our it's our public spaces that are sponsoring and donating money and their time to make some of these things possible.

00:27:15,600	I think huge and PTO also raising money, like when I go to the basketball games or the football games, you have a whole page of our local businesses that are supporting our students.

00:27:35,630	And I think that is very important to recognize the business that are recognizing and supporting our students and our teachers and our programs, our sports programs, or our vocational programs. It lets you know, right who you should also be supporting out there as well. When you're shopping or doing business with or needing something around town. So yeah, I absolutely think it it serves this purpose for in the schools. Thank you, Mr. Bailey. You repeat the question, please. Of course.

00:27:56,630	Do you support public private partnerships that include advertising and sponsor or business names in students in their student spaces? Yeah, I think I think to an extent it depends upon what that partnership looks like and what the commitment level of that private sector entity is.

00:28:24,630	I, I really am grateful for when they do support community initiatives like schools and things like that. I think that there's there's more to a partnership than just sponsorship dollars and putting your logo on things.

00:28:38,600	So I strive, you know, as a school board member and I believe, you know, a lot of anybody that's associated with the school should strive to build that to more of a partnership and not just a sponsorship. So I believe in really strengthening those and just working to further those, those connections and seek that that path from school to employment with those entities that are sponsoring.

00:28:58,330	I think that just getting their name in the door of, of Amanda in high school or whatever other school district building you want to look at is not enough. I think that taking that step further and furthering those partnerships is very important, and I think that's where we're going to see the most value for our for our learners. Thank you, Mister Cronin Skaret. Yeah.

00:29:14,100	So working in the communication marketing field, we do a lot of advertising and it just makes sense, right. To have sponsorships whether they're public or private. That makes sense for us to partner and do that. But you know it really needs to come at the school board and the community's discretion.

00:29:30,800	I think we have a responsibility to vet. You know, I would hate to see us as a school board. Just take the top, you know, the top dollar bid. Somebody wants to sponsor the new gymnasium. And I'm just using that as an example.

00:29:47,870	I'm not pointing out any business or sponsorship currently, but you know, I would hate to see us just making the decision based on how much money they're willing to give us.

00:30:03,170	I'd like to see us take that responsibly, to really take a look at who it is that wants to to to partner with us in that capacity and learn a little bit more about how they operate and what their values are. And I think that we have the responsibility, like I said, to vet through that. So yeah, I support it. Absolutely. But I think we have that responsibility to, to to really use our discretion with it. Thank you, Miss Miller. I do support it.

00:30:20,530	I believe that when they win, businesses sponsor our students. They're bringing their business into those businesses are coaching our kids. They're there with our kids. They come and watch our sports. They they're there to support our students.

00:30:41,900	They're there to support their other students, parents and our schools and our teams and their showing that by sponsoring and being there for our kids. Thank you. Additional comments.

00:30:51,530	I would just say that I think that's a great idea that you just had, and I would wholeheartedly support that, that, you know, as we're vetting through these, that we let them know because it is at our discretion, we let them know that we'd like to partner with you. And we appreciate your, your, your offer to sponsor.

00:31:10,700	But, you know, we'd like to we would like for you to be involved in the school as well. And so we can we can set that criteria up that that part is at our discretion as well.

00:31:27,330	But I also to want to piggyback again on what he said earlier, and that is that there are so many other ways that businesses can be a part of our school system without just giving money. And so I think that that's valuable for our school system just as much as it is the dollar amounts. Thank you, Mr. Bailey. Did you have something? Yeah, I was going to say it's worth mentioning.

00:31:44,270	So from professionally, I manage a sponsorship fund that we work through Vision Zero that collects some of those sponsorship dollars. So I have experience dealing with those entities and that that line of communication is very, very important in them understanding what their sponsorship goes towards, how they can strengthen the partnership with, in this case, the school.

00:32:03,170	And so from from a professional standpoint, I've seen the benefits and the flexibility that some of that sponsorship sponsorship dollars can can provide to a school district. So it's very exciting.

00:32:22,330	And yeah, just reiterating that importance of of digging down a little bit deeper with those, those sponsorships and those relationships to to really support our students at the end of the that's what we're here to do. We're not here to to just raise a bunch of money. We're here to support students and provide them with an education that that serves them throughout the rest of their life.

00:32:35,030	And I can attest to all of the people who donate, right? There's so many people on that list. But when you look down that list, it's a lot of families. Either you have a niece or a nephew or a grandchild or some someone in something that you're there to support.

00:32:50,500	And it's not just monetary, right? I think we ended up getting my sister donated and they got their cards to go. You know, your passes to get into all the all the school events. So it's encouraging involvement, right? It's encouraging you to go to these events and support our students, which is also very important in the whole reason for the donating.

00:33:14,000	Thank you. Mr. Bailey will go to you for the next question. What is your role as a school board member in addressing issues or complaints from parents or in the community? Yeah, I think my role as a school board member, I think trusting your administration is an important first step in that process to

00:33:36,900	if it's not addressed with the teacher, if it's not addressed with a principal, and if it's not addressed with the superintendent. I think moving that up the chain properly is important. And also being there to check in with them.

00:33:51,530	So if somebody brings me a complaint and I ask if they've followed that proper chain, if they have and they have not received a response, or if they've been shamed or not listened to, I think that that would be my role to step in a little bit more and push, push on that.

00:34:04,500	If they have not followed that proper chain of communication, I would push them to do that and follow up with them and see if they've taken that step, and if not, how I can help them get those concerns answered. So yeah, I think it's important to be over, over to have oversight of our district, but not micromanage our district in a sense of taking away decisions and making changes.

00:34:20,370	Whenever you don't know the full story without speaking to teachers or administrators before making a decision or making empty promises, I think that that's important. So thank you, Miss Cronin Skaret. Yeah. So number one, we need to listen. What is what is the complaint? What is the concern. And we need to listen.

00:34:42,970	We need to hear them out. And then we need to ask questions. And I think that that's not just of the person who's making the complaint or concern, but asking questions beyond that too.

00:35:05,100	So if it's a parent having a concern about a teacher, for example, then, you know, we need to ask more questions from the administrator from that school. We need to ask more questions from some students and some other teachers. But just really listening, asking questions, validating their concern and then ensuring that absolutely no complaint goes unnoticed. Because after all, when people have concerns, you know, they just need to be heard.

00:35:24,270	And so as a board, I think that the board right now does a fairly good job at at addressing concerns as they come in. And our superintendent I know is really attentive to that as well. Thank you, Miss Miller. I think we'd have to listen to the parent, the complaint and really listen.

00:35:46,670	I mean, listen, take it up with the administrator. Like Justin said, go with the chain of command. Have you followed through? Have you this? Have you that? And again, listen. And I, as one board member, can't answer that question. It has to go back.

00:36:04,070	We have to follow through and we have to if it's a decision that the board has to make, it's a decision we all have to make. We can't be in the public saying, this is what it is and this is what it is. We have to make a decision together. We have to come to a decision together.

00:36:18,370	We have to work together, and we have to make sure that we're listening to what the need is in the concern is and move on from there in the take the right processes and the steps. Thank you, Miss Jacobchick. I. I agree, we have to listen. We have to have accountability.

00:36:39,370	We have to trust those that are in leadership, in that certain school trust is built through communication and transparency. Transparency.

00:36:48,800	Yeah. Other comments. I just want to clarify my the listening piece of that I was I was as a given. I wouldn't just turn that to them, tell them to go tell their teacher. So that's not the that's not what my process explanation was. So it would be that listening piece would be foremost.

00:37:08,000	And then yeah, making sure that that that command is followed and, and that, you know, the full story before saying that you're going to do something when you don't know the whole story yet. So that's just a little clarification. I think that there are varying degrees of concerns and complaints.

00:37:29,370	And so I do I have seen in my professional experience that working for corporate America, at least, there are lots of chains of commands and sometimes that can slow down processes.

00:37:50,430	And so I think it's really important that we as a board and this comes down to that common sense I talked about at the beginning that we as a board take complaints and concerns and really evaluate them and perhaps the chain of command, if it's going to slow things down and not be helpful, then perhaps we need to be okay with doing what we think is going to be best for all in whatever situation that is.

00:38:10,800	Thank you. I think listening to even if you don't agree or don't don't agree with what they're saying, right necessarily. I think we listen to understand and to help them come to a common agreement. Sometimes problems are brought up heat of the moment. Sometimes everybody just needs to take a little bit and think about them right.

00:38:30,530	Going through the proper steps, chain of command if it needs be. But sometimes people just need to get something off their chest and then move on. So if I can just be a listening ear, then that's what I'm here to do. Thank you. Well time flies. We're going to move to our last question.

00:38:48,170	We'll start with you, Miss Cronin Skaret, are you aware of the school foundation, how it operates, and what are the goals of the organization? You know, I'm familiar with foundations. I'm not real familiar. I'll be honest with with the Man So that clearly is something that I need to look more into.

00:39:12,700	But I suppose that's a question that kind of correlates with sponsorships and giving and raising funds for our school system. But I'm not going to answer it any more than that because I just I'm not knowledgeable enough on it. Thank you, Miss Miller. Yes, Mandan has a great foundation for our students.

00:39:39,070	It's I know of it because I was I wasn't part of it, but I it was part of our school board. Donations come in the the committee meets and our students, our students benefit from that by scholarships. And they're not it's not just one student. It's not just two students. It's many students.

00:40:00,400	Many students don't know about the scholarships that they have out there. We've put it out there, but it's a great program that we have that we need to get out there some more so our students can really, truly benefit. It's a great it's a great thing that we have in our district. Thank you, Miss Jacobchick.

00:40:17,100	I will also say as well as Julie, I'm not very familiar with that. Definitely something I am looking forward to learning more about. It sounds like to from what Jill had said, that they have a great foundation and just leading with heart and and being a part of Mandan my whole life and my children being in the school,

00:40:35,370	I'm very confident in our leaders and how how they do things and looking forward to being a part of it. Mr. Bailey. Yeah, I would say specifically Mandan Foundation. I'm not extra familiar with.

00:40:56,000	Through my time working in higher education as a communications professional, I worked a lot with our foundation at the community college level, and I know that the the effort that goes in behind the scenes of that staff and the community impact that they can have is is really wonderful. And the communications piece to let the students know what is available to them, how they can take advantage of that, and then opportunities within the community.

00:41:12,170	I think the foundation is really a community based, you know, as well as student specific to the district. So, you know, I support the foundation mission, and I really look forward to to getting to know it better, specifically in Mandan. Thank you. Any other comments on that question? Okay. Thank you. So again, that was our last question.

00:41:33,870	And now you'll each have 60s to provide a closing statement. And we'll start with you, Miss Miller. Thank you again to the League of Women Voters for being here to support all of us to get our statements out here.

00:41:52,330	I'm excited to get back involved with our school district and support our staff, support our teachers, support our administrators, and most importantly, support our students of Mandan who are our future. They are the ones that will be eventually, maybe sitting here, maybe sitting out there. Maybe they'll be the next teacher. Maybe they'll be the next teacher of the year, our ESP of the year.

00:42:09,900	So I'm here to help them along and support all of our staff and our students. Thank you, Miss Jacobchick, again. Thank you everyone for being here. League of Women Voters for having us and putting this on. At the end of the day, the election is about the students, our family, our families and the future of our community.

00:42:30,270	As a lifelong resident and a graduate again of men in high school and parent within this school system, I deeply care about the continued success of our students and the opportunities we provide to every student. We are really fortunate to have strong schools, dedicated educators, and supportive families right here in Mandan.

00:42:50,170	My goal is to protect what's working, strengthen where we can improve and ensure every decision is made with students at the center. I'll bring a steady and thoughtful approach focused on academic success, success, safe learning environments, and the willingness to learn and listen.

00:43:08,800	I'm committed to working hard and making informed decisions that are in the best interest of our students, teachers, and community. I'd be honored to earn your vote on June 9th. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bailey.

00:43:28,270	Yeah, just super grateful for this opportunity and just our democracy, being able to sit up here and run for a public office without having to have some huge political tie and just being able to to be a community member that cares about students, to have this opportunity and be up here. You know, I strive to to make my decisions with the goal of student achievement at the at the center as well as teacher support, recruitment, retention.

00:43:45,070	All those all those really important things and just supporting them and what they need in the communications for staff to get, whether that be continuing education or just provide more positions to support some of our higher need populations, our special needs educators and and their classrooms need support and thought.

00:44:04,370	So I'd really look forward to supporting them, as well as things like health care that that, you know, people may not think about as a big concern, but in terms of budget, that is very important and needs Dean's proper attention. And I really want to make sure our taxpayer dollars are are tethered directly to our student outcomes in the decisions we make will impact our students positively.

00:44:24,900	Thank you, Miss Cronin Skaret. Well, I share the same sentiment. I appreciate the League of Women's invite to be here today to let the voters know a little bit more about me. My name is Julie Cronin Skaret, and I'm a parent. I'm a common sense parent that believes common sense belongs in the school system, not that it doesn't exist.

00:44:40,870	Now, I'm just saying that's how I am grassroots from the bottom up. That's how I like to operate. I just want to be involved in our school system. And there, you know, the questions didn't really provide me the opportunity to talk more about some of the big issues that I think that we need to be addressing.

00:44:54,630	I'll just mention those briefly, but I encourage anyone to reach out to me if they have further questions. But health and wellness within our schools is a big passion of mine.

00:45:11,730	I just heard from the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, Pat trainer, and he gave the statistic that 75% of all kids in our schools have thought about suicide. I'm concerned about that greatly. I think that what that's what leads to behavioral issues in the classroom. I believe there are teachers that are experiencing burnout. Well, I don't believe I know that they're experiencing some burnout. They need some help.

00:45:29,470	They're teaching our children to be the future of our community. They need our support. Thank you again. I want to thank Dakota Media Access, the Bismarck Mandan Chamber, EDC, The Bismarck Tribune, AARP North Dakota, and the volunteers from the League of Women Voters for organizing this debate.

00:45:47,730	Thank you to the voters for taking time to learn more about the Mandan School Board candidates and the issues. This program will air several times on Midco channel 602. It will also be available for on demand viewing at Dakota Media Access and on the Dakota Media Access apps.

00:46:06,170	In the days leading up to the June 9th election, before we close this debate, we want to remind you that you will need to a form of identification to vote in North Dakota. You can find identification requirements and additional voting information on the websites or at the offices of your county auditor and the North Dakota Secretary of State. And for candidate profiles, please visit. Vote411.org. Thank you and have a good evening.