Voters in Butler and Ripley counties have four candidates to choose from Tuesday when filling two seats on the Neelyville R-IV Board of Education.
Incumbent Jill McGruder is running against Vernon Barker, Amanda Wolfram and Chuck Reinbott.
The two top vote-getters will secure three-year terms on the board.
Candidates were provided with the same list of questions and their answers are included here as provided with minor edits for clarity or length. Information is listed in ballot order.
Name: Vernon Barker
Age: 39
Spouse: Stacey Barker
Children: Gage Barker (13)
Occupation: Owner of Barkers Towing & Auto Repair in Poplar Bluff
Education: Neelyville High School graduate
Current affiliations: Grace Christian Fellowship,
Coach for the Scorpions 14 U Baseball team
Why are you running for the board?
After much thought and prayer, I decided that this was something that I should do for our school and kids. My decision did not come out of anger or because of one issue. I feel like a new face on the board with some new ideas would be a good thing.
What characteristics would make you a good board member? I believe that my background, managing my own business and my dedication to the Neelyville school, will make me a great asset to the board.
What do you hope to accomplish?
Our district is being forced to make some hard decisions to pave the way for 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.
Are there any recent actions you agree or disagree with?
In the last few months, our district has had some turmoil mainly over teacher retention, retirements and the current hiring process. This is just one of many reasons why this position is so important. As voters, we must make sure we are filling these seats with the right people making the decisions for the right reasons. As a potential board member, I must look at issues from many aspects making sure to stay open-minded looking out for what is best for the majority of our students, staff, teachers and administration.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the distinct and how would you address them?
I feel one of the biggest challenges we face at the moment is staff retention and morale. These two things are vital to having a great school district and this is one reason we have done so well.
We are blessed with some of the best teachers, staff and administration around and it shows. I want to make sure we as a district are doing all we can to support them in their efforts. Over the next few years our district will be facing many challenges from pay scale, staff retirements, state mandates, funding and more just to name a few. I think with everyone working together we can work through the challenges and continue to be one of the best schools in the area.
Are there any needs you want to address?
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.
Name: Amanda Wolfram
Age: 41
Spouse: Chad Wolfram
Children: Kye (15) Camden (13) Collins (7)
Occupation: Children’s ministry director of Fellowship General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff
Education: Attended Indiana University - Purdue, dental school
Current affiliations: Fellowship General Baptist Church; Neelyville school volunteer; Neelyville Booster Club
Why are you running for board: 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.
What characteristics would make you a good board member? I have three children in the district. My youngest is seven. I’ll be a part of the school district for several years to come. I’m running mainly because I want to be there when big decisions are made for my kids’ education and the school that they go to, for the faculty that works there.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I feel like they need a fresh pair of eyes, to be honest with you. I think there need to be fresh eyes on the school and the decisions that are being made. I’m not going to play favorites. I’m going to always try to make the best decision when it’s my turn to vote for the students and the faculty because that’s what matters.
Are there any recent actions you agree or disagree with? We’ve had a high turnover rate this year, and it breaks my heart because some of these teachers are phenomenal teachers, and we’re losing them.
(People in the community) want to get angry with the current school board, but we’re not in those meetings. We don’t know what happens. That’s another reason I want to be a part of it, so that I do know what’s going on.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the district and how would you address them?
Turnover is our biggest challenge right now. We’re a small school. I know funding for our teachers is not as large as maybe Poplar Bluff’s budget, there has to be a way we can help these teachers. I think our teachers need to feel more support from the school board and administration. I think they need to feel like they have put their time and effort into a school that doesn’t pay competitively with bigger schools.
Are there any needs you want to address?
I would love to have a different lunch program. I think we need to feed the kids better. I think there needs to be food they’ll actually eat. I don’t even know who controls that in the school.
Curtis “Chuck” Reinbott
Age: 54
Spouse: Traci
Children: Paige (23) and Peyton (19)
Occupation: Area supervisor for Ozark Border Elective Cooperative
Education: Bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri - Rolla.
Current affiliations: Living Word Baptist Church.
Why are you running for board?
(The) district is an asset to the community and I want to see continued success for the students.
What characteristics would make you a good board member?
I have worked for over 20 years for a company that is governed by a board. This gives me insight into the role that a board should play in the operation of the district.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I would like to see the test scores and morale improve at Neelyville.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the district and how would you address them?
The Neelyville school has a reputation of having a real good record, and they’re slowly getting away from that. They have really good scores for what they are teaching the kids. I think they need to get focused back on academics. They need to teach the kids what they need to know to be productive citizens.
Are there any recent actions you agree or disagree with?
We need to get education back (like it was before COVID.)
Are there any needs you want to address?
(According to Reinbott, the district needs to focus on academics as it did before COVID.)
Name: Jill McGruder
Age: 50
Spouse: Curt McGruder
Children: Morgan (22) Bailey (19) Mollie (8)
Occupation: Women’s Health medical director at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center.
Education: Neelyville High School, Three Rivers College associates degree in liberal arts; Arkansas State University bachelor’s degree in nursing;
University of Missouri-Columbia master’s degree in family nurse practitioner
Terms on the board: One
Why are you running for the board?
I feel I have made a positive impact with the board and I want to continue to do so. I strongly focus on a combination of what’s important for the kids, as well as a balance for the teachers. I want to assure both have a voice. I’m also a strong proponent of listening to community members.
What characteristics would make you a good board member?
I have the high integrity to continue to lead this board. I have a positive vision for our school. I’m able to balance several things — balancing work and balancing family. I make sure I don’t miss board meetings. I am always in attendance. I’ve missed just a couple in three years and that was just scheduling conflicts.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I highly value the experience of the staff we have, and especially their commitment to our students because that is commendable, and that’s why we’re all there. Sometimes when making a hiring decision, it needs to not be done just based on emotion, but based on seeing the whole picture.
Are there any recent actions you agree or disagree with? The last hiring we did was with our elementary principals, we were very, very blessed to have three amazing candidates. There was some controversy over the decision from the board. Sometimes it’s hard when there are changes coming up. So I still stand by my decision personally. I, as one person, do not make the decisions for the board. It’s an entire board of individuals that make those decisions.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the district and how would you address them?
We are going to have a new superintendent. We’re going to have new administrative staff in our superintendent’s office. (Getting the foundation set,) we can move forward when we lose employees who have been employed at the school for decades.
Are there any needs you want to address?
One of the biggest needs we’ve seen fairly recently is the importance of transparency and communication between the board, administration and staff members. I want to make sure there’s clarity for those members in the community to truly understand what our purpose and our goals are within the board.
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