With a total amount of 1,650 votes being cast, Poplar Bluff School Board incumbents Timothy Dale Gaebler and Ken Davis held their seats on the board.
Gaebler received 588 votes and Davis 397. Challengers also receiving votes were Heather Rommel, 383, Jamie Hickson, 127, and Curtis Fouts, 155.
“I’m glad the voters have confidence in me,” said current board President Ken Davis. “I’m happy that it was a clean race and there wasn’t any finger-pointing about anything. It was respectful.”
Davis said he is curious about the future and realizes the board will need to move ahead in a conservative manner as they look at the upcoming school year and any accompanying administrative changes that might be dictated through the state legislature.
“Of course there are things we would like to do and see being done; but until we know how to proceed with what budget we’ll be setting, we have to be conservative,” Davis noted. “What matters most is the children.”
Davis remarked that he believes the district needs to continue to focus on improving testing scores, which he said had a noticeable drop after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have plenty of faith in my fellow board members as well as this administration,” he stated. “It’s a somewhat difficult time right now, as we wait to see what happens. But I think we’re on the right track.
“There will be some changes in the next school year, and I believe they will be changes for the better. But things don’t move very fast in the education world; and I think that some people just aren’t fully aware of that fact.”
This is his fourth term on the school board, and it will be the second term for Gaebler.
Gaebler had previously informed this publication that he hoped to maintain his seat on the board as he wants to actively be involved in making sure that the best-qualified people are hired for every open position within the district. Gaebler is a former educator with the Poplar Bluff School District and said he believes the most important challenge currently is overcoming the time/education that was lost as a result of the shutdown of the school system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gaebler echoed his earlier statements when reached for comment regarding his victory.
"I look forward to moving ahead with a focus on excellence for every position," he stated. "I would like to thank everyone that got out to vote for me. I'm thankful that the community trusts me so much."
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