Vote Here sign at Hall of Waters on Election Day — Photo by Courtney Cole

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022 voters in Excelsior Springs will head to the polls to decide on two important races. The Excelsior Springs Board of Education has two open seats and three candidates running for the positions and the Excelsior Springs City Council has one seat to fill and three candidates vying for the position.

The three candidates for Excelsior Springs School Board are Josh Brown, Kalyn Goode, and Tray Harkins. Goode and Harkins are seeking re-election while Brown is seeking first-time election to the board.

Candidates for Excelsior Springs City Council are Sharon Donat, Brent McElwee, and Mark Spohn. McElwee is the current incumbent and is being challenged by Donat and Spohn.

The Excelsior Citizen took questions from our audience in order to address the issues our fellow citizens felt were most important. The questions we asked were not easy and could be viewed as “politically charged,” but we felt like each question is based on examples of what is currently happening in communities across our country and even in our own state. These questions were originally intended to be asked at a live forum on Monday evening, but due to half of the candidates being unable to attend, candidates were asked to submit their responses in written form.

For sample ballots, visit Clay County Election Board or Ray County Clerk.

Questions for Board of Education Candidates

Q: What parts of your experience and background make you the best candidate to serve on the Board of Education for Excelsior Springs?

Brown: I have been an Excelsior Springs resident my entire life, I went to Excelsior schools K-12, and I have children currently in the middle and high schools. I have served on the board of directors for a local fire station since 2016 and as board president from 2017 to 2021. I want to be the voice for all of the parents and children in our area, we have a great community. These kids are our future leaders.

Goode: I would say that my experience as a small business owner is one of the best things that has helped me as I’ve served on the board. I have an extensive background in community outreach & service, financial planning, budgets, small grant writing, and cultivating great relationships. Another thing that has truly helped me is being a working parent. I have first-hand knowledge of what struggles families of our community might be facing these days. I also know how hard it can be juggling all things life throws at you, outside of a typical 9-5 job setting or even in one.

Harkins: I have served on the board through many ups and downs over the years and my experience and background of being able to work with the highs and lows will be a very good asset in the coming years as new laws are passed at the state level dealing with public education as well as staff retention continues to be an issue for all districts in the state.

Q: What do you see as the primary challenges facing the Excelsior Springs School District, and how will you help to overcome those challenges?

Brown: With any tax-funded entity, there are always challenges, funding, how to properly allocate those funds and ensure our children get the best education possible, in a safe, and nurturing environment.

Goode: Some of the challenges I think we face right now as a district are; teacher shortages and burnout, political attacks on districts across the state, finding ways to help our staff feel appreciated consistently, getting a new Lewis elementary built, and getting back to pre-Covid life. I really think that is our biggest challenge. I’m ready for some class parties, lunch visits & school field days again!

Harkins: Our biggest issue currently is retention of great teachers and teacher pay. We continue to try and find creative ways to provide our staff with pay increases. It is not an easy task as there is only so much money to go around and if you put more on one plate you must take from another plate. But we are working on that and continue to improve it.

Q: What are our schools doing well and how can you help continue to make improvements?

Brown: Our schools have done well in making sure we have the latest and best for the kid, I’ve been through the schools and love seeing the upgrades/improvements.

Goode: We’re doing well at EVERYTHING! The pride I have for our district is overwhelming. A few things if I must narrow it turn are; The expansion of our early childhood center. It has been a complete game-changer for that program and so needed in our community. Being able to open up Cornerstone, on time and get back to in-person learning has been awesome! The updates to Elkhorn elementary by adding the safe room and the high school’s improvements were much needed. We have more mental health supports in place than we did when I first started and I think we’re on the path to adding more. We just approved adding a teaching program to the career center, which is going to be phenomenal for our kiddos. Something I wish would have been offered when I attended the Career Center.

Harkins: There is always room for improvement in anything that you do in life. We have the right people in the right places for our student performance to reach new heights. We will have the entire district’s curriculum online soon and that is something we have been working on for three years.

Q: What is one goal you think you can realistically accomplish as a school board member?

Brown: I would like to see a financial literacy program for our schools, in-depth of real-life financial planning.

Goode: I have so many goals as a board member. I would hate to have to narrow it down to just one. If I am reelected my focus is going to be to see a new Lewis Elementary built and all of our children in healthy, updated facilities. I want to see our children prospering and growing, striving academically, with a balanced curriculum. I want to continue to grow our programs that we have in place from pre-K through 12th grade. I want to increase the transparency within our district to the best of my ability, as well as continue to support our staff and increase teacher salaries. I would also like to keep being as involved as I can and a trusted point of contact for stakeholders, patrons, staff members, and children no matter how difficult the job may be. But my biggest goal is seeing our District maintain an inclusive, diverse, healthy atmosphere for all kiddos going forward, with good mental health supports in place, and safe schools.

Harkins: When we asked the community to approve a new elementary school to replace the aging Westview, we promised that we would work on replacing Lewis Elementary as soon as possible. I fully intend to see that promise come to life. We are working on Preliminary building plans now and collaborating with our bonding company to see what we can do and looking at diverse ways to pay for it. We all know that construction cost has increased beyond anyone’s imagination in the last few years. However, I plan to see Lewis replaced with a new building and deliver as promised.

Q: What community organizations would you like the school district to partner with in order to better serve families and students? (or discuss a current partnership you think is most beneficial).

Brown: No response.

Goode: The partnerships that we have been able to cultivate over the last few years have been amazing! I would like to continue to see our relationship grow with the city of Excelsior Springs and with local small businesses. One of the partnerships we have made that I am the most excited about is the school-based health clinic with Swope Health. Dr. Katie Andreson at the Excelsior Springs Early Childhood Center has worked so hard on this project! It will offer multiple services like primary care (pediatrics) dental, behavioral health, and optometry. It would give access to healthcare for ALL CHILDREN regardless of the ability to pay. Let me repeat, ALL CHILDREN! This is a game-changer for our community! Dr. Katie’s update when I asked her; The projected date for this resource center to open is the start of school in August 2022. Funding: Right now we have been awarded a $25,000 grant from NASB Bank and MARC/Head Start intends to also assist with funding. How awesome is that?

Harkins: The district works very well with all our community partners. Now, this was not always the case, but I do believe that we have worked extremely hard to mend fences and are now on the right track. We are all one community looking to do what is best for everybody. Recently we did a joint venture with the Community Center to offer memberships to all employees. This partnership is greatly beneficial to both the center and to our staff and the district as a whole. The biggest partnership we added this past year is the partnership with Swope Health care at the ECC. They will provide health care, dental, and vision to every child regardless of their family’s ability to pay. This is a huge benefit for our families and for our community.

Q: There has been a lot of attention on a state and national level in regard to Critical Race Theory. How do you think the debate over this theory affects our school district?

Brown: No response.

Goode: We need to make sure that every single student in the Excelsior Springs School District is getting our best, always. I think that having an equal opportunity, inclusive and diverse curriculum for all children is needed. But, I do not think that critical race theory has any place in our school district and I do know that it is not being taught in our curriculum.

Harkins: I feel this has been more of a division for our community than for our School District. We have never taught or used CRT to the best of our knowledge in any classroom and we will not.

Q: The McMinn County School Board in Tennessee voted to remove a graphic novel about the Holocaust because of “profanity and nudity.” Whose job should it be to decide what books are available to students in a public school library? And why should it be their job?

Brown: No response.

Goode: The library media specialist would be the one that would determine what materials would be in the library, along with building administration. They are guided by a policy that has been put in place by the Board of Education, with our patrons in mind. It is not my job, or the rest of the board’s job for that matter, to pull books off the shelf and “ban” them. The policy that is in place to guide the library media specialists and building admin for our district is IIA & IIA-API.

Harkins: Our media specialist makes the call on what books are age and topic appropriate for their building according to board policy. The policy was made with the kids and our patrons in mind.

Q: Recently in Texas, the governor declared a “pride week” celebration in a public high school broke the law by forcing students to confront lessons of sexuality without parental consent. In a hypothetical situation, a citizen comes to you and expresses concern that the high school has allowed the formation of an LGBTQ club. How do you respond to this citizen?

Brown: No response.

Goode: I would respond to the citizen by letting them know that I appreciate them reaching out to me to voice their concerns, that’s what I’m here for. I’d let them know that we have a policy in place for this as well. Policy IGDA – Group Use Of District Facilities; This policy that states, we provide the opportunity for student-initiated non-curricular groups, to conduct meetings on school grounds regardless of race, religion, politics, personal views, etc, and if they have any other questions they need to direct them to their buildings principal.

Harkins: We have a policy to allow group use of district facilities that provides for non-curricular groups to conduct meetings on school grounds regardless of race, religion, politics, or personal views, etc. So long as the school or staff are not the ones encouraging or leading the club, I would have no issue with this as a club, it is just a club and is 100% voluntary to be a part of. I would not see an issue with this.

Q: The Kansas State Senate recently passed legislation that would give parents the ability to examine lesson plans, tests, textbooks, and other course materials and “opt-out” of lessons that don’t align with their system of personal beliefs. How does this type of legislation affect public education?

Brown: No response.

Goode: This type of legislation is horrible for public education. Creating individualized plans for each student, from parents sounds like a recipe for disaster. Teachers are already overloaded as it is, if you overload them with lesson plans for each individual child that could be catastrophic for them. This is why electing the right board members is so important! Our job as school board members is to develop policies and curriculum for our patrons that best represent our community. We are your voice. Having the right people in elected positions is essential.

Harkins: I think this will be a huge downfall to public education. Many districts have their curriculum on their website for parents to view. Teachers’ plans change based on the kids in the classroom. Another issue is how does that teacher give an alternative lesson and test to the children that want to opt out that teaches the same thing? My guess is this is more driven by history classes or literature classes and not math classes. I have no issue with parents wanting to know what their child is being taught and being involved in their education and welcome them to be a part of their child’s school years for every aspect of their education.

Q: How would you handle a situation in which a parent comes to you with concerns about their child being continually bullied or harassed about their race or ethnicity?

Brown: These situations need taken seriously, and I would want the parents to feel and know their child is safe at our schools and that we handled the situation to the best of our abilities. Being a parent that has had a child bullied from body shaming and the result of what those things can do to a child. We need to teach the students to respect and be kind to others.

Goode: I want to start this answer out by saying that every child in our school district should be treated equally, fairly, and with respect. No child, or person for that matter, should ever have to feel belittled, torn apart, abused, harassed, or bullied for ANYTHING. Especially for their race, ethnicity, or beliefs. Under no circumstances should that behavior ever be tolerated by anyone. It is not a topic that we address often, but I do know that I have heard and seen some things of this nature in our community. The first thing that I would tell the parent is that they need to make sure that they have communicated the problems to the teacher, counselor, and building principal. In this circumstance I would also reach out to building admins, as well, to let them know what I’ve been told. We have a whole process on how this is handled in our school district. Forms will need to be filled out and reports will need to be filed. If this is happening to you or someone you know at school please speak up! Serving on the board of Education for Excelsior Springs has been such an exciting and humbling journey for me over the last few years. My hope is that I have served you well. Making a difference in the lives of kids is something that is so very close to my heart. Please support me by voting for me on April 5th.

Harkins: This is 100% not acceptable at all. This is one of the hardest things to discipline unless a staff member witnesses it. It becomes she said he said thing and of course, the bully is never going to admit it. I would and do take every call from a parent on bullying and refer it to the Superintendent to investigate and they do. I also ask for feedback. I also try and set up a meeting with the parent and the Superintendent to discuss. We should not tolerate this behavior in not only our schools but in society. It is so much easier to be KIND to others and treat them as you want to be treated than to try and tear them down. There is no place for that!

Questions for City Council Candidates

Q: What parts of your experience and background make you the best candidate to serve on the city council?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: My 40-year career developing subdivisions, building/remodeling of houses, apartments, commercial buildings, and Real Estate Investing has given me the experience to make sound decisions. Balancing risk with rewards, filtering out the noise, and looking at the short and long-term potential outcomes before making a decision.

Spohn: I believe my experience as a chaplain and a minister positions me to have the ability to listen to the concerns that our citizens have. My passion for historic preservation and beautification of our city speaks for itself. I believe that passion for our city is much more than property ownership and repurposing building space. The proof of the pudding regarding passion for a community is evidenced in volunteering, serving, and having vision for improvement. I served, until recently, on the board for DEP for 8 yrs, I am currently the Design Committee Chair for DEP, serve currently on the Board of Directors for Excelsior Springs Chamber, I serve on the Public Safety Sales Tax Commission. Beyond all of that, I have given thousands of hours over the past 7 years volunteering to make our community a prettier and more prosperous place. I consider myself an ambassador for Excelsior Springs.

Q: What do you see as the primary challenges facing Excelsior Springs, and how will you help to overcome those challenges?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: Hiring and retaining employees is a constant challenge. We have open positions in Fire, Police, EMT, and Public Works. The last couple of years have exacerbated that challenge. We also are faced with the fact that the City has an older workforce. To address the situation, the City just completed an extensive survey of salaries and benefits of other cities in the region. We just raised base salaries across all positions to make the City more competitive and be able to compete in the open market for new hires. The City needs to explore other incentives for retention. In addition, we need to continue providing the equipment they need to do their job. We all need to show our public support for the hard work that they do every day.

Spohn: One of the biggest challenges I see is the disparity in income for residents in our city compared to those communities around us that are similar in size. If my numbers are correct, the median income for our city is roughly 49k, while for Smithville, similar in size, is 82K. That presents several challenges. Our tax base, which is directly connected to wages, which translates into dollars available for infrastructure needs and goods and services available for our citizens, presents many obstacles and challenges for community life and the ability for our city government to provide those services. I would like to focus on attracting new industry, providing good-paying jobs, which will create need for new housing, as well as retail opportunities. While many communities around us seem to be experiencing explosive growth, we seem to be somewhat stagnant. I would love for us to have open dialogue as to why that is true and what we believe we can do to improve our situation.

Q: What is the city doing well and how would you continue to make improvements?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: Even with the budget restraints, the city has done a good job with maintaining and improving infrastructure, major improvements at the Golf course, Excelsior Springs Hospital, Building a Community Center, Dog Park, and Splash park to name a few. The city does a good job working with local groups to promote events and fundraisers in town. The City has come a long way and we need to continue moving forward.

Spohn: Oh, where do I start? I believe our city does a great job owning, managing, and improving our parks and trails. I believe our Community Center is an asset that has exceeded any expectations that were original to the concept and buildout. I believe the dedication and professionalism of our Police and Fire/EMT personnel is exemplary. I believe our public works does an excellent job in maintaining our 22 miles of roadway, which include snow removal and street repair/overlays and managing our water treatment, wastewater, and storm runoff. I believe that our Community Development is doing a great job in overseeing an effort to clean up our neighborhoods, manage permits for new construction, enforce city codes, property maintenance codes, and historic preservation guidelines. I was very impressed with the recent presentation at our last city council meeting regarding the activity and management of all things within the scope of Community Development. There are a lot of moving parts to that effort. These are just a few. I would like to see and will work to encourage, higher wages for our Police and Fire/EFT personnel. We can discuss more on that in the answer to another question specific to those departments.

While I applaud the efforts of Public Works on street maintenance and snow removal, I would love to have conversations regarding snow removal and grass/landscape maintenance for our downtown streetscapes. Tourism has become a vital component to our growth, and everything we can do to make that a better experience for those who visit and shop downtown will benefit us all. As for Community Development, I would work to encourage additional effort for industry attraction. Good paying jobs bring people who appreciate good schools, need good housing and places to shop and eat at.

Q: If you are elected, what are one or two things you think you can realistically accomplish as a city councilperson to improve the city?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: According to the Census Bureau the city population has been in a mild decline over the last decade. On April 1, 2010, the population was 11,084 but by April 1, 2020, it had declined to 10,553, that is approx 4.8 percent decline. We need to reverse that trend, we have a lot to be proud of. Excelsior Springs is naturally beautiful, has a storied history, and with all the things that the city has to offer along with new schools, the City needs to market itself. Need to develop a game plan involving both private and public partnerships. Recruit existing small businesses to come to town who might want to expand. We need to have modest growth to sustain the city budgets.

Spohn: Besides my comments above, I’ll continue to be an ambassador for Excelsior Springs. Whether elected or not, I will be found doing this.

Q: One of the biggest complaints from citizens in Excelsior Springs stems from the issue of water/sewer rates. Can you explain why we have such high water/sewer rates in Excelsior Springs? What solutions would you suggest to address the issue?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: I understand the frustration with the sewer and water rates. It is a multipronged issue, the age of the sewer and water system, topography of the city ( hills and valleys) adds to the cost with additional water towers, pumps, sewer lift stations, decades of failing to fund current and future sewer and water line replacements. Bottomline the can was kicked down the road until it no longer could. Water rates stayed flat for almost thirty years. We enjoyed the cheapest water around during that time. DNR started cracking down on all cities for failed systems that were leaking into the underground water table. The city had to address the problem, over 30 million dollars was invested in replacing, repairing, or lining the failing systems through two bond issues. We have started funding for future systems replacement and upgrades. The new software that the city incorporated this last year, enables the city to do a better job of managing the systems. The City can better predict future water and sewer revenues needed for operations and future line replacement or upgrades. This year the City was able to reduce water revenue by 5 percent. The city estimated next year 4 percent reduction, then 3 percent per year for two years, then 2 percent per year for two years. When the sewer bond matures the City estimates a 15 percent reduction the first year then 5 percent the following year. Water and sewer bonds mature in 2028 and 2031. The City is on a good path now.

Spohn: Why are our water and sewer rates so high? First of all, our water rates are not out of line in the least bit. Our sewer rates…that’s another story. Here’s what I know, just from my life experiences as a property owner, and a human being. If I defer maintenance on my property for any length of time, the effort to make corrections are both painful and expensive. For reasons we may never be aware of, our city for decades has deferred maintenance to our critical infrastructure. You can try to find a place to lay blame, but many of those decisions were made by those who are no longer of this earth. In recent years, we have been forced to address some of those issues, specifically related to water and sewer. Those corrections are now painful and expensive. We’ll get through this. We have a mechanism to help those who cannot afford to pay the current rates. As binds are paid off, those rates will begin to fall. We recently had a 6% reduction in water rates. Most of us didn’t even notice because our water is a small portion of the bill we receive every month. I believe maybe we need to explore ways to manage costs and pay down debt faster so that the rates will be reduced quicker. I’ve heard of other options that have been discussed but I don’t have enough information to make a comment.

Q: Should the airport continue to be operated as an airport or would the community be better served by converting the property to another use? Explain your reasoning.

Donat: No response.

McElwee: I would be open to exploring the possibility of selling the airport, or redevelopment of the ground into single or mixed-use.

Spohn: Ahh, the airport. I’m not completely familiar with the entire airport saga. What I believe I know is that the city (we) are on the hook to operate and maintain the runway for a number of years that remain in the original agreement with MODOT when they paved the runway. I think the original agreement was 20 years which would mean we have 14 years left. I’m not sure what the buyout would be on that agreement, but perhaps it is time to have that conversation. There are only two planes that currently use the airport and neither of the owners live in the city. Many suggestions have been floated for use of the airport and the 80 acres surrounding it. I believe it is time to explore those options and cut our losses. Some have suggested a soccer field/baseball complex. One idea is to develop a “Park Central”. We have many wonderful parks in Excelsior but no one place where the entire community can gather for festivals. I’m completely open on this issue.

Q: The City is currently facing a shortage of public safety employees (police, firefighters, EMTs). What can you do as a city council member to help find a solution to this problem?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: See my answer to the second question.

Spohn: The City has recently done a study on the pay structure for city employees to determine where we are at in comparison to other surrounding communities. If I understood correctly, the finding of that study, we fall south of the 50% range in compensation for city employees. That makes retention of good employees difficult. While retention of employees city-wide is desirable, I believe it is particularly important when it comes to LE, Fire/EMT. I remember having a conversation with our most recent past Chief of Police. He said, because of the PSST we are able to attract police straight out of the academy because of the state-of-the-art equipment we are able to provide. That being said, he indicated we are not able to retain them for any length of time because of our pay structure. When retention rates drop, you lose experience. I would work to encourage an increase in the pay structure for LE-Fire/EMT that is not tied to other city employees. I believe that the responsibility and hazards that are associated with those two departments should be compensated differently than other city employees.

Q: Given the polarized opinions that we have witnessed these last few years regarding health and safety issues, where does public safety rank on your list of concerns? Which is more important, an individual’s choice or public well-being?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: No response.

Spohn: Public safety is very important. That being said, I do not believe it is wise to pit personal freedom against public safety. I am of the opinion that most people are intelligent enough to make their own decisions regarding their healthcare and to show respect for those around them, without government overreach mandating certain actions.

Q: Excelsior Springs is a City Manager form of government with a professional staff. What is your role as a Council Member in this form of government?

Donat: No response.

McElwee: The council is responsible for the hiring, review, and firing of the city manager, giving direction to the city manager on various issues and policy changes that the council decides on, addressing the concerns of citizens to the extent we can, reviewing and approve the annual budgets, review and approve new city ordinances and resolutions, review and approve major expenditures outside the normal budget, appoint members to various boards (Planning and Zoning, Road & Bridge, Public Safety Sales Tax, Museum, Park, etc), create a Master plan for the future directions of the city, deal with legal issues that arise, sale of public property, review existing ordinances as needed to improve, rewrite or terminate.

Spohn: I want to preface what I say with this…the council member’s role is not to be a rubber stamp for the city manager and staff. The council member’s role is to represent those who elected him or her to the council. They are to support, hold accountable and give with an up or down vote on the issues presented to the council as they feel best represents the benefit of those who elected them.