The Francis Howell North Board of Education Makes Way for New Leaders

The Candidates

The reins of control over the Francis Howell School District are once again up for grabs. The next election for the position of Francis Howell School Board member is being held on April 8, and the candidates have already filed. Adam Bertrand and Randy Cook’s terms are expiring this April leaving two new slots open to fill them. While Cook is running for the position once again, Bertrand has decided not to pursue reelection. This election is incredibly important to the future of FHSD as the people who get elected will determine the outcome of votes for years to come. The new candidates, listed in the order they will appear on the ballot, are Amy Gryder, Sarah Oelke, Randy Cook and Ashley Sturm.
Amy Gryder

“I am aiming higher for Francis Howell as a lifelong resident, product of our district and optimist for expanding our idea of what is possible.”

Amy Gryder has been engaged with the political process around FHSD for many years now. Gryder wants to help rebuild trust and communication within the district, especially when it comes to Francis Howell’s finances. Gryder would like to see an increase in funding for the district to help maintain the district into the future. Collaboration and connection is the main goal that Gryder wants to accomplish with a term on the Francis Howell School Board. When it comes to finances, Gryder recognizes that FHSD has very complex finances and plans to do deep dives into the internal causes of problems to make sure that they are fully solved. Gryder believes that in order to have a strong basis of trust with the constituents in Francis Howell, we need to have increased transparency and communication.
Sarah Oelke

"Our people are our potential."

Sarah Oelke is a teacher at Parkway Central Middle School who has lived in the Francis Howell School District for 23 years. Oelke wants to help bring new ideas into the Francis Howell School District to help fully embrace the wishes of the community. Oelke recognizes the incredible strengths that FHSD teachers bring to the district as a whole and wants to review Board policy to ensure it does not hamper teacher’s ability to properly educate students. To tackle the financial situation within the district, Oelke would seek to free up more spending by cutting out redundancy especially at the district level. Specifically, Oelke has concerns with how a lack of communication costs the district money. Oelke wants to invest more money into ensuring that the students in Francis Howell have the infrastructure they need to thrive.
Randy Cook

“I’m a father of two who has experience as a Board member and is very risk-averse and detail- oriented.”

Randy Cook has served on the Francis Howell School Board for years and is now running once again. Cook values responsibility and seeks to make sure that the school district stays secure financially. Cook has a clear recognition of what schools need to be focusing on, specifically, academics. More than anything else, Cook wants to make sure that we do not fall behind in academics. Cook believes that we have done a lot of good work in providing quality education with our limited resources, and we need to make sure we continue to improve in the future. Cook is continuing to emphasize his current policies of fiscal responsibility. The money that the Board of Education spends is straight from the taxpayers, and Cook always takes that into account before deciding where to spend. Cook has many talks with the FHSD Chief Financial Officer to ensure that he has the proper knowledge and data to back up his budgetary decisions.
Ashley Sturm

“I’m a parent who is deeply invested in the community and an unwavering focus to student success is the priority for our district.”

Ashley Sturm is the head of marketing for a major data center technology company, and now she is looking to apply her skills in the Francis Howell School Board. Sturm is widely in favor of giving teachers the peace of mind that administration will listen to and enforce their concerns. Sturm is highly focused on the facts and making sure that she has the knowledge she needs before she makes a decision. Fiscal conservatism is one of the key factors that Sturm emphasizes when it comes to budgeting for Francis Howell. Sturm would like to see the rate of pay for both teachers and paras increase in order to keep FHSD’s salaries competitive. Sturm sees the Board of Education’s current system of fiscal conservatism as being successful and wants to help lead it into a prosperous future.

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The Francis Howell Board of Education Makes Way for New Leaders

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