BY SYDNEY HOOVER
The Eudora School Board will decide next month which of three candidates will fill an open seat created by a member resignation.
Samantha Arredondo, Claire Harding and Belinda Rehmer applied for the vacant board position following Bryan Maring’s resignation in November due to his family moving out of state.
The selected candidate will be announced at the Feb. 13 board meeting after current board members Joseph Hurla, Mark Chrislip and Becky Plate interview each applicant.
The Eudora Times received copies of the applications and sat down with each candidate to learn more about why she wants to serve on the board.
Samantha Arredondo
Arredondo and her husband moved to Eudora five years ago for a number of reasons, but most importantly, for the school district.
Arredondo has two children, one in first grade and another in kindergarten. She said when she left her hometown of Council Grove, Kansas, for a job in the Kansas City area, her family made Eudora home because of how highly recommended the school district was.
“We have young kids in the district, so we’re going to be around for a while,” Arredondo said. “So we have a vested interest in the way the schools go.”
Arredondo has been a volunteer in her children’s classrooms and her family has friends in the community with children in all three schools. She said as a working parent who commutes daily, she believes she can bring an important viewpoint to the board. She is an account executive at Creative Circle.
In her application, Arredondo said she has the ability to look at problems from diverse viewpoints to find a solution. Among other skills, she described herself as detail oriented and a team player.
“I would say my superpower is the ability to keep an open mind in difficult situations and creatively problem solve while keeping different viewpoints in mind while working with a team to achieve the best possible outcome,” she said in her application.
Arredondo is bilingual and said she and her family speak both English and Spanish in their home.
As a board member, she would like to look at diversity within the community as the district and town continues to grow.
“I think there’s so much of that viewpoint, knowledge, learnings that really can be brought into everybody’s community,” Arredondo said.
Claire Harding
Harding has volunteered with the Eudora School District for years as the fundraising chair of the Eudora Elementary Parent Teacher Organization and a board member for the Eudora Schools Foundation. Harding is also a substitute teacher and was named Eudora Substitute of the Year for the 2017-18 school year.
“I have a heart for public service and there was a vacant position,” Harding said. “I’m committed to our community and Eudora schools and this is another way to serve.”
Harding said from her experience as a volunteer, she has been able to “tackle large projects and complex issues,” giving her valuable experience she could bring to the board. In her application, she explained her time as a volunteer in the district makes her “uniquely qualified for the role.”
Harding and her family moved to Eudora based on location, but she said in her application they found the school district very fitting for them. She quickly became involved when her oldest began school at Eudora Elementary.
“My passion for public schools and our community, my experience and my eagerness to contribute to a high caliber board are the reasons I have chosen to apply for this role,” Harding said in her application.
As a School Board member, she hopes she could help make everyone’s voice heard. She said she feels the current board “does a really great job” and hopes to continue building off its work.
“[I] really want to make sure that we are creating the right kind of culture in our school district,” Harding said. “Not that there is anything wrong with the way that it is, but continuing to be people first. That’s our students and our educators and our families.”
Belinda Rehmer
Rehmer served on the School Board for two terms beginning in 2008 before stepping down in 2016 for family obligations. She said the decision was bittersweet, but she knew she would be back.
Rehmer considered running again in the most recent election, but said she chose not to because she was happy with the other candidates. She said she is pleased with the current board and hopes to add to that in the vacant position.
“I really see the importance of the School Board and the advances that can be made with the decisions,” Rehmer said.
She and her husband have since retired, and in her application she said she is “living out my dream job: full-time volunteer.” Since stepping down, Rehmer has been involved with the Eudora Schools Foundation, which she describes as “such a blessing to our students and our teachers.”
Rehmer said she hopes her past board experience can make the transition into the vacant position easier. In her application, she said in addition to compassion and dedication, her experience and familiarity with the board can help avoid the “learning curve” that comes with being a new board member.
She said her focus on the board would be to continue advancement within the district to give students equal opportunities as those in larger districts, such as Lawrence.
“Our school district is a gem,” Rehmer said. “We have so much to be proud of here in Eudora that that in itself is reason to care about what’s happening.”
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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