May 16, 2020

As a long-time Lee’s Summit resident, I care deeply about this community and for nearly 30 years have dedicated my time and talents to serve my fellow citizens. It is with this passion and commitment that I entered the School Board race. I am a wife, mother, homeowner, business owner/employer, attorney, former City Councilmember, leader in the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council, and member of the R7 Business Roundtable. If elected, I will share my decision making and leadership skills, honed in both the public and private sectors.

Three priorities of my campaign are Curriculum, Culture and Capital Improvements, and all three require significant financial support. I have spoken in forums and written in response to numerous questionnaires about the District’s need to address a decade of credibility issues which have crippled the ability of the District to adequately address issues of compensation and growth since the failed 2011 operating levy. Now as a result of COVID-19, these issues of compensation, and more human and academic resources in the classrooms, have only multiplied exponentially as the District is called upon to meet each student where they are and provide them resources to succeed, in a very different teaching environment for the near future.

It is a critical time for strong, creative and decisive leadership with the ability to examine suggestions of organizations like the Missouri School Board Association, but, also and most importantly, provide the vision to consider what is best for the Lee’s Summit R7 School District, as we develop our own operational path within the legal requirements and opportunities provided by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on the subject of the summer and 2020-2021 school year. In addition, it will be critical to involve the tremendous resource of our teachers in creating the District’s vision. Having spent the 4th quarter of the 2019-2020 school year working with my 7th grader with his classwork and new learning environment, I understand the practical challenges for the teachers and parents, and in particular, working parents.

I have pledged to foster and contribute to a School Board and District that embraces a culture of kindness in the conduct of the District mission, one anchored in respect, integrity, and compassion. Now more than ever these leadership characteristics are a “must have” for our District Board membership.

Linda (Ahern, Tribune Owner/Publisher), you asked about conflicts. My work is diverse, and on occasion may present a potential for conflict of interest. If a conflict arises, I will immediately recuse myself from the related discussion. These occasions will be rare.

See more about me at the website ChooseChristine.com. I respectfully ask for your vote!