K-M district needs to move forward

Throughout the Kasson-Mantorville Public Schools campus is a simple message everywhere you turn: “Commitment to Excellence.”
Now it’s time for the school district to commit to rebuilding its school district.
For several months, there have been a number of controversial issues within the district. A school board member quit — twice; the superintendent has submitted his resignation, just six months into a three-year contract, to name just a couple.
Then on Monday night, when the school board met to decide who should replace the former school board member, it became clear there is a great divide on the school board.
Initially, the board was evenly split over whether it made sense to have a longtime former school board member fill the temporary vacancy, or to have the fifth-place candidate from the recent election fill the role, since more than 2,000 people voted for him.
Ultimately, both factions of the school board agreed to seat Angie Richards, a former board member, to fill the seat until November.
This paper commends the board for coming together to agree on someone.
But the reality is, the debate brought up more issues.
The other candidate for the position, Pat Walsh, talked about the lack of community trust in the school district, some students feeling uncomfortable at school, and the revolving door which has been the administration lately.
These are all concerns every member of the board should take seriously and look at addressing.
What is concerning is how quickly the debate resembled a popularity contest, instead of a substantive debate over who is the most qualified for the position.
It’s true that Walsh received more than 2,000 votes in the last election. But he has failed to secure a spot on the board in the last two elections. The school board needs to deliberate based on facts, not hypothetical scenarios.
Those in support of Richards generally pointed out how many emails were received in support of her. In this paper’s view, this is a dangerous precedent to set.
Consider this the next time there is a controversial issue happening in the schools:
Do you want your elected officials to make decisions based on how many people comment on Facebook, send emails, or write letters to the editor? Or would you prefer decisions are made on merit?
The Kasson-Mantorville School Board has a chance to move forward in a positive direction, and for the sake of the community, we would hope level heads — and substantive debates — prevail.