Jim Laughary

Role of a board member:  First and foremost, the role is to hire the superintendent, Laughary said. The board should choose high quality people with moral and ethical values to lead the district. A board should not micromanage, he said, but trust a qualified superintendent to do his job. 

 

Time available for board duties: Working part time with a flexible schedule, provides him with significant time to devote to board duties. 

 

District connections: Laughary has a nephew who subs in the district, but his wife has retired. 

 

Board meetings attended in the last year: Two. As an administrator in the district, he attended every month. 

 

Technology/AI in the classroom: Laughary is comfortable with technology and considers himself to be tech-savvy. During his brief return to the classroom, he saw that tech and AI can be helpful, “but it can lead to students trying to find other ways to get the answer.” Math problems that should take several minutes were being turned in after just a few seconds of effort. “It’s not just the cheating,” he said, “but you don’t learn the critical thinking and the problem solving.”

 

“They have to be tech literate, but we grew to rely on it too much. We should pull back and go old school.”  

 

How to establish a culture that retains teachers and students: The one thing no district can do is pay teachers what they deserve, he said. What this district can do is establish a culture where people desire to come to West Plains to work and stay there their whole career – like he did. That starts with hiring good people, he said. These hires should have high ethical standards, treat people right, be calm under pressure, caring – the kind of teachers who meet kids at the door. These are the hires who will treat students right and be kind to parents, he said. 

 

Any board action he would change: None. He thinks the district is headed in a great direction, and he would like to be a part of that progress. 

 

Role of social issues in a school board election: According to Laughary, what constitute a social issue here may not be a major social issue in other parts of the country. “I have a strong faith in God,” he continued. “It’s no secret. My decision making is, number one, does it honor God? And you know what? I fall short of that sometimes. That’s where I stand. I’m not going to put somebody down. Everyone can believe how they want.”

 

What skills would help you manage a new superintendent: His time as the administrator of the SCCC taught him that networking is essential to success to administrators in new positions, so he would encourage Mr. Orchard to network with other superintendents serving districts of a similar size, as well as locally. 

 

Thoughts on navigating shifting revenue sources for schools: “It’s scary what might happen with finances that we have no control over,” Laughary said. “People want to do away with personal property taxes. Nobody wants to pay more taxes. And everyone wants students to have outstanding educational opportunities…that doesn’t come free.”

 

If changes do come, he has ideas for conservative spending while maintaining morale – asking ‘if we can’t pay teachers more, what can we do for them?’ 

 

“Maybe not a raise, but can we give them more control over their professional development?” Laughary suggested.