West Plains School Board Questionnaire -- Scott Tuma

Length of time in district: Eight years

Connections to the district: Two children enrolled, and one graduated from the district. 

Brief personal bio: Married 23 years this August. Father of three. Before my family came to the Ozarks, I worked 12 years in manufacturing. I have spent the last seven years in sales. I have coached multiple sports over the last 12 years. It’s my passion. I would like to help our community on the next step of our journey. I feel like West Plains is a blossoming flower that is ready to bloom.

 

Why are you running for school board? To improve the school experience!

 

Do you have an existing relationship with any members of the school board or administration? No. 

 

How can the district improve school safety? monitoring existing cameras, adding cameras where there are none. Keeping existing security in place. Allowing key staff members / administrators to open carry. 

 

Are you familiar with Missouri’s Sunshine Law? No. 

 

What is the most important improvement the district can make to academic performance? Would like to add more extra curriculars. 

 

Should parents/guardians or community stakeholders be concerned about CRT-influenced curricula in West Plains now or in the future? This is a million-dollar question. CRT needs to be researched and spoke about in the community extensively in order to answer that. 

 

In terms of resource allocation, please rank the following topics from most important to least important: 

-Teacher pay

-School grounds/facilities/maintenance

-New academic programs

-Athletics

-Existing academic programs

-Teacher job satisfaction

All being said, if we improve the top the bottom will fall in line. 

 

Does introducing a school uniform to R-VII school make sense for the district? Why or why not? No. Kids need to be allowed to express themselves and be comfortable. Dress codes make sense. Some things shouldn’t be worn in school.

 

What does R-VII do better than anybody else? I believe we do a lot of things really well. I don’t know other districts well enough to say what we are better at. 

If school choice becomes law, how will you compete for students to choose this district? Better facilities. New programs. Better pay to bring in better teachers.

For challengers: Why do you think the school district needs a change? Kids need people who are going to fight for them. So do teachers. Sometimes you have to be willing to go to war on issues to bring a better future.