Incumbent school board members, challengers answer Chamber questions

Continuing an election time tradition, the Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce invited school board candidates to speak at their March meeting. Candidates gave opening statements and answered questions from the Chamber members present. An audio recording of the entire forum is available online at howellcountynews.com/podcasts.

 

Introductions

 

Incumbent Matt Hobson

 

Hobson’s opening statement of approximately five minutes addressed the district’s ongoing financial crisis, the investigative series published by Howell County News in September 2025, and highlights of his performance on the board.

 

“I’m running,” the incumbent vice-president began, “because of the truth.”

 

Hobson used his time to say the district’s deficit spending began before he was elected, was masked by federal dollars in the COVID era, and was downplayed by the information provided by two superintendents, Bill Hall and Marty Spence, over the years to a total of 14 board members, himself included. Hobson said Missouri School Board Association (MSBA) training encourages individual board members not to review budget line-items. 

 

Hobson said he’s, “been one of the strongest Christian conservatives,” and pledges to, “vote his conscience.”

 

Incumbent Adam Webb

 

Soon to complete his second term on the school board, incumbent Adam Webb said he feels, “he still has a lot to give.” He said he agreed with Hobson and “will back” his statements, “We didn’t get correct information” and, “We made decisions on what we were told.” Webb described being a board member as, “an everyday job,” and described continuous contact with the community – in the grocery store and around town, as well as frequent visits to campus. Webb said he is, “proud of the work” he’s done and would like to continue to do what he can.

 

Casey McKee

 

McKee is the only candidate running who is not from Willow Springs. His wife is currently employed in the district, and his three children attend school at R-IV. Though circumstances seem like, “doom and gloom,” McKee says there is, “a chance to do something special” in the Willow Springs school district, and he would like to help be a part of it. 

 

Michele Myers

 

A member of the Willow Springs High School Class of 1990, Myers said, “Our students deserve strong academic outcomes.” She is, “not running to bring business into education,” but to, “keep students at the center of every decision,” by “asking good questions, evaluating outcomes, and ensuring resources are used effectively.” Myers says she possesses a business degree and a paralegal studies degree. She serves on the supervisory committee of South Central Credit Union, is the treasurer of Willow Springs Bears Football Booster Club, and has been a Chamber of Commerce Board member. 

 

David Baldridge and Brendon Wilson

 

Challengers Baldridge and Wilson were not present at the luncheon but submitted statements. Chamber Board president Mary Aye read Wilson’s aloud. In it, Wilson promised to be an advocate for the district and encouraged Chamber members to submit questions to the candidate forum on March 10, hosted by the school district.

 

Baldridge’s written statement was distributed to those present, identifying himself as a 2002 graduate of Willow Springs High School who went to college in Jonesboro before returning to the district in 2024. He has previously served on the Van Buren, Mo., school board and closed, “my desire is to serve the community well honoring God, my family, and my country, being a good board member and doing what’s right by the Missouri constitution and this school district.”

 

Questions from Chamber members

 

Stephanie Beltz-Price of Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, Inc. addressed the elephant in the room by asking about the district’s financial problems, specifically if there was anything the candidates would have done differently and whether the crisis was handled transparently.

 

Beltz-Price was referring to the August 2025 announcement of the district’s critically low reserve balance of funds of just under five percent. As recently as one month before, board members heard that the balance was on track to be 17 percent. Deficit spending shed millions from district accounts, as previously reported by the News, and left the district to operate on thin margins as the new school year began. Independent financial consultants have been keeping a close watch on both spending and revenues received. With the help of the current financial consultant, the budget for next school year cuts more than a million dollars in spending, mostly via personnel reduction. 

 

Responding to Beltz-Price, incumbents Webb and Hobson returned to the topic of acting on the information they had. Webb said, “You’re voting on what you know. Sometimes, you wake up and read an email with something different.”

 

Hobson said, “We trusted, but didn’t verify,” and, regarding transparency, insisted the board, “told as much as we could.”

 

Challenger Myers said she did not make the decision to throw her name in the ring lightly, mentioning that she has been present or watched online every board meeting since the announcement of the crisis. Her suggestion is a weekly financial review for board members to allow them to make good decisions and ask tough questions. 

 

McKee said he plans to rely on the guidance of the more experienced board members if elected. “It’s easy to point out what’s gone wrong,” he said. “You can’t give out too much information to the public. There’s laws and limitations to what you can be told.”

 

Chamber president Mary Aye of Simmons Bank asked about declining enrollment, asking what can be done to bring students back to the district after the blows it has suffered to its reputation. 

 

Hobson referred to the recent option the district has offered to facilitate an online diploma from the district and said to rebuild “the reputation we had,” the community and school district have to be united. 

 

McKee echoed that the key is “getting back to community pride.”

 

“I didn’t graduate from here. I chose it. I believe in this community,” McKee said. 

 

Myers mentioned changing the requirements attached to the Senior Projects, which will be replaced next year by the CAPS program, as previously reported by the News. 

 

Webb touched on the shifting landscape of school funding, open enrollment, and the recently approved homeschool participation in public school activities, but he said the success of the school falls back on the town itself. A successful town means a successful school, and vice versa, Webb said. “We can’t be separate in any of this.”