Teachers group's school board candidate forum set for Monday

The three contenders for the two open slots on the Sedalia School District 200 Board of Education will face questions from teachers during a candidate forum Monday afternoon.

The Sedalia Community Educators Association’s forum is set for 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Heckart Performing Arts Center at Smith-Cotton High School. SCEA President Kevin Ditzfeld said the forum is open to the public and the scheduled time allows student traffic to clear out and teachers at other buildings to travel to the high school for the event.

Current board members Dr. Jeff Sharp and Jeff Redford, and newcomer Stephanie Lefevers all will participate.

Ditzfeld said SCEA elected officers and building representatives met the first week of January to discuss questions based on issues expressed by district educators.

“We take into account what we hear from teachers, what they would like candidates to address,” he said.

Each candidate will make an opening statement, and get three minutes to answer each question; they also will have two minutes for a closing statement.

The forum is expected to last about an hour and will be followed by SCEA’s outstanding educator celebration, which honors district staff members.