School Board Candidate Q & A

On Tuesday, June 6, voters will choose who should sit on the New Rockford-Sheyenne School Board for the next three years.

Zachary Smith is challenging incumbent Mike Schaefer for his 3-year position representing the former New Rockford district. Kyle Alfstad is running unopposed for a 3-year position representing the former Sheyenne district, currently held by Travis Benson.

This is the first contested NR-S school board race in eight years, and each candidate has agreed to answer questions to help voters understand where they stand on important issues to the district.

Listed below are the questions each candidate was asked and their responses. In order to make room for all responses, some of the answers have been edited.

Q: Introduce yourself to voters who might not know you - What is your background and why do you have an interest in being on the New Rockford-Sheyenne school board?

Schaefer: My name is Mike Schaefer and I am a local farmer. I was born in New Rockford and grew up in the New Rockford school district. My wife Tiffany and I have four kids currently in the New Rockford school system. We are both very active in the school and the community. I currently serve on the school board as well as the Eddy County Soil Conservation District, Fessenden Cooperative board, Eddy County Weed Board, Wells County Better Seed and Grain, and the SNR Baseball Boosters board. I am also the head coach of the NR-S archery team.

Smith: I grew up on a family farm near McHenry and graduated from Carrington High School in 2004. I attended and graduated from the University of North Dakota prior to attending Chiropractic school at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, Minn., from where I graduated in November of 2012. I have lived in the area since late 2012. I practiced as a chiropractor from 2013 through 2021 at Nicolai Chiropractic Center before leaving to practice at the Spirit Lake Health Center in Fort Totten. I am married to my high school sweetheart, with whom I have four wonderful children. Our family attends Federated Church in Carrington, where I have served on the church board, including as president. I have been on the board of directors of the North Dakota Chiropractic Association (NDCA) since 2017 in various roles. This past April I completed a two-year term serving as president of the NDCA. During my time serving on that board, I have been involved with negotiating coverage disputes and policy changes with third party payers, such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Dakota, Workforce Safety & Insurance, and the N.D. Department of Human Services. I have also been involved with lobbying on behalf of bills both in the N.D. legislature and in Washington, D.C. I have served on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Dakota's Chiropractic Advisory Committee since 2016. I have served on the New Rockford Fire Department since 2021. When I moved back to the area, I originally saw myself settling in Carrington, as I had more familiarity with that community. New Rockford quickly became home for us, and I can't imagine living anywhere else. As a father of four children, I have a vested interest in making our school the best it can be. I have been interested in serving on the school board for several years now; community members have been urging me to run for several years as well. I have been growing increasingly concerned regarding the state of our school, and I hope that I am able to help change things for the better so our school and community can continue to flourish into the future.

Kyle Alfstad: I'm a farmer/rancher in northeastern Wells County within the former Sheyenne District. I am a 2001 graduate of Sheyenne High School. My wife Renae and I have three kids: Eli, age 14, Braylon, age 12, and Averie, age 9. My interest in being on the school board is to get a better understanding of how our school functions and to help provide direction in our school's future.

What do you see as the top three priorities for the school district in the next three years?

Mike Schaefer: I see the priorities over the next few years being focused on things like

1. Keeping our school and the environment in the school fitting to the community more than the world around us.

2. Continue to meet the needs of the community and address whatever issues arise.

3. Continue to progress in areas that help our kids in the ever-changing future.

Zachary Smith: I feel the top three issues the district is facing in the next three years are teacher recruitment, teacher retention and improving transparency/clarity of communication. We have had an exodus of teachers from our school recently. That shouldn't happen, and frankly it is alarming. As the father of a student who is approaching high school, I have well-founded reservations about the quality of education that they will be able to receive in our school district if we are not able to recruit and retain quality educators to fill our vacancies. We need to foster an environment where our best educators thrive, which will promote their retention.

Kyle Alfstad: I view the school district as only having one main priority and that is to continue providing a safe and healthy environment for our students to learn.

In light of recent resignations, what ideas do you have for recruitment and retention of qualified faculty and staff?

Mike Schaefer: I think that staff retention is important. I think that the board has been trying very hard to meet the needs of the staff. We are always faced with changing conditions in life, and right now the world is wide open to change. I don't think there is a district in the state that isn't experiencing staffing issues.

Zachary Smith: The fish rots from the head down. I feel that it is time for fresh ideas and new leadership in our school district.

Kyle Alfstad: We need to find out what the deciding factors were in the recent resignations and use that information to help retain current and new staff.

In the area of capital improvements, where do you see the greatest needs in the district?

Mike Schaefer: I think the district has done well with capital improvements in the recent years. The need of the current building has been met well with some great improvements. Currently the needs are none. With that I will add that I do feel that the 2nd Gym project will be good for our district, and the addition of a bus barn would greatly reduce the long-term care with our transportation equipment.

Zachary Smith: Our school needs more space. End of discussion. With growing class sizes in our Pre-K and early elementary classes, we need more class space. We need more space in our lunchroom to accommodate our students eating lunch in a reasonable amount of time, without having them feel like they are being rushed through a feedlot before being told to clear out so there is space for the next group. Our gym space is at a premium, as well. We should be thinking of ways to approach this problem, which will only worsen if class sizes continue to increase.

Kyle Alfstad: I feel I would need more information to understand what improvements are needed.

To you, how important is it that the school district maintain property tax levels where they are and balance the budget?

Mike Schaefer: I think that maintaining property tax levels is very important. By that I mean we should not be taking more than we need. Raising tax levels to meet our wants is not the answer, but to meet needs it is an option that the board has. Our levels have been stable for a long time, and I see that being possible in the future. It would be nice to have more funds to increase our base salaries for our teachers, which would also help with staff retention and recruitment.

Zachary Smith: There is a time and place for everything. No one likes the idea of tax increases, but there are times and situations where it may be appropriate. I believe that any governing body should show caution and restraint when it comes to raising taxes. As a board, our first goal should be to live within our means. The board is responsible for the public's money, and accordingly they should take public input on how it is being spent.

Kyle Alfstad: I think we need to compare other similar school districts' property tax levels to our own and use that information to make adjustments to meet the needs of our district.

What are your ideas to address any transportation problems the school is currently dealing with, or could deal with in the next three years?

Mike Schaefer: The issue of transportation is simply a driver problem. I feel the district is in a good position to provide transportation for all students if we could find some butts to put in the driver seat. I think the opportunity for owner-operators of buses is something that the community overlooks. My best idea is to get that info out to the public and let them know that the opportunity to own their own business, or be a partner in a bus, is very appealing.

Zachary Smith: As a person who grew up on a family farm many miles away from the school I attended, I can't imagine not having dependable bus service to rely on. As a rural community, transportation is vital to many of our students' days. I feel I need to further research this topic to provide better, more meaningful input at this time. Increasing reimbursement to drivers only goes so far.

Kyle Alfstad: I think the district should consider getting smaller passenger buses that do not require the driver to have a commercial license.

How important is it that NR-S maintains a strong music program, and do you believe the board should have considered reducing the music program by a full-time position earlier this spring?

Mike Schaefer: I think having a music program is a great thing. I believe the program was in a place where the board needed to look at the numbers, but I don't think the program was ready to reduce to one teacher. I can only speak for myself on this, not the board, but I feel the numbers supported reducing the music to 1.5 positions, and retaining our staff in the system until the program regained the numbers that would support returning to 2 full positions. It was unfortunate that this particular situation escalated so quickly. Public participation is always needed and wanted, but our board was met with so much doubt that we would do the right thing for the situation.

Zachary Smith: Music was a wonderful part of my own high school experience; I have been blessed to have a son who has similarly fallen in love, playing the very same saxophone I played when I was his age. I spoke out against the idea of reducing the music program at length with several board members, as well as at a school board meeting where this was being discussed. I think that would have been a terrible mistake for our community. Music education is vital to a student's education. Multiple studies show that when children are exposed to music education, or participate in band or choir, their test scores in reading and math go up. We should be doing all we can to foster a strong music program at the school.

Kyle Alfstad: I feel NR-S benefits from a productive music program for all students.

As a school board member, how important do you believe transparency is for a school board, and how will you ensure the school board remains transparent and accessible to the community?

Mike Schaefer: As I mentioned before, I am on a number of boards, and I don't think there is a more transparent board than a school board. I think the misconception comes from a lack of understanding how a public board like this works. By that I mean, there are so many rules and laws that have to be followed on privacy and rights. I feel the board is transparent, as the law allows at all times, and ironically is forced to be. There are laws that a public board must follow both ways.

Zachary Smith: I think that transparency is vital for any representative body, such as a school board. One way the board could become more transparent would be to have the school board meetings broadcast via zoom or a similar service. It would enable the public to view the proceedings should they wish to, though I would think that anyone wishing to address the board should come to the physical meeting. On a similar note, I have been concerned regarding the clarity of some of the school's posting on Facebook, such as a post regarding the heightened security environment at a recent school concert. There is no reason to post such a vague message, which only served to cause further concern amongst students, staff, and the public. A release from the Eddy County Sheriff's Department distributed by the local newspaper that further explained the incident without violating the privacy of any individual involved, shed more light on the subject, and alleviated many fears which were unnecessarily stoked by the lack of detail in the school's communication.

Kyle Alfstad: I believe all public boards should be transparent, and the school board is no exception.