Three seeking to fill two seats on the Scott City School Board

A three-way race for the Scott City School Board has an incumbent and two newcomers competing for two available seats.

Lisa Schaefer, who was elected in 2010 and had previously served on the school board from 2004-2007, will be running against Gary Elders and Bobby Underwood for one of the seats in Tuesday's election.

"I'm dedicated to the schools," said Schaefer, a 1976 graduate of Scott City High School. "I want to help make sure the schools are run the way they're supposed to be run."

Schaefer said she hopes to see the Scott City School District maintain and improve its accredited status, and that she will encourage parents and community members to become involved with the district.

"Recently I received a letter from a kindergarten teacher who was seeking community volunteers to read to kindergartners and in the elementary grades during Missouri School Read-In Day," she said. "I like that sort of thing, and that's what I want to encourage."

Gary Elders

Schaefer said there were no fiscal problems within the district, and she wants to keep it that way.

Schaefer said she has helped oversee improvements to the schools, including the drive for a "safe room" that will be built on the west side of the Scott City school building to protect students in case of disaster.

"We received a $3 million Federal Homeland Security grant for the safe room," she said. "It will be a place for students to go in case of tornado or intruder alerts. It will also be used for additional classroom space."

Elders said being elected to the school board means decisions will be made that won't make everyone happy.

"You have to make the right calls," Elders said. "You have to believe they will be the right ones for the students."

Elders, a 1983 graduate of Scott City High School, returned to Scott City in 2010 after accepting a managerial post the Cape Girardeau Wal-Mart. He earlier was employed by Wal-Mart in Indiana for 20 years.

"I would hope my business experience would be an asset for me as a board member," Elders said.

Elders said the time he has spent away from Scott City wouldn't be a hindrance to his duties as a board member.

"Being away for 20 years gave me the opportunity to see how things are done in other places," he said. "I might be able to add different perspectives and ideas."

Elders also wants to make sure there is an abundance of programs and clubs in which students may become involved.

"I want to make sure children have things to do," he said. "It will help keep them out of trouble."

Bobby Underwood could not be reached by the Southeast Missourian for this story. The Scott City superintendent's office contacted Underwood on the newspaper's behalf Tuesday after a phone number couldn't be located, and the Missourian had not heard from him as of late Thursday. The superintendent's office said it couldn't release Underwood's phone number.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Scott City, MO