Business gets involved in school bond campaign

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Business leaders are going back to school. |ret||ret||tab|

From the Springfield Area Manufacturers Association to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and several individuals and organizations in between, local businesspeople are turning their attention to schools and, in particular, how the schools are preparing students to enter the working world.|ret||ret||tab|

Much of the dialogue surrounds the $30 million bond issue the school district is proposing to repair Central High School, build a new McGregor Elementary School, and upgrade other existing school facilities. The manufacturing association has said it supports the bond issue.|ret||ret||tab|

"We took a poll of our membership, and there was overwhelming support for the bond issue," said Rita Needham, community affairs director for SAMA.|ret||ret||tab|

The chamber's board will vote Feb. 21 on whether to endorse the ballot issue.|ret||ret||tab|

Other business leaders are getting behind the effort. Patti Penny, president and owner of Penmac Personnel Services, is co-chair of the campaign committee for the ballot issue, "Better Schools for Kids." Penny said she faces the need for strong schools in her business every day, which is why she agreed to co-chair the committee. A former member of the school board, Penny said the bond issue is "a small amount of money to pay for the improvements we'll gain. And we need to do this now."|ret||ret||tab|

"We have a number of clients who rely on us to send reliable and qualified personnel, and in my years of doing so, I have become painfully aware of the lack of education among those who are entering the work force," Penny said.|ret||ret||tab|

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Others share Penny's concerns. Jack Gentry, chairman of Positronic Industries, said manufacturers are getting involved in programs to promote the jobs they have available to high school students (see related story, page 10). Their involvement came after they determined that students were not being directed toward factory jobs.|ret||ret||tab|

"The emphasis became that you've got to go to college to be successful. ... There was not promotion of factory work as a rewarding and financially fulfilling career," Gentry said.|ret||ret||tab|

Beyond that, Gentry said he's also worried about a lack of focus on basic skills.|ret||ret||tab|

"One of the reasons we are active in the schools now is that we want students to know their choices and be preparing themselves for that future. If we can get people in here who have a good set of basic skills, a good understanding of basic math and the physical sciences ... if we can get that kind of high school graduate, then we can build on that," Gentry said.|ret||ret||tab|

Needham, who in addition to her role with SAMA is also director of manufacturing programs for Positronic Industries, said the company would support the bond campaign financially, but she was unsure how much SAMA would contribute. Penny said her company would also provide money for the campaign, and that she will be seeking donations from other business and community leaders.|ret||ret||tab|

Jack Stack, president and chief executive officer of SRC Holdings Corporation, said he sees students who are "full of fire" now emerging from public schools, while eight years ago he was "scared to death of what I was seeing."|ret||ret||tab|

"I feel like we're starting to give them the tools now, and there's been a phenomenal attitude change among graduates," Stack said.|ret||ret||tab|

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Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Jack Ernst is aware of these employers' concerns and has his own. |ret||ret||tab|

"I want to keep it focused on the core goal of teaching those basic skills. We often find it difficult to keep that narrow focus," Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

The public school's job, Ernst said, is to help its students develop those basic skills so that they'll be "successful no matter what they do." |ret||ret||tab|

But, like Gentry, Ernst wants students to have a context for what they are doing.|ret||ret||tab|

"We have to give them an introduction to the world of work out there. That's where we have to keep our links to our partners in the community active," Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

Balancing the two interests of basic-skills education and work preparation can be difficult, especially when the world of work is changing at a rapid pace, Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

"I think it will be of less service to business if we try to train students on particular machines and particular technology when that system may change before we even get them out of school," Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

He added that it is not equitable to spend large amounts of taxpayer money for skilled training beyond basic skills.|ret||ret||tab|

"Ninety percent of life is showing up. If we can encourage attendance, and then ensure that our students read well and write well, then we are doing what we're supposed to," Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

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Penny is a strong supporter of the $30 million bond increase. She said the resulting increase in residents' taxes is "such a small amount of money, really." George Freeman, public information officer for the schools, said the increase for an owner of a $50,000 home will be about $9.50 a year.|ret||ret||tab|

This is not the end of the increases, though, Freeman said. The schools will approach voters again in two years, and then again two years after that for approval of more increases, though the school board is not sure what form those will take.|ret||ret||tab|

"We've identified needs of at least $100 million for this school system, and that's a conservative figure," Freeman said.|ret||ret||tab|

This particular bond issue will deal with getting the system's buildings in better shape, Freeman said. |ret||ret||tab|

A much-discussed renovation of Central High School, where $12 million from the bond issue will be spent, will actually be about a $20 million project, Freeman said. The additional funding will come from other sources.|ret||ret||tab|

"Central is a grand old building. We should be working to make it one of the focal points of the community," Freeman said.|ret||ret||tab|

Henry Mateja, a member of SAMA and director of manufacturing of Tuthill Pneumatics Group said he is concerned about "pet projects."|ret||ret||tab|

"I don't want to pass a bond issue on the basis of pet projects. All schools should be treated equally," Mateja said.|ret||ret||tab|

Gentry said the school system has permitted its facilities to deteriorate, and that could contribute to the deterioration of interest among its students.|ret||ret||tab|

"Good facilities lead to more attentive students and better learning. Right now, our schools don't look good. I support the bond issue," Gentry said.|ret||ret||tab|

Stack said the renovation of Central is a first step in getting increased community support and involvement in schools.|ret||ret||tab|

"There is a vital link between schools and the community, and I am in favor of doing what we can to increase that connection. If we can get Central to a point where it has a capacity beyond the high school, where the community can use it and it becomes a focal point, then I think we're moving in the right direction," Stack said.|ret||ret||tab|

Penny said a renovated Central would be a "wonderful tie into what's going on in center city." |ret||ret||tab|

"I think if we can be successful with this baby step, then we will be more likely to go on to the next step," Penny said.|ret||ret||tab|

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Better prepared students and renovated facilities are a step in the right direction, but what local employers are dealing with now concerns them. Stack said he is encouraged by the incremental improvement he's seen in the students coming out of public schools, but Gentry and Penny are very aware of the problems they are facing.|ret||ret||tab|

"As these unskilled labor jobs leave the area and they are leaving in their place are jobs that require critical thinking," Penny said.|ret||ret||tab|

More than 25 percent of the applicants at Penmac did not finish high school, Penny said. For that reason, she offers Graduate Equivalency Degree classes through Penmac. Ozarks Technical Community College provides instructors for her program.|ret||ret||tab|

Gentry said he "employs the school's product, and I don't like the quality of your product. When my customers don't like my product, they are not hesitant to return it to me. Therefore, I have to say, your product is not acceptable to me, and it's got to get better in order for me to compete in the worldwide marketplace."|ret||ret||tab|

Manufacturing jobs are key to the health of a local economy, Gentry added.|ret||ret||tab|

"For years, communities have taken manufacturing jobs for granted. If they continue to do so, those jobs will eventually go away," Gentry said.|ret||ret||tab|

OTC is making some efforts to ensure that more jobs don't go away, said Norman Myers, OTC president. Myers said the college is working to educate schools on technical preparation education, and to place itself as a link between high school students and the world of work.|ret||ret||tab|

"We work hard in the legislature, in the business community, to keep up with what's going on in education and to keep ourselves ahead of the curve," Myers said.|ret||ret||tab|

Technical degrees at the college are overseen by committees made up of businesses engaged in that type of work.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're partnering with businesses, partnering with the public schools in order to better prepare students. We keep in touch with our business partners constantly to know how we should be changing our programs, what they need, what we should add," Myers said.|ret||ret||tab|

Like Gentry, Myers is concerned about what students are hearing about what jobs are available.|ret||ret||tab|

"We've been paying counselors to come in here and learn what we're all about, so they can take that message back out to the students," Myers said.|ret||ret||tab|

Ernst said he wants to assist in spreading businesses' message that there are good careers in manufacturing and industry.|ret||ret||tab|

"I think we can assist by providing some model programs, some internships, sharing those relationships. Most high school students don't have a good context for what's out there. We can give them an introduction. But I don't want to give up on the basic skills too early. It's more valuable for us to spend as much time as we can on those basic skills, but we can still impart an idea of what's available and get students moving in that direction," Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

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"When you come into this community you see OTC and SMS these are real monuments to education. There is real pride in this community toward the goal of education. When you drive past schools that haven't been remodeled ... what kind of message does that send? Not the same one as SMS and OTC are sending. Renovating these structures is symbolic for the process we're in of providing the skilled citizens of the next generation. ... This is a testament to our focus on value: if you ask most people if they want their children to be educated in worse facilities than they were, the answer is going to be no almost unanimously. ... We're not going to give up the next generation to random opportunity; it's too important. We're going to give them the best educational opportunity we can, and without spending money, it doesn't happen," Ernst said.|ret||ret||tab|

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