Will Hopes Be Dashed?

Every year there are high hopes that a new election cycle will bring positive changes to the Hickman Mills School District via board members who actually care about their awesome responsibility and take it seriously. This year has been no exception, but those hopes may once again be dashed.

One candidate, Clifford Ragan, has not paid his property taxes for two years, and so the Secretary of State has deemed him unqualified to appear on the ballot and sent that ruling to the Kansas City Election Board. The KCEB has placed a disclaimer on their website stating such and further saying none of Mr. Ragan’s votes will be counted. That is a positive step.

School districts rely on property taxes to function; yet, Mr. Ragan somehow thinks he is exempt from supporting the very school district he is now attempting to help lead by being a director on the school board. At the least, this is hypocritical; but the issue gets worse.

While we don’t know if it’s from Mr. Ragan or someone else, there is now a rumor spreading that Mr. Ragan has been “made aware” of the situation and is taking care of it. Not only is there NO WAY TO DO THAT, but this is not an issue that has recently come to his attention. Last year a board member moved out of the district and Mr. Ragan applied to replace her. His TAXES WERE MADE AN ISSUE AT THAT TIME, so not only has he been aware, he has had ample time to “take care of it” if he had actually wanted to.

The culture of any organization is top down. Is it any wonder the Missouri State Board of Education considers Leadership an important criterion when deciding whether a school district should be fully accredited or not? The burden for that accreditation is generally placed on teachers, but it ultimately is the responsibility of the leadership, the board of education. It would seem being a good leader would be difficult if you can’t follow the law.

Voter Alert

Just checking to make sure of my polling place and saw this on the Kansas City Election Board website:

NOTICE: For voters voting in the Hickman Mill C-1 School District race, Clifford Ragan III has been disqualified as a candidate for Director, 3year term.  Even though his name will appears on the ballot, his votes will not be counted.   

https://www.kceb.org

Let me point out that the election board is an organization one would think would check and double check the information it’s putting out. Sadly, we can see that isn’t true because Mr. Ragan is running for a board seat on the Hickman MillS school board, not the Hickman Mill school board. The school district takes its name from the community in which it was founded and that is the community of Hickman Mills. Maybe they just misplaced the s and put it behind appear, but I digress.

Mr. Ragan has been endorsed by both Freedom, Inc. and Southland Progress, so many undoubtedly have received a flyer in the mail urging voters to support this candidate. It’s a shame that neither group checked his credentials prior to endorsement; or maybe they did and chose to ignore them?

This is all very troubling because while little is known by the general public about school boards, they are the ones who actually run school districts, not superintendents as many believe. It is therefore imperative that the right people be elected to these boards for the sake of our children and our future. This, of all places, is NOT a place for politics.