Jason Peck, (Liz Macias, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — Jason Peck is one of the nine candidates who is running for a seat on the Kearney Public School’s board of education.
Peck said he is a longtime Kearney resident, having spent most of his adult life in the community. He noted his daughter currently attends Horizon Middle School.
He said he is running for a position on the school board after the prodding of family members and friends that he felt he would be a good fit for the position.
When asked about his experiences, Peck first noted that Kearney has great existing board members and the other candidates he is running against are, “tremendous.”
What will set him apart, Peck said, he spent several years as a member of the City of Kearney planning commission and helped him understand how the municipality worked.
He also noted his experience with facilities will help put him over the top, he has experience and knowledge of HVAC, electrical, plumbing systems. Peck said he could bring a fresh set of eyes to the school facilities.
Peck is also a sports coach with over 25 years of experience and noted his experience in sales enable him to work well with people.
When asked about his work with Kearney Public Schools, Peck said he was involved in a performance contact several years ago that gave him a more in-depth look into the workings of the district.
“Being involved in that manner really helped me understand what our district looks like, as far as the facilities go,” Peck said.
When asked about issues he feels KPS will deal with, Peck again noted the facilities and said that several are aging and sees that the district is outgrowing some of the buildings currently in use.
“We are going to have to figure out a way to either expand upon on existing facilities if we can, but most are pretty landlocked,” Peck said, “We are going to have to start looking at how we are either going to have to combine some of our elementaries, I know there have been discussions about combining our middle schools, which I am not a big fan of.”
Peck said he prefers keeping Horizon and Sunrise Middle Schools separate, so that students can go from an elementary school to a medium sized middle school then to the large high school.
“It helps them integrate,” he said.
Another spot Peck said he is passionate about is teacher recruitment and retention. “We have some really, really good teachers throughout the district.”
He acknowledged that it has been hard to retain staff over the past several years. Peck said the district can always be better at retaining their staff by either expanding upon salary, better benefits, trainings, creating new and innovative positions, etc.
Peck said there could be expansion on the non-traditional education paths for students, such as the trades. He said the trade jobs at the moment are, “losing guys, left right and center.”
When asked what factors he would base his decisions on as a board member, Peck said he would listen to the residents of the district, whether they voted for him or not.
“I need to listen to everyone in the community, everyone who has a student in the district should and needs to have a voice,” Peck said. He added that every taxpayer should have a voice as well.
“We serve that the pleasure of the district members,” said Peck.
In conclusion, Peck encouraged all residents to get out and vote for the person that they feel will be best for the community.
“We need to make sure we elected the best people for our school board, who are going to take care of our students,” said Peck.
Editor’s Note: Jason Peck appeared on 1340 KGFW and this article was written using information provided during that interview. The full interview can be found here.
