Huron Board of Education candidates say why they are running
HURON – All Huron Board of Education candidates responded to a seven question questionnaire about issues affecting Huron City Schools. The Huron Board of Education candidates are John C. Adams, Sherry Catri, Stacey Hartley, Ryan Hathaway, Stacy Hinners, Kimberly King, Andra Kurtz, and Elizabeth Laffay. Huron Insider will be posting one of the questions along with the responses each night this week (August 15-August 21).
Tonight’s question is about the candidates. They were asked to tell a little bit about themselves and why they are running.
Adams:
I am delighted to officially announce my candidacy for the Huron City School Board. I have been an educator/leader for 35+ years. I have lived in the Huron City School District for almost 25yrs. I earned my Masters degree from Oral Roberts University, Cum Laude.
In addition to being a Sr. Pastor for almost 38 yrs, I have also been a purchasing executive responsible for negotiating multi-million dollar contracts. (while pastoring a smaller church)
I currently serve as a Regional Law Enforcement Chaplain to 4 local agencies and others as called upon from time to time. I am honored to serve: Huron Police Department, Sandusky Police Department, Perkins Police Department, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. I teach a class entitled, “Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement” to our local agencies and also at the Police Academy. I am also an Instructor at Tri-C in Parma, Police Academy/Drone Academy.
I also hold a state of Ohio Dept. of Education Certificate for substitute teaching and have taught numerous classes in our area. I received two prestigious awards; receiving one of three “Person of the Year” awards from the Sandusky Register and “Ohio’s Finest Civilian” award from the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.
There is little, to me, that is as important as a good, quality education that especially excels, in the basics of Reading/Writing/Language Skills, Mathematics, Science, and Basic Life Skills.
If the voters are gracious enough to give me the opportunity, I will dedicate myself to helping our School System raise the bar in these basics and improve our overall system-wide grade, while maximizing the dollars we receive, being as transparent as possible as to where those dollars come from and where those dollars go.
Why do I desire to serve on the Huron City School Board? To lend my decades of experience and unique skill set to a team while serving our community. Am I “better” than the other candidates? To say “yes” I believe is an arrogant statement. I’m not better than the others. I am unique with special skills like the other candidates. I desire to use those skills to move our BOE forward. If the community sees value in me and what I can offer, then I would humbly ask them for their vote.
Catri:
I grew up in Warren, OH and moved to the area after graduating from college. I have been a resident of Huron since 1991 and come with school board experience as I served on the Huron school board from 2016-2019.
Education is my passion and I have 22 years of teaching experience with Sandusky City Schools. My education career began as a German instructor and I now work as an intervention specialist, so I have worked with a diverse population of students. My professional background brings expertise in teaching and learning, and could help others understand the potential impact that policy can have on our students, our families, and in the classroom.
The primary reasons I have decided to run for school board are transparency and accountability. I feel both issues need to be seriously addressed at a public level and within the organization.
Hartley:
I am passionate about education, its ability to positively impact children’s lives, and the opportunities that arise when schools and communities collaborate on student success.
I’m from Columbus originally and moved to Huron, my husband Jim’s hometown, when our daughter Brynne was 1. She’s now almost 13 and our son John is 8. Our children will graduate from Huron City Schools. I am a product of strong public schools in a small community, a town a little larger than Huron’s district. My degree is in language, and I studied secondary education after receiving my bachelors degree. I have professional experience in building collaborations between public education institutions and the private sector, and have nearly two decades of experience in major gift fundraising for things like new buildings, scholarships, and academic programming.
I’m also passionate about transparency and accountability, and, because I’m a public employee, am trained in laws that apply to public officials such as sunshine laws and Ohio Ethics law.
I’m running for Huron School Board because I believe my training and experience could benefit Huron schools. We do a lot of things well. There are things we could do better. I want to work with the school community to build stronger ties through communication, collaboration, transparency and accountability. I want to make sure Huron schools provide a safe environment for every child. I want Huron schools to maximize every opportunity for every student. I don’t want Huron schools to only compare itself with other Erie county schools; I want Huron to be a model school for the state and maybe even nationally. Our kids deserve the best and I think we have the ability to be that and to give that to them.
Hathaway:
I am excited to officially announce my candidacy for the Huron City School Board. My family and I have lived in the Huron City School District for 6 years. Originally from southern Virginia, I played D1 football at Norfolk State University where I majored in Electronics Technology before starting my career with Norfolk Southern in 2011. I spent 5 years in various management positions with Norfolk Southern until 2016 when I landed at the Bellevue Railyard during its peak. As our young family continued to grow, my wife Cara and I decided that moving around the East Coast for career growth opportunities wasn’t in our best interest. I became self-employed and started my own Sales Consulting company which allowed me to live anywhere in the Eastern half of the US. Without question, we decided that we wanted to call Huron our home and have been putting roots down ever since.
I am running for the school board for a few simple reasons. I am a proud father of 2 beautiful little girls and one child on the way. Like so many in the community, I feel that there is a desire for more transparency across the board when it comes to the wellbeing of our children. My wife and I take great pride in cultivating our children as caring, compassionate, loving, and Patriotic little Americans. I want to be confident that when I send my children off to school that Huron is not only a safe and vibrant environment for them, but that it is also an extension of the principles that are taught at home and around the dinner table. I am a firm believer that if you want something changed then put some skin in the game. My goal is to ensure that character, virtue, and morality are at the head of the education table, where they belong. No human attribute matters more than good character, and nothing is more important for schools to do than to foster such character. This starts from the top down.
I would be honored to serve the families of the city of Huron as one of the three open seats for the Huron BOE. My commitment to you is to have a family-first approach and to make every decision based on the best interests of our children and their well-being. I will bring transparency to the school board, ensure financial responsibility, and be a true representative of the families of Huron in order to provide safe learning environments and excellence in education for our children. To the current Huron teachers, faculty, parents, and students I want to thank you all for your continued approach to excellence. I am a firm believer that there is always work to be done, yet also acknowledge those that continue to make this community and school district so great.
Hinners:
I was born in Huron, graduated from Huron HS, am a lawyer and a mother of two, including a current HHS student. My husband Jason and I have been married for nineteen years. After living in Cincinnati, we moved back to Huron in 2009 to raise our family. I love Huron and believe loving it means doing the hard work to make it as good as it can possibly be for every citizen.
I’m running for the Board of Education because as a mother of a current student, I am deeply invested in our schools’ success. I believe I can help solve three significant issues: (1) ensuring transparency and compliance; (2) ensuring EVERY student has a learning environment that is safe and conducive to their success; and (3) implementing a sustainable strategy to address the district’s financial and facilities needs. My experience in law and business provide me with the skills to think critically and work with others to solve these challenges.
King:
My name is Kim King and I am running for School Board because I think a fresh face and a fresh start is a needed change. My husband and I moved to Sandusky in 2006 after graduating from college. We moved to the Huron area in 2011 prior to our youngest starting school because we believed in the great school system that Huron has to offer. I now have 2 children in the Huron school system, 1 at Shawnee and 1 at Woodlands. I am a registered nurse and a mom. The fact that I’m not an educator will bring a fresh viewpoint to the board. My main areas of improvement focus on 1. The health and wellness of our students 2. Taking bullying and follow-through seriously by holding staff accountable 3. Making sure the curriculum aligns with the values we want instilled in our children.
Kurtz:
My name is Andra Kurtz, and I am excited to officially announce my candidacy for Huron City School Board. My husband Ross and I have lived in Huron since 2003. I earned my Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green University, and started my career as an ICU nurse at Firelands Regional Medical Center. It wasn’t long before my interest in Cardiology led me to the Cath Lab, where I spent 10 years. After completing my Masters of Science in Nursing, I became a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. I spent 4 years in Family Practice before concentrating on Pain Management and Sleep Medicine. My husband and I have two daughters, one who will be a Sophomore at Huron High School, and the other who will be in the eighth grade at St. Peter’s School. My daughters’ education is very important to me, and I make it a priority to be involved. I was president of the PTO at St. Peter’s School for three years, and I continue to volunteer when possible.
I am running for School Board because I want to be a part of creating a safe, healthy, learning environment for all students. I too, like the other candidates have stated, would like to deliver transparency to the community on decisions that affect their children’s education. I also feel that it is important to work diligently to come up with a plan to balance the budget without sacrificing the quality of our children’s education. We are fortunate to live in a wonderful community where parents, teachers, and faculty continue to put forth the effort to give our children the best education and opportunities possible. However, we always have room to continue to improve.
Should I have the honor to serve on the School Board, I pledge to have the children’s best interest as the driving force of my decisions. As parents you are your children’s first teachers, and your opinions matter. I will be open to listening to suggestions, and the concerns of the parents as well as the community. Some of the best solutions to problems come from listening to the ideas of others. Thank you for your consideration.
Laffay:
I am Dr. Elizabeth A. Laffay, DO. I am proud to present myself as a prospective candidate for the Huron City School Board. I have been attending the school board meetings and it has made me realize I have a civic duty. I am eager to fulfill this duty and am confident that I can best contribute as a member of the school board. I have two daughters, Samantha and Casey, entering high school and junior high and very active in academics and athletics. A position on the Huron School Board will give me the opportunity to serve on their behalf, as well as represent your children, and our entire community.
We have a beautiful, unique community of families, retirees, and growing businesses. I have watched it change in the 12 years I have enjoyed living here and am excited to be a part of the restructuring and updating of our schools while preserving our rich history of excellence.
I graduated cum laude from Michigan State University with a degree in Nutritional Sciences, continued on to Osteopathic Medical School and then was residency trained and board certified in Trauma and Emergency Medicine in Detroit, MI. I have been working in the emergency room for close to 20 years. I met my husband Paul, a Cleveland native, during medical school at Michigan State. In 2015 I sought out Functional Medicine training through the Cleveland Clinic Institute for Functional Medicine, including extra formal training in outpatient management of sars-Co-v-2. I now co-own my own business in downtown Sandusky: Elite Wellness Group, LLC.
I look forward to contributing my unique skill set as a medical professional and business owner and will work hard to increase transparency and communication during a time of significant changes in the budget, board, and superintendent position. Huron has always been known to have excellent schools, it is this tradition that caused many of us to move here to raise our children, whether recently or decades ago. I am eager to serve during such a time of change, opportunity and growth for the Huron Schools.