With election ballots now in the mail candidates for the two open seats on the Peetz School Board had a chance to introduce themselves and share their priorities at a forum Friday evening.
During the event, which was moderated by social science teachers Brian Kurz and some of his history students, candidates had were invited to give brief introductory remarks and then answer questions from the audience. For various reasons, only two of the five candidates were able to attend the forum.
Shauna Reker
Shauna Reker graduated from Sterling High School and has lived in the district for over 10 years. She has three children attending Peetz Elementary, as well as a foreign exchange student from Germany who is attending Peetz High School. Reker worked at Cabela’s and then from home for various companies over the years before recently taking a job with a software and service company out of California.
“Community is probably the biggest reason (I decided to run),” Reker said. “I think this school’s the heart of our community and it’s important that we try to do everything that can and teachers can only do so much – you guys do an amazing job – but I think all of us in the community can help form our future leaders as well.”
She believes in college readiness/life preparedness and helping youth figure out what they want to do in life and said as a board member she would strive to make decisions that are in the best interest of students from an adversity standpoint, “what is going to help them grow and embrace maybe moving outside of Peetz, Colo., because things look a little bit different in other parts of the world,” Reker said.
Asked about the low number of high school students and ideas for encouraging students and families to stay, Reker said she is curious about that and would like to ask questions.
“I think initially it’s having a lot of conversations in our community with parents and students to understand why they’re leaving and do some internal recruiting if you will, because I would love to see our high school much fuller than it is,” she said, acknowledging that Peetz lost a lot of families and students when Cabela’s left Sidney, Neb., but noting “there are probably some other reasons that we might want to understand as a community of why people have gone elsewhere.”
Asked about top concerns right now about the school, Reker said she does have questions around high school enrollment. She also brought up the $12 million bond the district is asking voters to approve to rebuild and renovate the school, sharing that she understands the strong feelings people have on both sides of it. Though that’s not really a board situation, but a community situation, it has made her think about the need to figure out how to bring the community together and get more people actively communicating, not just the school and the parents, but the entire community.
Greg Nienhuser
Greg Nienhuser is seeking re-election. A 1979 graduate of Peetz High School, he has four daughters all of whom attended Peetz for their entire school careers, with the youngest a junior in high school right now. He owns an appraisal business, doing real estate appraisals on a commercial and agricultural basis, and also farms with his nephew.
“Obviously, being through school for the entirety of my pre-college career I have lots of attachments to the school and my interest in serving is because of that, making sure that we maintain the integrity of the school, the educational prowess that we have,” Nienhuser said.
He pointed out that board members have very little power; their job is to hire and if necessary, fire, the superintendent and listen to that person’s recommendations regarding the district, though they don’t necessarily approve everything that is recommended.
“Some people think that we have the ability to manage the school, we don’t want to manage the school, it is absolutely not the board’s job, we don’t want to micromanage the school, that is what (the superintendent) is here for,” Nienhuser said.
In regards to the low number of high school students and encouraging families to stay, Nienhuser agreed about the impact of Cabela’s leaving.
“I’m not sure you attract people or go out and search out people to try to convince them to come here, I’m not in the recruiting business. Just like in my own personal business, if you want to look at my resume and know what kind of work I do – here it is, and if you would prefer to hire somebody else please feel free to do so,” Nienhuser said.
In regards to the question about top concerns about the school, Nienhuser said the bond is the top issue right now and trying to educate people. He understands why the older population of landowners in Peetz who don’t have children or grandchildren in the school may be asking why they should pay for something that will have zero impact on their family. For him, it comes down to self-interest and he wants people to choose what’s best for them.
“I’m not going to sit there when someone calls me up and tell them what they are supposed to do. I will try to inform and enlighten and be as transparent as I possibly can,” he said.
Ashley Fehringer
Ashley Fehringer had to miss the candidate forum because she was getting ready to give birth to her third child, though she did provide a letter that was read.
She has lived in Peetz with her husband for seven years; they have two children who attend Peetz Schools. Fehringer worked for Cabela’s for five years, holding multiple positions in merchandising, inventory and marketing. In 2015, she went back to the financial world, working for Points West Insurance in Sidney, and since 2018 she has taught business classes at Sidney High School.
Deciding to run for the school board has always been a matter of when for Fehringer, as she feels one of the most important things parents can do for their children is be active in their education. She thought she would run when her children were older, but she feels it’s important that she get involved now to make a difference in their current education and to ensure their future education at Peetz.
“I also believe quality public education is an essential part of a vibrant community, and I want to see this community thrive!” Fehringer wrote.
She is committed to: promoting community and parent involvement; providing strong leadership, integrity, and accountability to the school board; supporting teachers and staff to ensure their voices are heard; and promoting CTE (career technical education) courses at the middle school and high school level to better prepare students to be productive citizens.
Danny Wood
Danny Wood was unable to attend the forum due to his daughter’s wedding, but the Journal-Advocate was able to contact him. Wood is a farmer and a lifelong Peetz resident; he previously served on the school board for 10 years. Both he and his wife graduated from Peetz High School, as did their children and now their grandchildren are attending the school.
Wood wants to be on the school board again to make sure that there is good leadership on the board and to ensure that “things don’t start declining.”
Asked about ideas to encourage students and families to stay in the district, he said he doesn’t really know why the numbers are so low in the high school other than there just aren’t a big number of students in the community to attend school there.
“I think we have a very good school and excellent extracurricular activities, which they do not have to pay fees for, in other districts students have to pay fees but not in Peetz,” Wood said.
In response to the question about his top concerns, Wood said the bond is a concern of his. While he does believe the school needs to see some improvements, he thinks the overall cost of the project is off course compared to the cost of building projects done by other school districts.
“I don’t think we need a $12 million bond, I’m not in favor of the tax increase, it’s too high,” Wood said.
Jeff Long
Jeff Long, who is the warden at Sterling Correctional Facility, was taking precautions after possible COVID-19 exposure and made the decision not to attend the forum. He will be holding a meet and greet on Oct. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Hot Spot in Peetz. Those unable to make it to the meeting are invited to contact him at jeffandmichellelong@gmail.com.
