There are three seats up for grabs on the Bowling Green City Schools Board of Education, and there are seven candidates wanting the job.
Stephen Bateson, Joseph Edens, Howard “Ardy” Gonyer, Steven Goyer, incumbent Tracy Hovest, Brian Paskvan and Peggy Thompson agree on much of what is currently facing the district.
But there is one thing they all don’t agree on, and that’s support of the district’s 5.5-mill bond issue to build a new high school.
Thompson is the only candidate in opposition of the tax and Bateson would not give a yes or no answer.
Thompson, of Bowling Green, said she would like to see another way of funding the $72.8 million project other than property tax. The district put the issue on the ballot without a plan, she said, and the issue isn’t fair to everyone.
“If they want the building so badly, maybe there are people who could step up and pay for it,” she said, and added there is a lot of property in the city that doesn’t pay real estate taxes.
Bateson, of Rudolph, said he supports improving the educational experience for students and teachers, but funding the bond issue with 100% property tax isn’t the way to do it.
“Anything that enhances the educational experience, I’m in favor of. What isn’t right is putting the entire issue on property. It doesn’t present a shared sacrifice,” he said.
The more the district delays, the more expensive it will be and if the district had approved the $70 million request seven years ago, current students would be in a new elementary and high school, Edens said.
“That’s a punch in the gut,” said Edens, who also lives in Rudolph.
“Do you believe in Bowling Green or don’t you,” he said. “I think if we make these changes, we can grow BG and be better for it,” he said.
“Our facilities are highly lacking in the basic needs our students and teachers need to learn and teach on an everyday basis,” Gonyer said.
The school is not equipped to educate the modern student and students in the future, he said, and it’s only going to get more expensive the longer we wait.
“Yes, 110% yes,” said Gonyer, of Bowling Green, about his support of the issue.
Goyer also is a definite yes in favor of the project.
It’s important to pass the levy to offer more opportunities to students, he said.
“I feel it’s important to get that started,” Goyer, of Bowling Green, said.
Hovest, who is finishing her first term on the board, said a new high school “is the right thing to do. It’s going to improve our community as a whole.”
Bowling Green deserves facilities conducive to learning and teaching, she said, and new facilities will attract families and businesses and help grow the city.
Paskvan, of Bowling Green, said he had not been in the high school since his youngest child graduated 10 years ago. He said he was disheartened by what he saw.
“It’s pretty inadequate,” he said.
He pointed out the cost of the new high school is $62 million with the balance going to remodeling the existing school, which will allow sports teams to practice at regular hours and give space for the community.
“It’s wise to spend money on that building when it would cost significantly more to reconstruct it,” Paskvan said.
Bateson is a 1986 graduate of BGHS who moved to Rudolph in 2004 because “I wanted my kids to be Bobcats.”
“Now may be the right time to make a difference for the betterment of the district,” he said, referring to there being a new superintendent and at least two new members on the board.
He said with his rural background, he can give a different perspective. He has a degree in agriculture economics.
“I can lend a perspective that others don’t have,” Bateson said.
“I’m vested as a graduate and having kids in the district,” he said. “I’m not a curriculum expert … I’m not an administrative expert. But as a board member, the primary function … is to do all we can to make for a good educational experience for the students and teachers,” he said.
Edens grew up in Putnam County, moved away for graduate school, and came back 5.5 years ago to start a family. He lives in Rudolph.
He said he has an appreciation and dedication to education and service, “and there’s no more impactful way to support education than to serve in this way.”
“I’m in the relationship business,” he said, and explained he works in higher education fundraising and serves on numerous non-profit boards in the city. His wife is a teacher at Kenwood Elementary.
He said he is the youngest candidate, which he considers an asset, not a liability and he will use his existing relationships in the community as leverage to begin a new era in the district.
Gonyer is a 2004 BGHS graduate with a PhD in higher education administration. He owns Call of the Canyon and Easy Street Café downtown and lives in town.
“I’m really running because I’m a product of the Bowling Green City Schools system … and also to protect public education, to work to improve the facilities and to make our schools as great as they can be,” he said.
His educational background in budgeting, finances and leadership theory qualifies him for the board, he said.
He also serves on numerous community boards and believes the economy in Bowling Green is directly connected to the school system.
“I’m just really excited about the opportunity the district has, beyond the bond issue,” Gonyer said. “With the new leadership and the election of three board members, the district is at a turning point where we can do great things.”
Goyer spent seven years as treasurer at First United Methodist Church, is familiar working with numbers and has the people skills necessary to bring people with different ideas together. He was a postal worker for 30 years and has one granddaughter who graduated from BGHS.
He said he is running to represent the community and do what is necessary to provide students with the educational opportunities they need.
“I feel like I can be a voice to advance the students’ achievement,” Goyer, of Bowling Green, said.
“My experience on the board will help,” Hovest said, and added she feels good about being the only incumbent.
Ginny Stewart and Jill Carr are not running for reelection.
Hovest has spent 24 years teaching in Washington Local Schools and considers herself a servant leader.
“I can continue to help move the district forward,” she said.
“As a female, a parent and a teacher, I offer a unique perspective that’s needed on the board of education,” Hovest said.
Having a student enrolled also provides her with a pulse of what’s happening in the buildings and the needs of parents.
She said her actions over the last four years show she is an independent thinker and does not bow to pressure.
“I do what’s right for the kids … based on what my constituents are saying,” said Hovest, who has a master’s degree in education technology and lives in Bowling Green.
Paskvan has 31 years in higher education and said it was his wife who said he should use that experience on the school board.
He helped design Owens Community College’s Findlay campus and has experience in human resources, administration and work force development.
“I thought I would try to use those talents and move the school board forward,” he said.
He has lived in Bowling Green for 27 years and had two children graduate from BGHS.
Thompson spent 32 years as an accounts payable clerk with the school system. She has lived in BG since 1982, her three children are all BGHS graduates, and she has grandchildren who are Bobcats.
She said her background will be helpful in explaining why we do what we do.
“I think I would be able to explain things in a more clear and concise method so more people can understand,” Thompson said.
The owner of Guaranteed Carpet Cleaning has a master’s degree in business administration.
All the candidates agreed there needs to be better communication and more transparency and several said the district needs to be enrolled in the Open Checkbook program.
Bateson also is concerned about teacher retention and how routine maintenance has not been addressed.
Edens would like to see open dialogue at board meetings – if a question is asked, that person deserves an answer – and board meetings held in the townships.
Gonyer said the district should consider using pipeline funds for capital improvements at the elementaries.
Goyer said residents don’t understand district finances and that there is no a piggy bank to save for a rainy day. He has discussed this with a number of residents who don’t understand why the district isn’t using the money it has to help fund the new school.
Hovest agreed with redirecting funds to assist with the maintenance and learning conditions at the elementary schools. She said the board acts on recommendations of the superintendent for maintenance issues and those recommendations didn’t come.
Paskvan echoed the need for better maintenance and said it was evident after his tour of the high school it hadn’t been touched in years. He also said transparency needs to go beyond the Open Checkbook. “This is taxpayer money. We need to make sure we’re using taxpayers’ money correctly,” he said.
Thompson said people are still talking about the turf project and being closed during COVID. “We could be doing everything correctly, but word is not getter out,” Thompson said about the need for better communication, especially about where volunteers can be used.
