Chris Thompson
City: South Vienna
Education: Bachelor’s in business management and human relations
Current Employment: Forward Air Inc. (FWRD)
Community Involvement: Board member Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center (term ends Dec. 31, 2022)
Why are you seeking elected office? I decided to run for office to help be a positive influence on the school and our community. I want our students to be a positive reflection on the district and the community. I want to build strong viable and healthy citizens that will help improve the greater cause. I feel that with my 28 years in a leadership role I can help bring value with my experience.
Why should voters elect you? I am a fiscally responsible citizen with many years of leadership experience in the development of people. I am a good listener. I am open minded. I am persistent. If I am elected, voters can be confident that I will be an advocate for stretching staff to operate at higher levels. Voters can also be confident that when students graduate from Kenton Ridge and Northeastern, they will be better prepared for adulthood than previous generations.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? 1. One of my top three priorities will be to ensure the district is adequately funded. This will make certain students get access to a wide variety of opportunities and that we are able to attract great teachers. 2. Good leaders are hard to find and we need to ensure we keep the ones we have and champion for their development and provide mentorship for those willing to improve. 3. Leveling up students’ life skill preparation: Too many students are not adequately prepared for the workforce and/or adulthood. We need to do a better job developing students to be strong contributing citizens.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? The board went to taxpayers asking for support in funding the new school. The community stepped up to the plate and invested in the district. That’s awesome. Good work, and I am proud of our contributing members. In return, I would like to see us be more transparent with our spending and the ROI they are getting. I would also like to find alternative means to help support and advance our school.
I would like to better understand the superintendent’s staff development plan. I am certain I can help support or add value.
In Mark Perna’s recent book “Answering Why,” he talks about how we need to do a better job of preparing our children for a post high school life. He mentions that roughly 60% of students try college after high school, but only half of those graduate. So, what can we do better to help prepare the 70% that do not graduate college? We can help them become more financially literate, better interviewers, better employees.
Lastly, I’d like for us to reach out to our alumni and ask for their help in getting our students better jobs or becoming mentors. Our alumni have a tremendous amount of work experience that can help advance our children’s careers.
Anything else? I have wonderful parents that taught me the value of hard work, kindness and mindfulness. I have an amazingly supportive wife and family. I have had great role models in my life time; such as my friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and bosses. My No. 1 personal value is self-development; No. 2 is persistence.
Jeff Caivano
No response
Christopher Chapman
No response
Jeff Collins
No response
Heather Malone
No response
Brad Minerd
No response
Sam Monroe
No response
Kent Pollock
No response
Jeff Yinger
No response