Name: Grant C. Riles
Age: 52
Occupation: Corporate development, Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation
Education: Master’s of business administration, Emporia State University
Personal: Wife, Melinda, and two children — Tyler, student at Emporia State University, Ashley, student at Rockhurst University
Q Why are you running for this office?
A I care about our children’s education. I believe our children are the greatest assets of our community. Providing them the best education possible opens the doors of the future to them and strengthens our community.
Q If elected, what are your goals?
A My goals include providing the best education possible to every child in the district within the means we have available. It is important that every child, whether they are able to perform well academically or have numerous learning challenges be provided the opportunities they deserve. The district must continue to be good stewards of its assets including utilization of financial resources, maintaining our facilities and development and retention of the best staff possible.
Q How will the Emporia school board be better with you as a member?
A I have served three terms on the school board including five years in leadership positions as president or vice president. Through this experience I have developed a familiarity with the district and its challenges. This can be invaluable in understanding what are the challenges and obstacles that have to be dealt with when making decisions. My record shows that I have strived to represent the entire district and been able to make the hard decisions that are necessary. I am open to new ideas that as a district we must consider as we need to adjust our compass.
Q What do you think is the biggest issue facing the Emporia school board and how would you resolve it?
A The biggest issue is being able to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. The goals of NCLB are very admirable. Achieving the goals is very challenging especially as a larger district where we have subgroups that are evaluated individually for adequate yearly progress.
USD 253 is a district where the demographics have changed greatly in the past decade. Today’s classroom might be compared to a three-ring circus with many activities having to go on simultaneously to meet the diverse needs of the students. Teachers do a great job in trying to accomplish all they can for their students, but the needs vary greatly.
Testing is a requisite part of NCLB. While testing provides a way to measure progress, testing also takes away time from actual instruction. The district continues to work to strive to achieve a balance in this area. This has also meant continuous evaluation of what is value based testing and what might be duplication of effort and doesn’t provide us additional useful data. The District Improvement Plan is a great blueprint for carrying out this goal. Now the challenge will be to accomplish what has been set out as our plan.
Q What should the Emporia school board’s priorities be when it plans a budget?
A Evaluating expenditures against what is best for the students is always the driving force as decisions are made for the budget. The best education available for the students is important as well as providing appropriate learning environments and retaining and developing excellent staff. The district is ultimately accountable to the taxpayers and it is important that the district’s funds are used to achieve quality education.
Q Looking to the future, what are three things you’d like to see happen in the Emporia school district?
A One is to equip students for a lifetime which involves providing them skills that can make them successful in their future jobs and life activities.
Another is the continuing of efforts to create safe learning environments for children to learn at their highest potential. Sometimes the school environment is the most stable element in a child’s life.
A third goal is the accomplishment of the ambitious five-year District Strategic Plan goals adopted in 2005.