Meet the 2021 Madrid School Board Candidates

The upcoming local election is only a few days away on November 2, but before voters head to the booth, the Madrid Register-News reached out to the Madrid School Board candidates. There are three running for two positions in this election cycle.

Allie Antonovich

Why are you seeking re-election to the school board?

The last four years I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of making decisions that impact our school district in a positive way. We’ve updated our reading, math, and writing curriculum. We updated our building and athletic facilities, hired more associates to help our teachers and meet our students' needs. Increased technology in the classroom and I was a part of bringing in new administrative staff in both buildings. We did all this while maintaining a balanced budget.

I have a passion for giving back and working to make the community the best that it can be and that starts with our children. I feel a responsibility to help ensure every student, regardless of their abilities or background, is given an equal opportunity to thrive in our school system and become academically successful. The Madrid School District has a strong educational foundation; however, we still have opportunity for growth and if given the opportunity again I will work diligently for our community and school district.

What background or skill set do you have that makes you qualified to be on the school board?

I have a background in both finance and account management. I’ve spent numerous hours on projects where it’s my responsibility to listen to the needs and concerns of others, discern what’s right, and create positive change- all while maintaining a strict budget. Serving on the board the last four years I’ve taken the opportunity to take several classes provided by The Iowa School Board Association to better understand budgets, school board policies, and how a successful board operates.

I ask questions in and out of the school board meetings and am always digging into information to make sure every decision I vote on is done so with a lot of thought and consideration to the impact of our students and staff. My children, my nieces and nephews, and cousins go to Madrid Schools and my personal interest to not only ensure that they succeed but every child in our community succeeds is what truly drives me to be successful while in this position. I will continue to grow and find ways I can give back in this role and in our community.

What do you feel are the biggest issues facing the school district today?

Children have more unique learning and behavior obstacles today than they did 20 years ago. We need to provide adequate training and support resources to our teachers and staff so that they can ensure each child’s success without feeling overwhelmed or burdened by the increased demands

Madrid is a low/median income community. We need to find creative ways to provide opportunities to our students without significant costs to our community.

Every student has different needs and abilities and the demands to provide an individualized education that fosters each child’s growth is important.

What does the school need to do to address those issues and how would you help with that effort?

I believe we are on the right path. I’ve seen this community and our administrative team come together time and time again to make positive change and better the lives of our students. To continue to be successful I will continue to dig in and find ways we can provide the necessary support and resources to our school district while maintaining a balanced budget. Asking questions, doing research, and asking for more feedback from teachers, staff, students, and the community when making decisions and ultimately allocating resources where they make the most impact for our community, is what will help enhance our success. Being on the school board is a privilege that I’ve never taken lightly. It’s a lot of work but it is also extremely rewarding knowing the decisions you make are impacting the future of our children. I will continue to take the passion and drive I have for our community and our community’s youngest members into another term if given the opportunity.

If you are elected, what are your three biggest goals for your term?

More training/resources provided to our teachers, so they have what they need to be successful in the classroom without all the burden of today’s challenges.

Continue to push for an individualized learning environment for each student. We need to meet students where they are and make accommodations that provide a strong and healthy learning environment regardless of that student's needs.

Continue to research and gain feedback so that we are ensuring every penny received is allocated where it makes the most impact to our students’ education and mental well-being and maintaining a balanced budget even through the uncertain times.

Christina Grabill

Why are you running for school board?

As a working mother of four girls, last year’s struggles were hard on my husband and I. Realizing how much work it is to educate your child while working, making supper, and trying to maintain a home from exploding with toys, books, laundry, etc., is no small task. I can only imagine parents in Madrid had the same or similar hardships. I am very passionate about the education of our community’s children, no matter what walk of life or belief. Our schools support our children and their parents but it’s a two-way street. Parents need to be more involved and support teachers of their children. I say this because I was guilty of not supporting our community’s educators and took a more passive role. After last year, I felt compelled to take a more active role, not just in my children’s education but also in supporting the community and giving my time and talents to make sure all children are supported.

What background or skill set do you have that makes you qualified to be on the school board?

I am currently employed as a helicopter pilot working for the federal government. In my position, I deal with assessing regulatory standards, adjusting them, and implementing them at a national and international level. I’ve been able to learn very valuable skills because of my job that bolsters my qualifications on collaboratively implementing management of the school district’s needs at the local level. I also feel that I am very good at listening to people’s views and suggestions. Being open to everyone’s feedback is crucial in helping children in a community thrive.

What do you feel are the biggest issues facing the school district today?

Parental autonomy needs to be encouraged in a way that gives parents confidence in helping each of their children succeed. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly delineated between parents and educators in a way that supports faculty but also makes parents feel comfortable promoting their children’s needs. Parents need to know their children are safe at school, not just because of today’s obvious health challenges, but also with safe environments where children and parents know how their school will react in a crisis. Knowing your children are prepared in meeting a crisis and how the school implements this training is something that has put my mind at ease.

Educational standards are an important issue and making sure teachers are adequately supported in the classrooms is a very important part in our children’s success.

I feel that funding for extracurriculars that support all children in the district is crucial to their learning. Band, arts, and sports need to be fully supported by a district to ensure every child has an opportunity to thrive.

What does the school need to do to address those issues and how would you help with that effort?

Supporting parents through communication is something I feel our faculty does very well! I love the newsletters they send out and that is crucial to giving parents peace of mind. I would like to see programs that ensure our children’s safety is reinforced and then work with parents to receive feedback on these plans. As part of my work, I have been involved in developing policies for many situations including severe weather events, active shooter protocols and other various workplace related adverse events.

I hope and pray no parent ever has to experience a terrible event, but preparing and training for our children and faculty is crucial to their safety. There are programs that are interactive and involve drills to get children involved in an engaging and appropriate way. Additionally, communicating to the parents that these things are being implemented gives a great deal of peace of mind to parents in this day and age. I would seek to strengthen this type of training/communication and involve the community in supporting these plans.

I am also passionate about educational standards. Giving faculty the support they need in the classroom is vital. This comes from funding, but also from the parent’s involvement in their children’s daily challenges. Educators are busy, overworked, underpaid, and sometimes underappreciated. My mother and many of my aunts are teachers. Being appreciated goes a long way but parents involvement and initiating things that benefit their children should be a primary focus. Everything from discipline to individual learning plans are handled in the classroom and I would seek to shift more of that responsibility to the parents with supportive parent directed programs that give them the confidence and skills needed to address their children’s specific needs with resources from the district.

Adequate funding of extra-curriculars is something I feel passionately about. Band and sports were things that helped me learn skills that got me through school. In Iowa, a large portion of our property tax goes to the district, and I would seek to make sure adequate funding was allocated to these areas. In addition, making sure school playground equipment and outdoor facilities are maintained is another important way I would seek to make sure funding was allocated.

If you are elected, what are your three biggest goals for your term?

My three biggest goals would be to maintain open communication with the community, ensuring standards of education are implemented in a way that positively affects all the community’s children, and to ensure adequate allocation of funding to things that would benefit all children.

Chelcie Badgley is also running.