Northwest R-1 School Board Candidate
Profile:
Nelson O. Weber
1970 Hillsboro Va. Pk. Rd.
High Ridge, MO 63049
Phone: 636-677-8972
Family information:
Lifelong resident of Northwest R-1 school district.
Wife Carol (married 30 years), 3 children, 4 grandchildren.
Education:
Bachelor of Science Mechanical Engineer from University of
Missouri, Rolla, Mo.
Professional Engineer License for Missouri & Illinois
Work background:
Worked at McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) for 34 years, then
self employed as Consultant Engineer for 12 years, now retired.
Experience in elected office &
volunteer work:
1 - Elected – School Board member,
Northwest R-1 School District – 2004 to present.
2 - Appointed – Board of Directors –
Ferguson Roofing Co – 2007 to present.
3 - Appointed – Regional Leadership
Committee - Missouri School Boards Association – 2009 to present.
4 - Selected by Missouri Dept. of
Elementary & Secondary Education - MAP science test scoring team - 2008
5 - Volunteer – SCOPE
(Science and Citizens Organized for Purpose and Exploration) 2007 to present.
6 - Selected
by fellow Northwest Board Members to be Northwest R-1 Board Delegate to the
Missouri School Boards Association – 2004 to present.
7 - Volunteer – Memories Car Club – 1999 to
present, president for 3 years – we put on the largest ‘Car Cruise’ in the
midwest in Fenton area. Approximately
500 cars 1979 and older show up each month, April through October.
What are the biggest challenges facing
our Northwest R-1 district and solutions:
Challenges:
1 - Student
Achievement is our number one challenge – never lose focus that our children shall receive a
high quality and effective education to prepare them for life after they
graduate.
2 - Declining student enrollment - (Decline
of approximately 1,000 students in past 10 years)
3 - Declining state and local revenues.
4 - Complying with Federal and State
unfunded mandates (such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) with its ever-increasing
performance standards.
Solutions:
1 - Proactive decisions to reduce costs
while continuing to improve student
achievement in a safe and secure environment so they can be successful
and productive citizens in our global world.
2 - Reduce operating costs by closing school
building(s) for reasons 2 and 3 above under challenges.
3 - Proactive fiscal responsibility for the
balanced benefit of our students, staff, and taxpayers.
4 - Our Board addresses these issues by
being proactive to avoid last minute surprises. We closely track student
achievement data and maintain a high quality staff. We do a five year fiscal projection plan to
plan for budget trends.
What is your assessment of the
Northwest R-1 school board’s performance in the past year?
1 - Excellent – We were one of ten boards
in Missouri to receive the 2009 Education Leadership Team Award from the
Missouri School Boards Association. (There are 523 school boards in Missouri)
2 - Again Northwest R-1 received the
‘Distinction In Performance’ award from Missouri for the past school year. (7th year in a row)
3 - We are proactive in planning for our
district’s future by focusing on improving student achievement for all
students. Our board and staff’s focus is living our district motto - “All
Children Will Learn, Whatever It Takes, No Excuses”.
4 - Our board is fiscally responsible. Bond projects were completed on schedule and
under cost.
Why should voters elect you to this
position?
1 - Experienced:
Served on school board for six years – 2004 to present.
2 - Qualified: I’ve earned all
three Board Member Certification levels (Basic, Advanced, and Masters) from the
Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA).
Having my Masters Certification allowed our board to be selected as
Missouri’s 2007 Outstanding Board Of Education. – The selection criteria
requires one board member to have a Masters Certification (only one school
board out of Missouri’s 523 school boards is selected each year).
3 - Dedicated: I’m retired and have
time to being a dedicated school board member.
4 - Visionary:
State Level: Be Number ONE – I know Northwest R-1’s teachers, students,
administrators, and school board members are as good as, or better than, any
other district in Missouri. There is no
reason Northwest R-1 can’t be Number 1 in Missouri.
National Level: Be Number ONE – I know Missouri’s
teachers, students, administrators, and school board members are as good as, or
better than, any other state in the USA.
There is no reason Missouri can’t be Number 1 in the USA.
My Goals:
My goals are to continue to work hard as a board member to
continuously improve student achievement, with a high quality effective staff,
while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers in these tough economic
times.