On the BAllot: School Board candidate profiles

As we continue our coverage of issues on the April ballot, we invited Grain Valley School Board candidates to submit answers to a short questionnaire to help voters get to know them better. All answers are printed as submitted without editing. 


Michael Cassidy

Please tell us about yourself (work background, volunteer service, elected positions held, etc.).
My family and I have been residents of Grain Valley for the past eight years.  My wife Liz is a psychologist at the University of Central Missouri Counseling Center.  Our daughter Lily graduated from Grain Valley High School in 2023 and is currently studying Early Elementary Education at the University of Missouri.  Our son John will graduate this year and head to UCM in the fall.  We came to Grain Valley in 2017 when I was appointed to serve as the pastor of Faith United Methodist Church.  The people of Faith have always been very active in the community, and it has been a blessing to follow their lead.  Locally, I have served on the GVAC and Bright Futures boards, volunteered as a lunch buddy at Stony Point Elementary School, represented the community on several civic planning committees, been a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and enjoy attending our monthly senior luncheons.  Two things I'm most proud of are helping to revitalize our weekend BackSnack program for elementary school students and being invited to speak at our GVHS National Honor Society induction ceremony.  Prior to joining the ministry, I taught theatre and performance studies at the college level and worked in the public school system in Japan.

Why do you want to serve on the Grain Valley School Board?
I am seeking a seat on the Grain Valley School Board to ensure that our education system is working for the good of every student, every day.  I come from a family of public school educators.  My mother was a music teacher, my grandmother was a special education teacher, and my great-grandmother was a one-room school teacher.  My grandfather was a long-time school board president in my hometown in Indiana.  I was raised to value the importance of education and the vital role that our public education system plays in the lives of our young people, both academically and personally.  It has been difficult to watch local school boards in America become battlegrounds for national political agendas and springboards for individuals aspiring to partisan elected offices.  I believe that the role of our local school board is to work alongside the administration, staff, and students as we do our best to ensure every student is given the best opportunities to succeed.  This means we need to be willing to hear and respond to the needs of our local stakeholders rather than the outside noises that vie for our attention.  Through my volunteer work and my children's experience in all areas of the Grain Valley School system, I have gotten to know and hear from a wide variety of teachers, staff, students, and families.  I feel called to help ensure all voices are represented as the board makes important decisions that affect us all.

Last year, voters approved a levy to help address teacher and staff pay in the district. Teacher pay is often cited as a reason why districts continue to struggle to attract and retain teachers. What other factors, besides teacher pay, do you feel are critical to address in the district to retain quality teachers and staff?
Last year's levy was a big step in bringing teacher pay in Grain Valley more in line with the school systems in our area, and one of the reasons why our teacher retention rate rose this year.  This is a positive step for Grain Valley Schools.  Culture is another critical component to teacher retention.  Grain Valley is an attractive community for families and our place in the Kansas City Metro is also appealing.  Finally, both as a parent and a volunteer in our school system, I can say that the administrators and leaders in our schools do great work creating a positive work environment for our teachers.  As a school board, we have the opportunity to continue to foster that positive culture.  By creating a community where administrators, staff, and teachers feel seen and heard, where their expertise and experience are valued and trusted, and where we are not adversaries but working together for the success of all our students, we can build a work environment that is challenging and rewarding for all of our teachers.

How would you assess the levels at which students are achieving academically in the district? What are areas of concern?
Overall, Grain Valley Schools does an admirable job preparing our students for life after graduation.  I've been continually impressed by the amount of scholarship money our college-bound students receive, our National Merit semi-finalists and students receiving commendations, and the opportunities for our students pursuing a trade.  Like many school districts, though, we continue to test below grade level in math and reading.  As a board member, I would ensure that we continue to explore what has worked for other school districts in raising these numbers and how best to implement new practices in our setting.
What are the top issues the board should focus on in the next 3-5 years?
At every state of the school system presentation or school board meeting I've attended, I walk away impressed with how our administrators manage the tight, shifting funding sources for our schools.  Missouri ranks 49th for state public school funding.  This means that a lot of the burden falls on us locally to provide our students with safe, quality educational opportunities.  With some changes coming at the federal level, I anticipate that things will only get more difficult.  This is especially true in the area of special education services.  Grain Valley is blessed with one of the top programs for special education in the area and we continue to attract new families because of these services.  As the cost of living increases, we will also need to work creatively to ensure that we continue to provide the compensation needed to employ the best teachers, support staff, paras, and administrators.  Ultimately, the most important issue for our school system will be to continue living fully and truly into our mission to serve every student, every day by seeing, listening to, and supporting every student, every day.

​
Jeff Porter

Please tell us about yourself (work background, volunteer service, elected positions held, etc.).
I have lived in Grain Valley for just over nine years. I married my beautiful wife in April of 2016 and we have three awesome children ages 7, 5, and 3. The oldest is in first grade at Prairie Branch Elementary, our middle child attends one of our local fantastic preschools and also attends the Early Childhood Center, and our youngest also attends the same local preschool. I am the Vice President of a construction company based in Lee’s Summit. I have worked for and been associated with the same company for twenty one years. My position and role in the company gives me broad insight into the workings of multimillion dollar budgets, large scale healthcare benefits programs, and what it takes to operate an organization with hundreds of employees. All of this directly correlates to the operations of the school district and provides me with the experience necessary for guiding decisions that directly impact our students, staff, and community. 


We are active parishioners of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Blue Springs where I am also a member of the Parish Council. 


I was originally elected to the Grain Valley School Board in April of 2022, and I was elected as the President of the Board by my peers in April of 2024.


Why do you want to serve on the Grain Valley School Board?
I value the time that I have been allowed to serve on the School Board and we have accomplished so many things including updating and improving our security, adding school resource officer (SRO) positions, making major facility upgrades and significant wage adjustments for all staff positions, updating curriculum and standards for our students and more. But our work is not done. I want to continue to push for more curriculum and standards to be updated, and focus even more efforts towards our Special Education (SPED) department. Our special needs students deserve all the resources they require and I will help to keep that a top priority.


Last year, voters approved a levy to help address teacher and staff pay in the district. Teacher pay is often cited as a reason why districts continue to struggle to attract and retain teachers. What other factors, besides teacher pay, do you feel are critical to address in the district to retain quality teachers and staff?
I feel it is important to continue to foster a positive climate and culture within our district. This takes constant nurturing and maintenance and our teachers, staff members, students, and parents need to all feel comfortable communicating with each other and know that they are being heard when they bring forward concerns to any level within our district.  While we have worked on this over the past three years since I have served on the school board, there is still room for improvement.  I feel I have made myself open and available for anyone to bring concerns to me and I will continue to strive for this same transparency should I be re-elected. 


How would you assess the levels at which students are achieving academically in the district?
We have students that are achieving at all different levels and we are still trying to correct the learning loss caused by COVID. This ties back to getting the curriculum and standards up to date so that we are providing our teachers with the course work they need to be able to challenge every student. Unfortunately we are still behind the curve on this task. However our administrators know that this is a top priority and have a plan to make gains on this monumental task.


What are areas of concern?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a growing challenge and we as a district have to stay in front of it as much as possible to maintain the integrity of our learning system. 


Social media and student’s use of personal technology during school hours is also a concern of mine that I would like to try to address. If re-elected, this is an area I would like to explore to determine if our district has issues and if so, what can be done to correct identified problems. 


What are the top issues the board should focus on in the next 3-5 years? 
I believe everyone in our community and District is aware of the Jackson County Property tax assessment debacle. With the most recent ruling by the court that ordered the County to roll back the assessed values to no more than 15% of the 2022 values, this will cause a major headache and issue for us as a district. The district generates a budget based on the data the County provides to us. And this budget includes raises and different things that are very good for our staff members. But when the County provides bad data we in turn generate a faulty budget. The money has already been spent from the previous budgets. Now it will be imperative to have strong leaders that can work with the county Legislature and Executive to figure out how to rectify this problem at the same time so we do not cause harm to the district and the progress we have made. I have already been a part of some conversations between County officials and our Administration and I believe we can find a path forward that will be good for all. 


Jason Williams

​Please tell us about yourself (work background, volunteer service, elected positions held, etc.).
My family and I have lived in Grain Valley for almost 9 years now.  My daughter graduated from GV in ’21, and my oldest son graduated in ’24.  I have another son that is currently a Sophomore.  My wife and I look forward to meeting our first grandchild that will be born in the next couple of weeks!

I am the founding Pastor of Valley Community Church here in GV.  We hold our services every week at Sni-A-Bar Elementary.

Why do you want to serve on the Grain Valley School Board?
My family and I love this community!
I was elected to the board 3 years ago and I have enjoyed the privilege of serving our community in this way.  Over those three years, I have seen and learned a lot about our District.  I believe that we are a thriving and growing school district with a quality administration.  But there are important decisions ahead of us and it will require strong leadership to answer the questions and meet the upcoming needs.  My past experiences give a unique perspective that I believe will continue to allow me to be a help to our District.

Last year, voters approved a levy to help address teacher and staff pay in the district. Teacher pay is often cited as a reason why districts continue to struggle to attract and retain teachers. What other factors, besides teacher pay, do you feel are critical to address in the district to retain quality teachers and staff?
We have recently increased teacher pay each of the last three years that I have been on the board, but there is more that could be done to gain and retain great teachers.

We have a strong and thriving community and district with great family values that encourages more like-minded families to move into our district.  Because of this, it makes Grain Valley an attractive place for teachers with families to want to come.

As a growing district, one of the factors will be to approve the hiring of extra teachers as class sizes grow so that class size does not grow too large causing a greater burden on our teachers.  

We are also looking at a couple additional factors for teachers for the coming year.  One of those is ensuring adequate prep time for all our teachers.

Another is helping with insurance benefits that are increasingly eating into the extra pay that teachers are receiving from their pay increases.

Both are just a couple of the things that we will be considering as a board in the coming months.

How would you assess the levels at which students are achieving academically in the district? What are areas of concern?
Like all districts, our test scores were down during COVID, but have been steadily rising in the years since.  I am proud of where we rank as a district, and it is a reflection of the great students in our community and our teachers.

But there is always room for improvement.  To do this, we must continue the push to develop needed curriculum for all grade levels and subjects, so that students are getting the same grade level instruction district wide.

Recently added committees have allowed for parents, community members and others to give helpful feedback during the development process. This is a great avenue for parents and other stakeholders to feel like they can participate in their child’s education and I encourage more people to get involved, especially at the early stages.  The answer is not less community and parent involvement, but more!

What are the top issues the board should focus on in the next 3-5 years? 
Safety and security for our students and teachers will always need to be a top priority for any school board in the future.  With the growing number of threats to schools across the country, we must stay ever vigilant to make sure we are as prepared as possible in case of an active threat, and to deter any threat from ever happening!

I am pleased about the security measures that we have recently put in place, including adding another SRO this past year.  And we will continue to address security needs in the future.  

Safety concerns for our students such as cyber-attacks, social media threats, bullying, and much more, will be ongoing areas of focus.

A growing district like ours will face many challenges.  We must be prepared to meet these challenges like added buildings, budgets and bonds, hiring new quality teachers, more extra-curricular activities for a growing number of students and the extra space required, and much more.  

A growing district is an awesome and exciting thing.  But the challenges that come with it must be met with forward vision, new ideas, and out of the box thinking that can enable us to do more with what we have while adding the new where we can.

It is an exciting time for Grain Valley and I look forward to being a small part in the growth of its future!