Elaine Powers Wants New Faces, New Ideas in Mehlville School Board

With three children all attending Mehlville Schools and living in the Mehlville School District since 1993, Elaine Powers sees the past strengths of the district, but also worries about future resources.

Powers is the executive director at the Lemay Child and Family Center and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism along with a master’s degree in public administration. She has worked more than 20 years in the not-for-profit world, primarily with organizations serving children and families, and working with various boards.

“I have managed a lot of funds that aren’t my own, both private and public,” Powers said, “I have a good track in managing funding and I understand accountability when you are working with dollars that are entrusted to you to do a job.”

Powers has thought about running for the school board for a long time, on and off. A strong proponent of public education, she believes that right now the district is at a point where it needs some new faces and ideas.

“Every kid in the district should have every opportunity. I think our kids are getting a good education right now, but I’m concerned that if some financial issues aren’t addressed, our kids are gonna be hurt in the long run,” Powers said.

Powers has an eighth grader, sixth grader and first grader attending Mehlville schools. She said that she has an insight into what is going on inside of the buildings.  She has concerns about the impact of “no child left behind” and other mandates that the district must adhere to.

“I understand those are big issues, but I don’t believe they are in the best interest in improving kids’ educations,” Powers said. “What you can do locally is find out creative ways to live within those and I don’t believe our teachers have the resources necessarily to do that.”

In looking ahead, Powers said that she worries about the resources that will be available for her first grader when he gets to middle school or high school. Will he have access to the right resources and tools that will help him learn in today’s technological environment? Powers thinks you can still produce good results with your children when you don’t have the resources, but she doesn’t think that can go on forever without the district falling behind.

“We don’t want to have to be playing catch up,” she said. “We have to be able to really show that we are maximizing what we already have. I really do believe the district has done a good job of maximizing its budget. Overall in terms of getting the most ‘bang for the buck’ I think Mehlville does a good job.”

As a budget solution for the future, Powers believes that everything is on the table, that everything should be evaluated and looked at.

“I would also say that before we really start cutting we should see if there are places where we could reallocate or do things differently, or maybe find a less expensive way to do it without directly cutting the way we do things in the classroom,” she said.  “I’ve been going out and talking with principals and everyone is really stretching.”

Lisa Roseland is on the board at the Lemay Child and Family Center in which Powers is the executive director. She said that the driving force behind Powers is through her work. Roseland recalled a fundraising event for the center and how Powers was talking to the audience and thanking people for their support.

“I think she’s very goal oriented and whatever it is she will put everything into making that happen. Her trying to help just comes out loud and clear in everything that she does. She has more energy than anyone I know.” Roseland said. “We’ve lived in the district together since my son was 1 and he’s 22 now. We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs throughout the years and I think that’s the attitude that we need in a board member.”

Powers voted for Proposition C, and is in agreement with the vision for the district in terms of being a high performing school district and bringing those resources to the children.  She also wants the board and administrators to connect more with the community in the future.

“We have not been effective necessarily with business owners, home schooled families, and building relationships on trust and respect throughout the community,” she said “I think it’s a case where the board is so excited about the possibilities that funding Prop C could bring to reality that they lost sight on the bigger picture. I think people just thought there were too many unknowns. Hindsight is always 20/20.”

Next year Powers will have one student in elementary school, one in middle and one in high school. She thinks that the opinions and ideas of teachers, parents and kids in the schools matter a lot and that everybody has to be willing to look at things differently.

“I think overall people are reasonable, good intentioned and want what’s best for the children,” she said.