Fedorchak, Wainz Endorsed by Mehlville NEA

The Mehlville National Education Association (NEA) selected two candidates to endorse for the April 3 local elections.

Ron Fedorchak and Mike Wainz were selected out of on the Mehlville School District Board of Education.

The union represents teachers in the Mehlville School District and endorses school board candidates in each election. Its Legislative Action Committee (LAC) sent out a questionnaire and interviewed the four candidates Feb. 22.

“They seemed the most qualified for the job, but it was a tough decision,” said Greg Ruzicka, the chairman of the committee and an eighth grade science teacher at .

Ruzicka said the committee asked the candidates to rank their top spending priorities out of planning time for teachers, academic programs, class size, technology, facilities, district fund balances, competitive salaries and benefits and curriculum. 

The candidates were also asked how much time they’d devote to the board if elected as well as past district involvement.

“ and we’ve felt very comfortable with what he’s already done,” Ruzicka said. “Mike (Wainz) was very new to the whole thing, but he was very open with his beliefs and viewpoints.”

The chairman said Wainz told the committee he voted against , the district’s 88-cent tax hike that failed in Nov. 2010 by about 62 percent of the vote.

“He told us he voted against Prop C, which unsettled us at first and he had an explanation for that: too much at the wrong time, and that made sense to us,” Ruzicka said. “He had done a lot of research, it amazed me with the amount of information that he came with. That’s the thing he impressed us with the most.”

Fellow candidate Kathleen Eardley interviewed for the endorsement, but did not get recommended. The fourth candidate, Fred Padberg, did not return a survey or attend an interview. 

Starting in March, Patch will be profiling each candidate running for the board as well as putting out a before the election.