Northwest Board of Election Candidate Chris Shelton

Name: Chris Shelton

Age: 43

Address: 4987 Devon Lane House Springs  63051

Occupation: Owner of Shelton Collision in High Ridge

Family: My wife Kerri is a first grade teacher in the district, I have a 21-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son, both attending Lindenwood University and we have a 4-year-old who will be 5 in April and will be starting Kindergarten next school year.

Background:  I am a Northwest High School graduate and have lived in the area all my life. I have been involved with the Rotary, Kawanis, and chamber clubs and serve on several committees in my local church, and have always been involved in the school and committees in some form or fashion all my life.

I am choosing to run for another term on the Northwest R-1 School Board because I believe in giving back, I love the area I live in and want to see it continue to grow and prosper.  I believe I can contribute to the ongoing success of our schools and community.

What do you currently see as the biggest issue facing the Northwest School District?

One of the biggest issues facing education is funding or the lack thereof, but it is nothing new we just have to continue to long term plan and continue to do more with less, we ask a lot of our employees and they have done a tremendous job in helping the district deal with funding cuts, without compromising the students' education.

How would you address the continuing uncertainty over state funding for schools?

As board members we have webinars and meetings that we attend concerning funding as well as other topics. We often have the chance to speak to legislators and let them know what the public education system needs out of them and urge them to fight to keep funding in place.

In what areas does the Northwest  School District need to improve? Are you satisfied with the way the district has been operating?

There will always be areas to improve, such as student performance, facilities, student participation just to name a few, but I am very proud of our district in all areas, when you look at everything that schools, students, and staff are having to deal with nowadays from local to state and federal mandates, there are a lot of moving pieces and, as I said, there is always room for improvement but there are also a lot of areas to slip backwards in as well.  The Northwest R-1 District is a district in forward motion and I am very proud of that.

Assume you win the election. What single thing do you want to accomplish during your three years on the board?

One of the things I pride myself in with my time on the school board is I do not have a personal agenda. I am not here to get just one certain thing fixed or changed, I take each and every item that needs to be dealt with and do my very best to make the right decision for that particular item, if you are trying to get you own personal thing done you can sometimes lose sight of the real reason we are there. That is to give each and every child that attends the Northwest R-1 District the best education we can give. That is what the voters of the district should expect.

Candidates Victoria James and Richard Meyer did not respond to the Patch questionnaire