R-9 Board Candidate – Robert Dahm

Mar 27, 2003 | Headline News

Robert Dahm is a first-time candidate for the Trenton R-9 Board of Education. He was born in Sacramento, CA and lived in a variety of California?s largest cities. He graduated from the California State University at Chico with a bachelor of science degree in computer science. For the next 20 years he continued to work in the field of computer technology as a computer programmer with NCR Corporation and later was a self-employed computer programmer. He met Viola Lame and her son, Leonard Lame, in 1992 while they were vacationing in California, and he and Viola were married in 1993, after which time the family decided that there would be less emotional stress on Leonard if they resided in Trenton. Dahm signed on in 1994 with the Missouri Department of Corrections as an officer at Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron. He was promoted in 1997 to assistant caseworker, which is the position that he holds today. His community involvement has been limited to church activities in the Wesley United Methodist Church.

1. Why are you running for this position?

?I work in a state correctional facility. By the time someone enters prison, he or she has become entrenched in a lifestyle of crime. We have only minimal success in encouraging them to change their past lifestyles and many return to prison shortly after release. As a member of the Trenton R-9 School Board, I hope to become involved in making decisions that would impact the training of our younger generation while they are still moldable and before they have a chance to fall into a life of crime. I would like to be more involved in the battle to win the hearts and minds of our younger generation when they are at their most impressionable age instead of just helping to warehouse them in prison when they have developed a lifestyle of breaking laws.?

2. What do you feel are the concerns facing the Trenton R-9 School district that you would like to see addressed as related to the position for which you are a candidate and how would you deal with them if elected?

?These four items are of the most concern in the Trenton R-9 School District:

?A) The district needs to encourage students to learn to make properly thought-out decisions. You must start teaching children at an early age by showing them good decisionmaking patterns. You can achieve this by presenting all sides of any issue that is brought up in the classroom. This is a federal law. You must then continue to reinforce this training by allowing them to make progressively more important decisions and more importantly to allow them to endure whatever consequences result from the decisions that they make. This process should produce a mature citizen who is able to make good, knowledgeable decisions for us when we are in our retirement years.?

B) The district needs to encourage teachers to continue to fight for the minds of our children. They have more of an impact on the younger generation than almost anyone except family members. They work for low pay in a stressful environment. We are losing many good teachers to retirement and many become frustrated and quit. Budget problems will not allow us to give them more money, but we can at least give them the public recognition they deserve. One Kansas City television station gives a Crystal Apple Award to make the public aware of good teachers. Dedicated teachers should be publicly recognized over the radio and in the newspaper. People work hard when they know that they are appreciated.

?C) The district should encourage parents and the public to take a more active role in their children?s education. Encourage them to meet more regularly with teachers and maybe even come to school board meetings to learn more about the district?s plans. Encourage parents and the public to submit suggestions to improve the district?s educational programs. A survey requesting suggestions might even be circulated within the community. Maybe even send a report card home with the students that rates how parents are doing in taking a more active role in their children?s education.

?D) The Trenton R-9 School Board should be encouraged to continue to make the hard financial and operational decisions that will be necessary for the benefit of the entire school district without succumbing to any special agenda of one individual or group.?

3. The Trenton R-9 School District, as in all districts, is facing budget concerns and has already made some cuts in school programs. Please discuss the budget issue and how you would address it in relation to the R-9 district (including what cuts, if any, you might suggest be made)?

?The Trenton R-9 School District could survive the current budget crisis by taking the following action: Since the school district can not just go out and charge for goods and services for which it does not have budgeted funds, the current budget crisis must be faced head-on ust as the school Board has correctly done to this point. I support those cuts that have already been made in those sports programs that are underutilized or otherwise not used efficiently. The district must focus its resources on education of communication skills (reading and writing), people skills (parenting, family and society relationships), mathematics, and history even at the expense of other educational programs. In addition, I would support and encourage the conservation and monitoring of operating supplies (writing materials, books, etc.) and operating costs (utilities, etc.). Also, I would monitor and conserve expenses involved in attending out of town meetings and training sessions. I have not yet studied the school district closely enough to be able to make any other specific recommendations. I also think that the school board and district should look into trying to augment the budget by raising money through the local community. If my church can raise $56,000 to repair stained glass windows in the church, then the community should be able to support educational programs. GOD?s house of worship is important, but our children are an even more special gift to us.?

4. Other Comments.

?I have no relatives employed by or attending class in the Trenton R-9 School District and I have no relatives supplying goods or services to the district. Therefore, I have no personal agenda to deliver. As a school board member, I will try my best to work with other board members and district administration personnel for the benefit of the entire district. Also, I am not ashamed to say that I am pro-student, pro-family, and pro-life and would support those issues if they should be brought before the school board.?