The forum, moved to Rissler Elementary School after a threat at Trenton High School resulted in its evacuation, featured three of the four candidates who are vying for two three-year terms on the board. Incumbent Dorothy Taul as well as Jeff Spencer and Toby Havens were present to answer pre-determined questions as well as those posed by the crowd of about 30 patrons. Candidate Josh Shuler was unable to attend as was Jason Hostetler, who is the lone candidate for the one-year unexpired term to which he was appointed last summer.
Moderated by Mindy Walker, Northwest Region member services coordinator for the Missouri State Teachers Association, the forum was designed to give the candidates a chance to voice their qualifications and views and for the public to be able to delve a little more into those views.
The evening was dominated in many ways by a discussion of what should or should not be taught in the Trenton R-9 School District and what the community would be willing to do if the state-mandated curriculum at some point veers from what the community believes it should be. Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project were discussed by all three candidates, none of which said they would support it’s teaching in the district. Ms. Taul emphasized that the theory is not in the Missouri Learning Standards and as long as it isn’t it won’t be taught at Trenton.

“Those things are not in the Missouri curriculum and we are not teaching that,” she explained. “You can look at what’s taught in each grade – or you can ask the teacher what they’re teaching.”
Critical Race Theory is simply but not wholly described by Britannica as a theory that states “race is a culturally invented category used to oppress people of color and that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, political, and economic inequalities between white and nonwhite people.”
“1619” refers to the year enslaved Africans were first brought to the American colonies. The New York Times published “The 1619 Project” in 2019 in an effort to show how slavery has led to disadvantages for black Americans even to this day. While the teaching of anything related to “1619” as a theory is not in the Trenton R-9 curriculum, Havens said he has “caught wind” that certain things have “circulated” through Trenton R-9 in regard to CRT and 1619, something he is adamantly opposed to.
“We don’t need to teach anything to our students that’s not factual,” said Havens, who had earlier described Trenton as “ a conservative Christian community.”

Spencer told the audience that this issue is exactly why he is running for the board, noting that he is not in favor of it and believes that only the curriculum set forth by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should be taught and that CRT and 1619 are “hyperpolitical.”
“I’m 100 percent against politics being in the classroom whatsoever,” he commented, noting that the patrons he has talked to are in agreement with him.
When asked from the audience if the candidates would implement a curriculum from DESE that goes against the values of the community, Spencer and Havens said they would not implement it, even if it meant losing state funding for the district.
“If the patrons were against it, I would do my duty,” Spencer said. “I would reject it 100 percent.”
Havens agreed, bringing up how he felt his rights as a parent were ignored when the mask mandate for COVID-19 was implemented.
Ms. Taul reminded the candidates and the audience that a board member is one of seven votes and the board as a whole makes the decisions.
As for how the district could remain solvent and functioning without state funding, both Havens and Spencer said they would take that chance and believe the community would come together to see that the needs were met.
“It’s a scary thought but it boils down to money. I don’t value money. Money is a tool. What is more valuable is independence, it’s community,” Havens explained.
Spencer went so far as to say he would teach a class if necessary to keep the school going if it meant being able to teach what the patrons feel is right for the R-9 District.
“My morals and ethics are not for sale,” he commented. “People would come together to keep the doors open…we’ll find a way.”

Ms. Taul, who said she doesn’t believe in her heart that it would ever come to that, reminded the other two candidates again that a board member is only one vote of seven. She said the burden to operate a school without state funding would be tremendous.
“I don’t know how we would raise that kind of money,” she said.
One issue that has not been addressed in previous forums held in recent years is the use of cameras in the classroom. Spencer, who is a current officer with the Trenton Police Department, and Havens, who said he has a background in law enforcement, both said that cameras can be a deterrent to bad behavior when used appropriately and can provide accountability. Spencer said he does have a concern with parents being able to see what someone else’s child is doing in the classroom. Other possible concerns discussed were the possibility that the cameras could be used to “micromanage” a teacher and Havens said if it adds stress to teachers during an already stressful time, they shouldn’t be used. Spencer voiced concerns with parents who might just be logging in to see what their student is doing as well as what is being done with the footage and how it is being stored. The real question to be answered, all three candidates said, was why the cameras would be used. Ms. Taul said she would have a concern that the request is coming from parents who want to know what the teacher is doing in the classroom and that perhaps there is an agenda to try to “get rid” of that teacher. She said there are privacy issues to be considered and she would not be in favor of their use.
“I’d be against that,” she said.
Of course, the ever-present teacher recruitment and retention question was addressed by the candidates. Ms. Taul reminded those in attendance that the issue is not exclusive to the Trenton R-9 District but is a challenge for school districts nationwide as colleges and universities are graduating fewer and fewer education majors. She said first-year teachers in the district make more than the median salary of Trenton residents so it isn’t just a salary issue.
Spencer, who had earlier said teacher recruitment and retention was a major problem in the district and addressing it is one of his priorities, said the problem is a lack of leadership at the top and the feeling that teachers are not supported.
“Whether you’re making the top salary or not, if you’re not supported and respected you’re probably going to leave,” he said. “Maybe you’re not getting the top salary, but if you feel supported and respected, you’re probably going to stick around.”
Spencer had earlier told the group that he has serious concerns about the fact that teachers are assaulted at school and said he would make it a priority to have a School Resource Officer in the district.
Mrs. Taul said she believes the building principals play a major role in teachers wanting to remain in the district.
“Principals in each building should make the climate such that they want to come and stay,” she said, also noting that the legislators could do more to help with the problem by offering incentives such as loan forgiveness.
Ms. Taul said the district’s new “Grow Your Own” program is designed to spark an interest in teaching in high school students who can be helped and supported through their college years and return to Trenton to serve as teachers.
Other questions asked during the forum addressed who the “stakeholders” are and how the voices of those stakeholders would get to them as board members. All of the candidates said they have “open door” policies and would welcome calls, texts, etc. to discuss issues with parents, teachers, tax payers, etc.
Those wishing to vote absentee in the April 5 board election can do so until 5 p.m. Monday, April 4 in the county clerk’s office, including 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on election day.