April 6th, 2021 Jeff Jaronek Wins School Board Election
Jeff Jaronek won the election for Office No. 1 of the School Board of Trustees by 54 percent of votes compared to 46 percent in favor of Levi Jones. Jaronek and Jones ran against each other to fill the seat of Ronnie McKee who opted to retire from the board. Nocona Cook ran as the lone applicant for Office No. 5 of the School Board of Trustees.
April 21st, 2021 Ronnie McKee retires after 12 years served
Ronnie McKee was recognized for 12 years of service on the Cordell Public School’s Board of Trustees at the school board meeting held Monday, April 12th. McKee said some of his most notable accomplishments were those that included the advancements in technology for the school and its students. Particularly looking at the creation of the STEM building as the most notable.
“When you look at the world in society today, it’s all moving toward technology. If we don’t get the kids involved, somewhere down the road I feel like they would have lost out,” McKee said.
During his recognition at the board meeting this month, the board recognized that McKee’s “thought process and words in the boardroom were reflective of a leader that always put students first.”
Looking ahead, McKee said he looks forward to spending his free time traveling with his wife, fishing, and spending time taking care of his grandkids.
June 16th, 2021 Two Board members submit resignation
Board Seat No. 4 and Seat No. 2 became vacant after Dale Selman and David Thain submitted their resignations during the June 14th meeting.
Board members, along with Superintendent Brad Overton, were unable to comment as to why both Selman and Thain had resigned from the board last month.
However, when we asked Selman why he resigned, he said he believed schools were “outdated” and that “until we get some new thinking at the top of the schools” he didn’t expect to see much change being made. “I wanted things to go a different direction. It's not that I don't see them headed the right way. I see them headed the same way they've been headed, and you guys can decide whether that's the right way. I think that as the school goes, so goes the community,” Selman said. “I think that we need to quit teaching kids the way that I was taught. We need to start teaching kids the way that our kids need to be taught and the way that our grandkids need to be taught… There's a lot of kids that are getting left behind because they don't understand stuff on a piece of paper. It's hard to get it through that way.”
Ultimately, Selman said he has no personal problems with anyone at the school and that his resignation was a decision that he had thought of for some time.
Thain did not reach back to us in time for this publication, however, Selman said he had asked Thain to resign. “There was a lot of people that were pretty dissatisfied with him being on the board after his kid moved to another school and I kinda got it,” Selman said.
July 14th, 2021 Gossen, Jones appointed to fill vacant seats on Board
During a regular scheduled meeting on July 12th, Misty Gossen and Levi Jones were selected from 3 applicants to fill two vacant spots on the School Board of Trustees. The board had previously approved the resignation of Dale Selman from board seat No. 4 and David Thain from board seat No. 2 in their regular scheduled meeting on June 14th.
Both Gossen and Jones will hold the seat until April of 2022, after which they will be able to run in the general election.
Gossen, who is a graduate of Cordell High School and currently has children here in Cordell Schools, said she is very excited to be on the board. “I just feel it's an opportunity to be able to serve the community and the school that I love,” she said. “I think that children's futures are a priority and I feel like maybe I can be an asset to that… I hope to be a good representation of what our community means. That our children's future is the priority. We'll make our driving decisions to execute them in the best interest of the school.”
Jones had previously run for seat No. 1 in April of this year but lost to Jeff Jaronek.
As of now, Mike Reimer resides as president of the board, Nocona Cook as vice-president, Jeff Jaronek as clerk, and Gossen and Jones as members.