Board of Education candidates David Lewis, David Biesenthal and Brad Welsh participated in a student-led town hall forum on March 28 in the auditorium. Each member was given the opportunity to share their platform through the live streamed forum.

Executive producer Rhett Cunningham has been participating the town hall all three years. Cunningham emphasized that our fully student-led forum is important because we are the only school that does it and it gives us and our candidates a chance to connect with our community.

The town hall is a fully student-led forum, providing candidates with a platform to introduce themselves and present their vision to the community. LHS Publications devoted weeks putting this all together, meeting several times a week and posting on the WSD BOE Town Hall Facebook. 

“I am extremely proud of how everything turned out, everyone worked really hard,” Cunningham said. 

Kay Copeland also served as an executive producer and stressed the importance of the event for the community members who head to the polls to vote Tuesday, April 4.

“It allows us to ensure transparency within our community and bridge the gap between the school board, parents and constituents of the Wentzville School District,” Copeland said. 

Only three spots are being filled this election cycle with five candidates running. The people running are: Jen Olson, David Lewis, Renee Henke, Brad Welsh, and David Biesenthal. Former candidate John Kaelin withdrew from the election last month. All candidates were invited to the event, however, only three showed up.

The night began with moderators Megan Geisler and Anumitha Vaka welcoming viewers. After that, each member was given 60 seconds to introduce themselves. You can find each candidate’s bios here. After that, the first round of general questioning began.

The first three general questions were constructed by the research team using community responses to a Google Form sent out earlier in the month. The questions asked pertained to staff shortages, curriculum concerns and financial responsibilities. Each candidate was given 90 seconds to answer each question.

During a 10-minute intermission, viewers were able to submit questions live through a Google Form while the student team at the event chose three questions to ask our candidates. Questions asked were about school choice legislation, creating safe environments for our students, and the final question was about political donations. Each member once again had 90 seconds to answer each question.

After that, each candidate had another 60 seconds to make any final statements. You can watch the entire Town Hall, and hear the full questions and answers here. It is important to educate yourself before the election on Tuesday, April 4.

Check back to LHStoday as Publications will do a full recap with results after the election.