In 2020, Sruthi Ramesh (2022 LHS graduate) and fellow publication leaders started brainstorming. Sadly, however, they were shut down with the announcement of COVID-19. This didn’t stop them though. The following year publications students pursued their previous years idea and created, the now annual, Board of Education Town Hall. 

This year’s Town Hall took place on April 1, with Dr. Jeremy Way and Dr. Julie Scott both in attendance. The other two candidates – Christina Macormic and Danielle Looney – did not attend.

Two of the four candidates will be elected to the Wentzville Board of Education on  April 8 when voters head to the polls. 

This year Lilly Brown (12) and Amber Sethaler (12) were the  executive producers for Town Hall. 

“I absolutely loved being a co-executive producer,” Sethaler, Co-Executive Producer of Town Hall, said. “I’m glad I was able to play a contributing role to town hall and I was able to inform our community.”

Although it was a difficult and a time-consuming project, everyone involved gave it their all. Despite having some technical glitches leading up to the event and if something needed to be changed, everyone did their part allowing the stream to run smoothly. 

A multitude of questions were asked to the candidates, for example; 

“What benefits or drawbacks would arise from Prop L, and why are you supportive of or opposed to this ballot measure?” 

“In what ways have you emphasized transparency in the disclosure of your campaign partnerships and contributions, if any? What is your stance on the growing influence of partisan politics in school board races, and how would you prioritize nonpartisanship as a board member?”

All of these questions that were asked help allow for the voters to get a better grasp of who they might be voting for. These hard-hitting questions were produced by the research team, the group of students behind the scenes to allow everyone a better understanding of these candidates. 

Emily Nguyen (11) was the person behind the operation, taking on the role of Research Manager even though this is her first year a part of Town Hall. 

“It was really inspiring,” Nguyen said. “Especially as we were working through the questions and then we were actually able to see them come to life.”

Two candidates were present during the livestream; Dr. Way and Dr. Scott. Danielle Looney originally was going to participate but sadly could not make it due to a conflict at work, which she contacted the team about on March 31. Additionally, Christina Macormic was contacted multiple times but did not respond. 

Candidates who did participate gave thought provoking answers allowing viewers to understand them a bit better. During part one of the livestream, candidates Way and Scott were asked five general questions created by the Town Hall research team. All of the questions that were created had each candidate’s campaign platforms considered in the creation.

During the second part of the livestream is where it got a bit more personal for the viewers. In between part one and part two, there was a 10-minute intermission, a section where viewers could send in any questions they had for the two candidates there. After the intermission concluded, five questions were made, summarized of the most common questions which were asked.

Gallery | 6 Photos

Caitlin McDonnell

Will Nolan (11) speaks into his headset to camera operator Amber Sethaler (12) to move her camera to the next candidate.