Board Member Says Experience Gives Him Edge

By Janese Heavin, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.

Mar. 21–Elton Fay began his tenure on Columbia Public Schools’ Board of Education when his youngest daughter, Whitney, was in kindergarten.

Fay is now seeking a fifth three-year term, hoping to hand Whitney her Hickman High School diploma this spring.

Fay touts his 12 years on the school board as an edge over his four opponents, experience he said might come in handy as the district faces challenges in the next few years. Fay said he sees flat funding from the state, a need for better pay for starting teachers and building needs as the biggest challenges in coming years.

“We’re getting ready to plan for one or two more elementary schools, decide how to take care of our junior high schools and adding a third major high school,” he said. “Drawing boundaries for a third major high school will be a big issue.”

Another major high school should not take support away from Hickman or Rock Bridge, Fay said, but the new school might struggle to develop a sense of identity and tradition.

Fay also is concerned about competing with other districts for qualified teachers while working within the school district’s financial constraints.

“We need to up the starting salary, but we can’t afford to bring everyone up to that level,” he said. “We need to compete with the school districts that are comparable in size but paying more.”

Fellow school board member Chuck Headley praised Fay’s service on the board but stopped short of publicly endorsing him. He said he prefers to keep his votes private.

“But I’d be glad to serve with him,” Headley said. “Elton has been a very active and faithful school board member. He does his homework and has been a good, capable member.”

Outgoing board member Kerry Crist agreed. Although she has disagreed with him on issues, Crist said, Fay has done an “excellent job.”

“He’s an honorable person and always has the interest of the kids in mind,” Crist said. “I know he cares about the kids.”

Fay serves on the board’s facilities committee, which he helped start, and is a charter member of the audit committee.

On a personal level, Fay said, he wants to serve on the school board again so he can hand his daughter her diploma during graduation, like he did for his other two children. He also said he would have more time to dedicate to the school board when Whitney is in college.

Fay said he considers himself passionate about seeing children succeed, regardless of who their parents are.

“I look at kids as an investment,” he said. “You can’t influence all of them, but if you give them the opportunity, they may do better than you have done.”

Parents need to play a part in advancing a child’s education, too, Fay said. He is keeping an eye on the parental involvement in the mentoring program at West Boulevard Elementary School.

“No matter how much money we throw at the problem, if the parents are not going to support that project, we can’t shortchange the other schools,” he said.

If children do not have support at home, the schools “can’t make it perfect in six hours,” he said.

That’s why Fay would like to entertain the idea of the district spearheading a mentoring program for parents as well as students.

Fay said that when casting his vote on a tough issue, he asks himself three questions: “Is it something we should be involved with? Two: Can we afford it? And three, is it going to be good for the majority of kids or help a group of kids that needs help?”

Answering those questions isn’t always easy. Fay has taken criticism lately for saying evolution should be taught only as a theory.

The longtime board member said he supports the teaching of science as long as students are free to raise questions.

Raising questions is a cornerstone of Fay’s school board service.

“I’m not afraid to ask the questions that need to be asked,” he said. “I’m not there for a popularity contest.”

ELTON FAY:

–2351 Doziers Station Road

–Personal: 58. Wife, Nancy; three children. Their youngest daughter, Whitney, is a senior at Hickman High School.

–Occupation: Attorney for Grimes & Fay LLC

–Education: Bachelor’s degree from William Jewell College; law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

–Background: School board member for 12 years; active volunteer for Missouri Boys State; chairman of the board of the Show-Me Christian Youth Home, LaMonte; juvenile law advocate for the Boone County Circuit Court; youth sponsor at Forum Boulevard Christian Church.

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