The Norfolk Daily News ran a front page story on Arnie's efforts on Friday....
School board candidates form coalition
By KENT WARNEKEeditor@norfolkdailynews.com | Posted: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:19 am
Three candidates for the Norfolk school board have formed a coalition with hopes that voters in May and November will cast ballots for all of them.
“If there’s one new person elected to a board, you can only have so much impact. But with three elected, you can really make a change,” said Arnie Robinson.
Robinson, Troy Brooks and Bob Waite all filed for seats on the Norfolk school board. They’re three of seven candidates — including three incumbents — vying for the three seats on the board. The top six vote-getters in the May 15 primary will advance to the November election, which is when the three board members will be elected.
The other candidates in the race are Clark Froehlich, Joel Carlson and Alfredo Ramirez, all incumbents, and Sandy Wolfe.
Waite, Brooks and Robinson said they all independently reached their decision to run for the school board, but they soon realized they shared the same perspective on issues pertaining to the Norfolk Public Schools.
They acknowledge that their coalition approach to their candidacies is not often seen in Norfolk.
“It’s a team approach. It’s unusual,” Waite said.
The three said their candidacies are focusing on the need for open communication between the district and taxpayers, as well as between board members, administrators, parents, faculty and students.
They said they also agree on the need to maximize available resources in the district, and that student achievement needs to be a paramount focus.
“School board members need to be ultimately responsible for what goes on in a school district. They need to be held accountable,” Brooks said.
While the three share similar viewpoints in regard to the school board, they’re different in many ways, too.
Robinson, who is executive vice president at Norfolk Iron & Metal, grew up in Norfolk and was a student in the Norfolk school system. Brooks lived elsewhere before moving to Norfolk to become sales and shipping manager at Nucor Steel. Waite is a retired Norfolk Public Schools administrator.
Brooks said he has a fresh perspective having lived in Norfolk a relatively short time. “I understand how important schools are when someone is considering moving to a new community,” he said.
Waite said he relishes the chance to give back to the Norfolk school district in a different way than when he was its business manager. “I want to help make everyone — administrators, faculty and students — successful,” he said.
Robinson said that his recent involvement in economic development efforts in Norfolk have reinforced the importance of a strong school system in terms of developing quality young men and women who will become the community’s next generation of leaders.
“In all of this, students obviously are the most important,” he said.
The three said they have enjoyed discussing school-related issues among themselves and would enjoy sharing their views with district patrons and faculty members, too.
“The morale of educators is important. They need to know that their voice matters,” Robinson said.
“You need community involvement when it comes to making those hard choices. They may not ultimately agree with the decision made, but at least they will understand why it was made,” Waite added.
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