by Steve Reinbrecht
It would be hard to find someone more Wilson School District
than Steph Kocher.
The mother and former WSD teacher now wants to help run the
district as a school board director.
Twelve people are running for four open seats on the nine-member
school board. The primary is May 16. Few elections are more important.
Kocher, 34, was born in Berks, attended Whitfield Elementary
School, graduated from Wilson High School and eventually married another Wilson
grad – though not her high-school sweetheart, she was quick to note.
She always wanted to be a teacher, practiced on her younger
siblings, and earned a teaching degree from Shippensburg University and a
masters in counseling from Millersville University.
She taught in Wilson schools from 2005 until 2014, when she
left to devote more time to raising her children. She has a daughter, 5, and a
son, 3.
Expecting to have more free time as they start kindergarten
and pre-school in the fall, Kocher considered volunteering opportunities.
What would she tell a voter who might be concerned that she
is too pro-teacher and will want to raise taxes to spend more on public
education?
Kocher knows that fiscal restraint is important in
Wilson – she met lots of Republicans as she went door-to-door collecting
signatures.
She does want people to appreciate how hard teachers work,
noting she often stayed up late at night preparing for classes. But as a board
member, she said, her priority will be students’ interests, not teachers’.
Further, Kocher thinks the district raises enough money
through local taxes. She wants to analyze how that money is allocated. The district
could make expense reports easier to sort by categories, for example, to get a
better understanding of where the district spends, she said.
Kocher said she has a large group of friends and contacts
connected to the district as employees and parents. They tell her about morale
and how board decisions affect teachers, students and families.
Kocher said she would promote more transparency and community
involvement. For example, the board could release a notice a week or two before
their meetings to announce debates and votes on important issues.
That would prompt more community input, she said.
The presidential campaign and election have encouraged residents
to become more interested and involved in politics, Kocher said, and she hopes
to ride that enthusiasm to get more residents involved in district decisions.
Kocher said she was surprised by how much support people
pledged after she announced her decision to run.