The Granville Press believes it is important voters have the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates with minimal filtration and interpretation.

With this in mind, we asked each of the candidates for the Board of Education to answer some questions. The ground rules were simple: they could write whatever they wanted and we would publish their answers without modification (other than minor format changes and typographical correction).  

Following are the questions and answers presented in the order in which the answers arrived at The Granville Press. 

Jennifer Cornman

What is your occupation?

I am a self-employed social science research consultant. I work on research projects related to issues of aging, including health, social support and patterns of long-term care arrangements.

What community involvement have you had in the past?

I have been a parent volunteer in several elementary school classrooms, including co-organizing the preparation of a classroom auction project. I have also been an assistant coach for Granville Recreation’s soccer and baseball leagues.

What do you want to accomplish as a member of the Granville Board of Education?

Having met with several school district administrators and several school principals, it is clear that the school district is pushing itself to provide challenging and enriching opportunities for our students. I am excited about the opportunity to be part of the effort to ensure that our schools continue to advance in preparing our students to succeed in a changing world. I would also look forward to exploring possibilities for developing partnerships with businesses, community-based educational programs, institutes of higher learning, and other resources within our community, such as volunteer tutors for individual students and arts and science enrichment programs. Working with existing resources can potentially be a cost effective way of supplementing the excellent work our teachers and schools already do.

What do you see as the biggest threat to the school district? How would you minimize that threat?

Because we have an excellent school district with skilled and committed teachers and tremendous community support, I don’t feel that our school district is under “threat”. There are, however, two issues that the school district will need to continue to closely monitor. First, the district will need to continue to pay careful attention to population growth in the school district, studying closely the demographic projections for growth and planning accordingly. Second, the school district will need to keep an eye on district finances, remaining alert to cost-saving opportunities that do not harm the quality of our schools.

What could the school district do to help the Village and Township?

The high quality of our schools is one factor that makes Granville an attractive and desirable place to live and to work. The school district will help the village and township by continuing its efforts to ensure high quality, challenging and enriching educational experiences for students. Part of this effort will entail the school board, Village Council and Township Trustees working together to monitor and plan for growth and to encourage appropriate business development.

What particular skill sets, abilities and knowledge would you bring to the Granville Board of Education?

As a parent who has volunteered in elementary school classrooms, I have an appreciation for the challenges teachers face in meeting the needs of all students. In addition, my training as a demographer and my experiences as a social science researcher, author, college instructor, and parent of a Granville elementary school student give me the background to make informed decisions on issues affecting the quality of our schools. Also, my background provides me with the experience to be a careful listener to persons with interests and concerns about our schools and to be an effective communicator on school-related issues to the broader Granville community

What kind of development is best for the community?

Currently, the majority (60%) of the school districts revenues come from general property tax, most of which is residential real estate tax. The school district would benefit from business development that would broaden our tax base.

Scott Henthorn

What is your occupation?

I work for the Joy Cone Company as a Sales Director on our retail business (WalMart, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Meijer, etc etc; vs. Food Service which deal with Dairy Queen, McDonalds, etc.). I have been with Joy for almost five years (my residency in Granville coincides with my Joy employment). I work out of my home and occasionally travel to customers around the country to present business plans for our products.  I have been in the food industry for close to twenty years, as I was previously a “food broker” in Metro New York for 14 years prior to my employment by Joy. For Advantage Sales & Marketing (the food broker I worked for) I was the Vice President of our Perishable division – managing about 30 people and handling a portfolio of about 500M.

What community involvement have you had in the past?

I have never held a public office and have no designs on continuing a political career beyond the school board if I am fortunate enough to be elected to this office.  My involvement with the school district prior to this campaign has been twofold – earlier this year I was part of the Strategic Planning Committee that helped outline a five year plan for our school district based upon data that the district had collected over the previous couple of years (via community outreach efforts).  I was fortunate to work with some very bright people and I think we came up with a document that fits our community (albeit a “30,000 foot” document…not a lot of specifics).  In 2008 I co-chaired the Levy Committee with Leigh Ann Miller.  Leigh Ann and I worked with some very committed people to “get the word out” regarding the levy and the levy easily passed (as you know).   I have also been very involved in Granville Rec, as I have three kids that play various sports.  I have been head or assistant coach for 20(ish) teams over the last five years — basketball season is particularly challenging as I was the head coach for three teams last winter.  I am a big supporter of our recreation program and do all I can to make it a positive experience for all the kids involved.

What do you want to accomplish as a member of the Granville Board of Education?

My overriding mission is to maintain and build upon the academic and extracurricular excellence we currently enjoy. The school district is a big part of our way of life in Granville and needs to be protected. I do not enter into this position with any specific agenda other than continuing our excellent record to date and managing the challenges that lie ahead in terms of district growth and district funding. As has been the trend in recent years, I want to expand upon an open dialogue with the community to ensure we are all “paddling in the same direction” – to ensure the school board’s policies and procedures are consistent with the vision our community has for its schools. I know there are opportunities that can be explored within each school to better the educational experience for our kids…I look forward to trying to review and implement any ideas or programs that are financially viable while adding to the educational goals of our community.

What do you see as the biggest threat to the school district? How would you minimize that threat?

Lack of Funding.  I look at this threat from three different angles.  First, the threat of rapid growth caused by developers seeking land within the school district that would result in higher density housing that is not “self funding”. I don’t know of a way the school board can combat this, but I know the community leaders are continually trying to push back on this sort of development.  The school board should obviously support this response in every way possible. Second, there is new legislation in the state of Ohio that could lead to the need for increased funding to meet state requirements. Unfortunately, the mandates that will be required are not matched by commensurate funds to help offset any additional costs. Increasing our efficiency of current spending (or asking for more money from the community) would be the only way to pay for unfunded mandates while staying within the current budget. Third, the decline in the housing market has led to reduced property tax collections in the state and the district (I don’t believe we have had lower assessments of our homes, but when homes are sold I believe the tax base is reassessed at or about the sale price…which in most cases is lower than the current tax base) .  Again, if the expected income is not there, the efficiency of spend must be increased to stay within the confines of the current budget. As a school board we can only try to implement policies and procedures that allow for the greatest opportunity to be a leading school in the county and state – there is a strong relationship between the school ranking and the property values within a school district.

 What could the school district do to help the Village and Township?

Transparent cooperation between the district, the Village and the Township is vital. We need all parties to participate in planning that helps preserve the values of our community; working “hand-in-hand” to understand the vision of the community for the whole of Granville and how the schools fit into this equation. A healthy school system helps the community. We want to minimize the cost of education per pupil while still maintaining the high standards that I believe the community expects. Continue the communication and continue building property values.

What particular skill sets, abilities, and knowledge would you bring to the Granville Board of Education?

For the last 20 years in my professional career I have been analyzing data, identifying the needs of my clients and customers, understanding funding requirements for each business and then finding mutually agreeable solutions that are business building for both parties (clients and customers; for the last 5 years my “client” has been Joy Cone – my employer – for 14 years prior to that I had multiple clients that we were the sales and marketing arm for). I believe I benefit the board by being a smart, practical, creative problem solver. I am very good at breaking down a set of circumstances, identifying opportunities, and finding a solution. I am an effective communicator through the spoken and written word. I am a good listener and I am able to work well with others.  I also tend to be very humble which makes writing this segment challenging……

 What kind of development is best for the community?

Optimally, Granville development would include professional business and light industrial businesses that compliment the village while adding to the tax base. We should promote adding businesses that accentuate the “small town” appeal of our community, not detract from it. We want to protect our “way of life”. The school district should be in support of residential zoning that does not promote the opportunity for rapid growth (zoning that limits high density residential dwellings). All of this is fairly obvious, but difficult to execute – though I now Granville has done a good job controlling growth in the face of the dire predictions made several years ago. We have a “double edged sword” – a well respected, top performing school district that everyone wants to move into which then threatens the performance of the school district without proper funding and/or finding efficiencies of spend.

Tony Beckerley

What is your occupation?

GM Granville Inn

What community involvement have you had in the past?

Served on the Granville Board of education for the past four years, past president of Granville Rotary, past president of the Licking County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Board member Ohio Hotel and lodging Association, Licking County Bicentennial board member, St Edwards Capital campaign.

What do you want to accomplish as a member of the Granville Board of Education?

To continue to working for the goal of achieving academic excellence for ALL students in our district.

What do you see as the biggest threat to the school district? How would you minimize that threat?

Uncontrolled development. We need to work closely with the Village, Township and other entities to guard against development that brings students to the district before we have had a chance to plan for them. The district can provide data (to existing homeowners) to argue for balanced growth versus just residential.

What could the school district do to help the Village and Township?

Continue to work closely with the Village and Township, host a joint meeting once a year.

What particular skill sets, abilities, and knowledge would you bring to the Granville Board of Education?

I am a good listener; I like to gather all opinions first before making a decision. Also my past experience on the board has given me much experience with how our district works and how we can make it more efficient. Having one child who has graduated from GHS and gone on to college and two more still in the district gives me a very clear picture of how our schools are performing

What kind of development is best for the community?

Carefully planned commercial and residential growth that increases the tax base while not adversely affecting our quality of life (i.e. no over crowding) and affordable growth in school facilities.