New Look for School Board Coming?

The Springfield School Board has some tough decisions to make in the coming month. Some, undoubtedly, will be unpopular decisions. These decisions will come on the heels of the April election. So, will new faces be on the next District 186 school board?

Mike Zimmers worked in District 186 for more than 30 years. When he retired last year, he worked as managing principal of 16 schools. He has filed paperwork to run for school board.

"I have been wanting to do this for quite a while," Zimmers said. "I couldn't do it working for the school district. I had a great experience working for the school district. Everything I did I really enjoyed. So, I want to give back to the district and the kids and the families of Springfield.

Zimmers will face School Board President Susan White, someone he respects.

"Sitting as a board member, you really get a difference perspective, and you have a learning curve," White said.

The school board is currently trying to figure out what to cut in order to plug an $11 million budget deficit.

"I think the community has a lot of misconceptions or myths about what is going on at the school district and I think we need to clear those up," Zimmers said. "That's a big part of what the board can do."

Chuck Flamini is also running for school board. He was once principal at Springfield High and Lanphier, and worked in the district for more than three decades.

"Throughout all those experiences, I have seen, what I think is almost everything," Flamini said. "What I see right now really bothers me."

Flamini would face School Board Vice President Bill Looby. We reached out to Looby to see if he was running again and for comment on this story, but he did not get back to us.

"All over this country, and all over this school district, every day of the year, they hold teachers accountable," Flamini said. "They pound on them relentlessly. That should also apply to administration."

The petition filing for April's election ends December 26.

We did reach out to other District 186 school board members to see if they are running. Lisa Funderburg and Scott McFarland confirm they are running. Nick Stoutamyer, Candace Mueller, and Judy Johnson did not get back to us.New Look for School Board Coming?