Election
Keegan: Time at schools will help in tackling challenges
 |
| Julie Keegan |
By PAMELA WILLIS
Julie Keegan's smiling face is familiar in many district
school buildings.
As an attorney who elected to stay home to raise her four children, she soon became a dedicated classroom volunteer.
Keegan, 39, is one of three candidates in the Nov. 6 race for two seats on the Worthington school board.
The other candidates are appointed board member Charlie Wilson and resident Geoffrey Scott.
"I've spent an enormous amount of my time volunteering in classrooms and visiting school buildings, and I feel I'm very much in touch with district issues," Keegan said. "I believe I have the time, passion and energy to dedicate myself to a role on the school board."
Keegan is a graduate of Worthington schools. She and her husband, Mike, have four children: Josh, 14; Casey, 12; Quinn, 9; and Layne, 6.
"I have a broad perspective of many levels of education in the district, and I have been and will continue to be an active volunteer," she said. "I've also attended all but one of the school board meetings in the past 13 months."
She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Ohio State University and a law degree from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va.
Keegan was one of five finalists selected by board members out of 26 applicants for an appointed position on the school board, which eventually went to Wilson. The finalists were quizzed by the community in a public forum in February.
She said she has been in and out of district buildings recently to interview building principals. She also serves as a member of the grant committee for the Worthington Educational Foundation, reviewing teachers' grant submissions.
Keegan said the district will face some challenges over the next few years.
"One of the challenges is changing the way we do things," she said. "We keep talking about how to prepare our kids for the 21st century, and this is a community that values tradition and finds change difficult. So a big challenge will be helping to be a part of the changes that will take place.
"It's not clear yet what form those changes will take, but an elementary education reform is already under way, and we know there will be changes in the method we deliver education," she said. "We can't please everyone, but the board will have to stand behind whatever the final plan for those changes will be."
The district likely will be back on the ballot for an operating levy request, Keegan said.
"Board members will need to determine the most responsible way to present financial needs to the community and a plan to manage those resources if the community approves the levy request," she said.
As an attorney who elected to stay home to raise her four children, she soon became a dedicated classroom volunteer.
Keegan, 39, is one of three candidates in the Nov. 6 race for two seats on the Worthington school board.
The other candidates are appointed board member Charlie Wilson and resident Geoffrey Scott.
"I've spent an enormous amount of my time volunteering in classrooms and visiting school buildings, and I feel I'm very much in touch with district issues," Keegan said. "I believe I have the time, passion and energy to dedicate myself to a role on the school board."
Keegan is a graduate of Worthington schools. She and her husband, Mike, have four children: Josh, 14; Casey, 12; Quinn, 9; and Layne, 6.
"I have a broad perspective of many levels of education in the district, and I have been and will continue to be an active volunteer," she said. "I've also attended all but one of the school board meetings in the past 13 months."
She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Ohio State University and a law degree from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va.
Keegan was one of five finalists selected by board members out of 26 applicants for an appointed position on the school board, which eventually went to Wilson. The finalists were quizzed by the community in a public forum in February.
She said she has been in and out of district buildings recently to interview building principals. She also serves as a member of the grant committee for the Worthington Educational Foundation, reviewing teachers' grant submissions.
Keegan said the district will face some challenges over the next few years.
"One of the challenges is changing the way we do things," she said. "We keep talking about how to prepare our kids for the 21st century, and this is a community that values tradition and finds change difficult. So a big challenge will be helping to be a part of the changes that will take place.
"It's not clear yet what form those changes will take, but an elementary education reform is already under way, and we know there will be changes in the method we deliver education," she said. "We can't please everyone, but the board will have to stand behind whatever the final plan for those changes will be."
The district likely will be back on the ballot for an operating levy request, Keegan said.
"Board members will need to determine the most responsible way to present financial needs to the community and a plan to manage those resources if the community approves the levy request," she said.