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| LEAdvocate A Publication by the Lincoln Education Association |
| LEAdvocate Issue #13 March 18, 2009 Arlene Rea, President arlene.rea@nsea.org Dan Studer, UniServ Director & Editor dan.studer@nsea.org |
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the LEA-PAC recommendation process. This year candidates desiring a LEA-PAC recommendation had
in an interview with the LEA-PAC Board on March 11. Two of the four candidates running chose to go
through the extensive process. [One candidate sent in a written questionnaire well past the deadline. He
and the other candidate from whom LEA-PAC did not hear from were disqualified from the process.]
LEA-PAC Board members carefully read the candidates’ answers and formulated follow-up questions for
the interview. Interviews lasted under an hour each. Following a lengthy discussion and ranking of the
candidates’ responses, the LEA-PAC Board unanimously concluded to recommend Kevin Keller for the
District 5 LPS Board of Education seat.
Who is Kevin Keller?
Keller is currently the First Vice President and Director of Marketing at Union Bank & Trust Company [a
disclosure note: Union Bank currently holds the mortgage of the LEA office building, but LEA staff played
no role in the LEA-PAC Board interview or selection process.] A native of Seward, Nebraska, in the 1990s
- Keller served for three years on the school board in Spring Hill,
Kansas. Association contacts in Spring Hill have reported to LEA that
Keller “was a very involved parent before coming on to the school
board. Once on the board, he was intelligent, articulate, a quick
study and very active in the decision making process. He was very
supportive and ‘teacher-friendly’ – an advocate for teacher salary and
benefits” and “a joy to work with.” Keller says of his earlier school
board experience that he “found it to be very fulfilling.” He also writes
in his questionnaire, “My recent coordination of Union Bank’s Learn
to Dream Scholarship Program with LPS and Southeast Community
College rekindled my desire to be involved in education.” Keller and
his family moved back to Lincoln in 1996.
Keller believes “we have an excellent school system” and that he
wants “to maintain it. I am definitely in favor of investing for growth
and for improvement. If we need it, can afford it, I’ll be the first to say
let’s do it.” Keller also believes that “we must scrutinize and then
minimize the non-instructional expectations and requests of
teachers. Teachers are adept at recognizing the individual learning
styles of each student. Non-instructional requirements not only tap
know firsthand the challenges and rewards of the teaching profession.”
He describes his style as being “a listener, thoughtful, interested in all sides of an issue; yet decisive and
independent.”
LEA-PAC Identified Strengths
The LEA-PAC Board was impressed by a number of Keller’s positions and his sincerity in running for the
LPS Board seat. He repeatedly referenced the fact that teachers need to be allowed to teach and spoke
about three teachers who made a difference in his life. He said that he wants today’s teachers to be able
to continue to make a difference in kids’ lives.
Keller approves of site based decision making and believes that sites should have more input into their
individual class sizes than currently exists. He understands that smaller class sizes with more
individualized attention given to students works best, and he supports the utilization of more paras in the
classroom. Having educators in his family, he is very aware of how cut-backs on the number of paras in
the schools have affected teachers and their workload, their classes, and the students they serve. He
recognizes there are a lot of demands on teachers today and that those demands have been increasing.
Keller’s vision for the Lincoln Public Schools is that LPS must never be satisfied with the quality it already
has, but constantly move forward. He would also like to see more money provided to the sites
themselves throughout Lincoln to help this vision come true. He told LEA-PAC that he would respond to
critics of the schools who believe teachers are not doing enough to ensure the success of students today
by saying such criticism is “hogwash. There are many societal, fiscal, and other factors affecting student
learning, but it is not a shortcoming of dedicated teachers with a passion for their work.” He believes that
“preparation is crucial” and that LPS needs “to provide educators time to plan and prepare.”
Keller was already familiar with the LEA-LPS Professional Committee (ProCom) and their work to
address teacher workload and supports the continued use of ProCom to do problem solving throughout
the district. “I believe we are asking teachers to be superheroes to accomplish their work. The workload
is too burdensome,” Keller concludes. Keller does not believe that teachers are currently receiving
“adequate compensation.” He states “The importance of the work and life invested in our children is
difficult to adequately compensate. Having five educators in my family I observe the energy, time and
commitment that is dedicated to the work. I understand this is a professional position that is not a 9 to 5
job and I see the time and resources outside of school that is invested to do it well.”
Given the current economy, Keller says he does “not believe in across-the-board budget cuts and would
fight against any such method in managing budget difficulties” preferring to “challenge each department
head to develop recommendations to help us through a short-term budget problem. I would also
encourage them to engage the people in their departments and in the school buildings in developing
recommendations.” Keller is in favor of developing an advisory group to help him make decisions as a
Board member and says he looks forward to working with his LEA School Contact Team.
How Can YOU Help the Keller Campaign?
LEA-PAC is committed to supporting pro-public education candidates in their bids to get elected. The
everyday work of educators in the classroom is too heavily impacted by people elected to the Board of
Education and the state legislature not to be involved in these candidates’ races. The Keller campaign
has requested assistance in placing and displaying yard signs, walking precincts to deliver leaflets, or by
making phone bank calls. Contact Kevin Keller at keller4schools@live.com or by calling 327-8432 to
volunteer.
LEA-PAC recommendations are based upon educational issues, only.
- COPING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE: Part Nine
Now here is a type of difficult person you might not have heard of
before, but you have probably encountered a person with this type of
behavior—the BALLOON. This article has been revised from
information from Robert M. Branson from the homepages of wmich.
edu.
BALLOONS seek the admiration and respect of others by acting like
experts when they are not. They often are only partially aware that
they are speaking beyond their knowledge. BALLOONS are often
curious and alert to information. This useful quality leads to trouble
only when sketchy or abbreviated information is asserted as a full
and accurate picture of the situation. Dare we say that BALLOONS
are often full of hot air?
1. State correct facts or alternative opinions as descriptively as possible and as your own perceptions of
reality when speaking with a BALLOON.
2. Provide a means for a BALLOON to save face if they do not have all the facts or misinformation.
3. Be ready to fill any conversation gap yourself before the BALLOON does.
4. Cope with a BALLOON when he or she is alone, when possible, when others are not present.
If nothing else, untie their knot and stand back as they whirl about the room through the air until they are
deflated! Just don’t resort to sticking pins in them, please!
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