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Tegtmeier: I'm pro-education, not anti-public school
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. – A past educator who also holds a current Nebraska teaching certificate would like to represent District 7 on the Nebraska State Board of Education. Elizabeth Tegtmeier holds a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction. She lives in North Platte, Neb., where she has home-schooled her five children through the 8th grade. Her husband is also involved in education as the IT Director for North Platte Public Schools.
In a recent discussion with the Gazette, Tegtmeier emphasized that she is not anti-public school. “We are pro-education. We really appreciate the freedom that parents have to find the best educational setting for their children.” She went on to say that the State Board of Education sets regulations for public, private and home schools. Tegtmeier says she brings a unique perspective, as she has taught in all three school settings.
Tegtmeier said the release of health standards, which she believes are out of touch with Nebraska’s values, was the “rattle under the hood of the car” which caused her to begin exploring the functions of the board. She said the board is an oversight board, and as such, it is important to elect someone who will ask questions, do research, use common sense, and apply an understanding of what Nebraska needs and wants to board decisions.
Tegtmeier told the Gazette that citizens throughout the state have expressed their concerns about the health standards, which were released but not adopted, by the State Board of Education. “Teachers have been teaching health in Nebraska schools for probably over 100 years. They have been teaching health and human sexuality to the values of their community. Right now, we do have health guidelines available to all Nebraska teachers. I think that what we have in place has been sufficient, and the board needs to focus on addressing the true needs and education rather than trying to reintroduce another set of health standards,” Tegtmeier said. She further explained that the state legislature has not required a health standard be set by the State Board of Education.
Setting a health standard dictated by the State Board of Education is burdensome for teachers, Tegtmeier said. “When teachers come back to school in the fall, … if there's been an update to the standards, whether it's math standards or English standards, they receive this notebook full of standards that they have to then revise lessons and change things up in. This just adds more and more to their plate.”
She is also concerned that the board has not been proactive in facing teacher shortages throughout the state. “Despite the fact that this summer, knowing that at the end of July we had 483 unfilled teaching positions, they have not taken swift measures to address this issue. The teacher shortage profoundly affects our students, their learning and behavior, as well as teacher burnout and morale,” Tegtmeier said.
She believes action should be taken to allow teachers to extend their certification to other areas of education without jumping through burdensome hoops. She said it is particularly important in rural schools, where teachers may need to teach in more than one subject area.
Tegtmeier said out-of-state certified teachers often decline positions in Nebraska because they would have to take additional coursework to earn a Nebraska certificate. Nebraska does not offer reciprocity with surrounding states.
Over the long term, Tegtmeier believes the board should be working on ways to retain current teachers, as well as ways to encourage young people to go into the field. “Fewer and fewer people are going into the teaching field. We don’t have enough to replace the ones that are retiring or moving on to other careers,” Tegtmeier said.
According to Tegtmeier, the Nebraska Department of Education employs over 500 people. She is advocating for an audit of personnel and services to ensure that duties are being accomplished effectively and efficiently. She said the audit may expose areas where duties could be better carried out at the local level, or possibly some duplication could be eliminated. “An audit is going to either help us improve the department, or it's going to restore the public’s confidence in one of our government bodies that they are doing everything as well as they can,” Tegtmeier said.
The newly seated State Board of Education will be tasked with choosing a new commissioner to replace the current commissioner, Dr. Matthew L. Blomstedt, who has held the position since 2014. Tegtmeier said she would be looking for someone who has a good understanding of the strengths and needs of Nebraska schools. She wants to see an effective liaison from the board, as well as a strong administrator in running the Department of Education. She is also looking for someone who shares Nebraska values.
Tegtmeier feels that the State Board of Education needs more transparency and to be more accessible to the public. She promises to update constituents about board issues through regular newspaper columns and personal visits throughout the district if elected. She has traveled over 28,000 miles during the campaign, and she wants to continue to be out in the district so that people can share concerns and questions. “It’s important to keep the public, the taxpayer, informed on what’s going on because the Department of Education really belongs to Nebraska,” Tegtmeier said.
Her web site is elizabethtegtmeier.com. Election day is Tuesday.