2 seek Mid-America Technology Center Board seat

Newcastle voters will be going to the polls to determine who will serve in two seats — one on the Newcastle Public Schools’ Board of Education, and one on the Mid-America Technology Center Board of Education.
The polls are open in Newcastle from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7.
Seeking Office No. 1 of the Newcastle Board of Education are Ronald R. Lock and Casey Kreger. Lock currently holds the seat. He was elected last year to fill the remainder of an unexpired five-year term. Seeking Office No. 2 of the Mid-America Vocational Technology Center Board of Education is incumbent Michael Dillinger and challenger Bruce Bridwell.
Because only two people filed in each of these races, a general election will not be necessary and the candidate with the most votes in the primary election wins the seat.
Early voting gets underway from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today (Thursday) at the historic City Hall in Blanchard, 114 W. Broadway, and at the McClain County Community Center, 1721 Hardcastle Blvd. in Purcell.
Candidates Q&A
Michael Dillinger
Q: Office you seek?  
A: School Board member of the Mid-America Technology Center
Q: Residence? 
A: Resident of Purcell
Q: Who are the members of your family? 
A: Pam Dillinger, retired consumer science teacher.
Q: What is your employment?  
A: Retired banker of 42 years — 25 years with both First American Bank and First United Bank
Q: Why are you seeking a seat on the Mid-America Technology Center Board of Education? 
A: I would like to continue my work on the Board to bring quality education to all students, providing them with excellent career opportunities.
Q: What are the positive attributes of Mid-America Technology Center? 
A: Professional administration, teachers and support staff who strive to bring quality education to all students. This provides our employers with trained employees to enter the local workplace.
Q: How would you work to further those attributes?  
A: I will continue to give my direction in both the financial direction and all current programs offered so the school can meet the demands of opportunities for quality high-income jobs.
Q: What are the negative attributes of Mid-America Technology Center?  
A: We continually need to increase the programs with space and locations within our district to meet the needs of all our school partners.
Q: How would you address the negative attributes?  
A: I will work with all school partners in developing short- and long-term plans to meet these needs. All partners in our District will have a say on the direction the school makes to meet our goals.
Q: How is the school’s infrastructure and campuses and what needs further work?  
A: Our current campus provides our students with the best spaces and equipment to give them the opportunity for a successful career. 
Q: Are there physical areas of the Vocational Technology district you would improve?  
A: I will continue to work hard to provide a campus in our northern area within our District to meet the growth of our schools. This will take time and money to implement this goal.
Q: How would your service impact the student outcomes of area students who attend Mid-America Technology Center?
A: I want to continue to provide our students and all taxpayers with the best education with programs that will provide them with successful careers. This will benefit our District with quality employees to meet the needs of our employers.
Candidates Q&A
Bruce Bridwell
Q: Office you seek?  
A: Mid-America Technology School Board Seat 2
Q: Residence? 
A: Resident of Goldsby
Q: Who are the members of your family? 
A: Spouse Lynda Bridwell, son Jason Bridwell, daughter Shawna Herell, son-in-law Tommie Herell, and granddaughter Harper Herell.
Q: What is your employment?  
A: Retired from Mid-America Technology Center
Q: Why are you seeking a seat on the Mid-America Technology Center Board of Education? 
A: I have over 30 years experience working in the Career Tech system and feel that the knowledge I have gained would be of benefit to the Mid-America Board.  I also have over 17 years’ experience as a board member at Washington Public School which gives me a solid background in how the academics and finances work at a public school.
Q: What are the positive attributes of Mid-America Technology Center? 
A: Mid-America is a rural school.  Being a rural school Mid-America is a community into itself. Students come to Mid-America because they want to learn and the staff has a desire to educate these students and sincerely care about their students being successful in life.
Q: How would you work to further those attributes?  
A: I would work closely with administration regarding ideas and policies that have been brought up in the community and to determine if these ideas coincide with the goals of Mid-America.
Q: What are the negative attributes of Mid-America Technology Center?  
A: One the few negative aspect of Mid-America is the lack of classrooms that are available to properly serve all of the students who which to attend Mid-America.
Q: How would you address the negative attributes?  
A: I would work with administration to evaluate all possible space that might be available to add more classroom space and evaluate current classroom usage to determine if any adjustment could be made to provide more classroom space. 
Q: How is the school’s infrastructure and campuses and what needs further work?  
A: The school’s infrastructure for the most part is in good physical condition.  One of the main areas that needs attention is more parking spaces. Although over the past 5 years more parking has been made available, but there is still a need for more parking spaces.
Q: Are there physical areas of the Vocational Technology district you would improve?  
A: Currently I would have to say I am not sure, However, if I am elected to the board, I would have a better understanding of what physical areas need to be addressed.
Q: How would your service impact the student outcomes of area students who attend Mid-America Technology Center?
A: I would be pro-student when it comes to adding more classrooms and equipment that are needed to assist the staff in their efforts to provide the best education possible for their students. I have served on yearly advisory committees at Mid-America where I worked with daytime instructors and community business leaders to determine what employment skills were needed by businesses in our district.  I have participated as an interviewing skills judge in career tech skill USA contests. The objective of this was to help determine if the students have the skills necessary to be successful in a job interview after they complete their program.