Politics & Government

Rockwood Board of Education Candidates Q and A: Roger Stock and Kevin Mabie

Rockwood Board of Education candidates Roger Stock and Kevin Mabie break down their bids to represent the district.

Editor's note: Patch sent the following questions to each of the six candidates for the Rockwood School District Board of Education. We are running the candidates' responses in ballot order, two at a time. Saturday, we ran . Answers from Matt Doell and Mike Geller will run on Monday.

Candidates are running for three open spots on the school board. Terms last three years. The election is April 5.

Roger Stock

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  • Retired in June for the Rockwood School District; most recently served as executive director of elementary and early childhood education
  • Doctorate in education administration, specialist in education degree, master’s of arts degree, master’s of teaching degree and bachelor’s of arts degree
  • Has lived in the Rockwood School District for 5 years; currently lives at 1800 Wade Ct., Wildwood
  • Married to Stephanie Stock. They have three adult children, a daughter at Babler Elementary and four grandchildren

Stock has worked in the Rockwood School District for 19 years. He was the principal of Chesterfield Elementary School for 11 years and served as the executive director of elementary and early childhood education for eight years. Before working in Rockwood, he was a teacher, counselor and administrator in the Clayton School district, enlisted and served as a teacher in the U.S. Army and taught in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

Stock has been on numerous committees on curriculum, redistricting, full-day kindergarten and early childhood education. He initiated a parent volunteer effort called PALS and lead endeavors to name Chesterfield Elementary School a Gold Star and Blue Ribbon school. He has been named a Missouri Distinguished Principal and is a member of the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce and a former board member of the Wildwood YMCA.

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Please provide a brief summary of your reasons for running.

Having been blessed to follow my passion in life as an educator and working in a district that has given me so many wonderful leadership opportunities, I want to give back through service and support in the leadership process of collaborating with fellow board colleagues to provide the very best learning environment for our greatest assets – the Rockwood children.

Second, I want ensure that our TEAM of board members, administration, staff, parents, and, above all, students whose dedication, commitment, and measured results, have transformed our district from “Good” to “Great” and remains “Great” during these difficult financial times.

What unique experiences or characteristics would you bring to the board that other members or candidates don't have?

My firsthand historical knowledge and experience as a former administrator for the past nineteen years gives me a clear perspective and understanding of where we have been, how far we have come, and what great possibilities are ahead of us as we make our vision become a reality. I have been trained and demonstrated successful leadership skills while working on Rockwood and I am committed to the continuous improvement process. I know so many school community members in all of our nineteen elementary schools and early childhood sites. It is time that we have an educational administrator serve on the board that knows and understands instructional leadership, school management, the importance of recruiting, developing, and paying quality teachers, and the big picture of education from firsthand experience. There is no one on the current board who is a former school administrator and only one other candidate who is a former administrator. It is time that an educational administrator sits on the board with the other members to round out the collective backgrounds and experience.

Assume you win the election. What single thing do you most want to accomplish during your three years on the board?

My number one priority would be to work with my fellow board colleagues to do whatever we can to ensure we maintain the “Great” district status we currently have by making wise financial decisions that will not diminish or lower academic opportunities for our most precious children. During the thousands of parent meetings I have sat in on throughout my 43 year career, I have never heard a parent suggest or recommend that we give their child less academic opportunities. I will support whatever it takes to provide the best education for our children.

Would you favor a tax increase for Rockwood School District residents or a bond issue to supplement district funds? Why or why not?

Once we have completed our Guiding Principles financial studies that involve district leadership and patrons who have focused on what our next step recommendations should be to continue as a “Great” district, I would support a tax increase if it appeared to be the only way to halt continued cuts that would seriously affect children. We simply cannot choose to cut programs and services that will ultimately just provide a basic education. Our community cannot subscribe to and will not settle for a basic education. Our children deserve better.

As the district continues to face a budget shortfall and uncertainty over state funding, are there areas you think shouldn’t be cut? What areas have to be cut?

We cannot touch cutting back on staff professional development. In order for any organization to deliver and to subscribe to the continuous improvement model, we must continue developing staff to reach their most effective professional potential while modeling lifelong learning. I truly believe in the “Grow or Die Professionally” theory. In addition, I firmly believe that staff must be remunerated fairly for their expectations. Our quality staff has the highest of standards, expectations and evaluation placed upon them. They produce among the highest levels of student results in Missouri and the nation. Unfortunately, our teachers are paid in the lower half compared to all county teachers. This has to be rectified sooner than later.

It’s hard to envision any area(s) being cut. I would only support areas that do not directly impact students. That would fall into categories that provide a host of electives that additionally peak the curiosity or passion in our children for wanting to go above and beyond the learning experience, artistically or musically extending their talents, or possibly enhancing their physical skills. Of course, I would hope that this never becomes a reality.

What do you think is Rockwood School District’s biggest weakness, and what would you do to correct it? What is its biggest strength?

Over the years, I believe our biggest weakness has been (because we want only the very best for our children) taking on too many academic endeavors and curricular initiatives at the same time. While it was done with only the best of intentions, it often times overwhelmed and stressed out our teachers and staff who already had much on their professional plates of expectations. What usually happens when you take on too much? The results are that one gets a little of everything implemented, but the efficacy can often times be less than it should be.

Our greatest strength is our staff. We have been most fortunate to recruit and hire the “best of the best” administration and teachers. We hire effective and committed instructional leaders who are capable of supervising and leading school communities that provide high expectations, parental involvement, staff development, ongoing assessment of and for programs while guided by a clear vision for continuous improvement. Our teachers are selected after a series of qualifiers based on research in good teaching, desire to build relationships with students as paramount, a command for their subject/s area/s, a commitment to lifelong learning, and the willingness to collaborate with colleagues. We are fortunate to have a large percentage of advanced degrees’ teachers who stay in Rockwood.

Kevin Mabie

  • Teacher in the Parkway School District
  • Master’s in education administration from Lindenwood University
  • Has lived in the Rockwood School District for five years. Currently lives at 117 Caybeth Drive, Ballwin.
  • Married to Kelly Mabie. They have a daughter at Crestview Middle School and a son at Westridge Elementary. Two younger children have received early childhood services.

Mabie has been involved in Rockwood schools as a parent. He’s helped chaperone camp trips and put on an elementary school variety show. Most of his preparation to serve on the Rockwood school board, he says, comes from his work in the Parkway School District. He is part of Project Parkway, a multi-year districtwide strategic planning effort. As part of Project Parkway, he has evaluated school programming to determine its benefit in relation to its cost. 

Please provide a brief summary of your reasons for running.

Rockwood needs its new board members to have educational ties. It needs people who have a finger on the pulse of current educational trends so that we can incorporate the best possible strategies to help our students compete nationally and globally, at the lowest cost possible. I have four kids and I want them each to have the same great education that we moved into this district expecting. The best way to guarantee that my kids and my neighbors will have that education is to be involved.

What unique experiences or characteristics would you bring to the board that other members or candidates don't have?

As a current teacher and part-time administrator, I am experiencing new educational trends and initiatives on a regular basis. Because of this, I will be able to give the board direction and the teacher’s perspective when we are considering new plans to achieve our goals in Rockwood. For instance, the board often sets goals for our performance on state and national tests. I actually helped write the End-of-Course exam that our students take for their state English assessment and can work to make sure we have systems in place to best help our teachers accomplish their goals. I also have a large amount of experience working with initiatives to increase ACT scores. Again, when the board sets a goal regarding ACT, it won’t be without ensuring that appropriate plans are in place to make the goal attainable.

Because I am a member of Parkway’s long-range planning committee, I have a variety of experiences evaluating educational programming for its effectiveness and worth. I can’t wait to bring my experience to Rockwood.

Assume you win the election. What single thing do you most want to accomplish during your three years on the board?

In my time on the board, I expect the team to evaluate all programming to quantify its influence on our district’s ability to meet its mission and then to get creative in the budget-planning process to create a plan that allows us to avoid losing money while providing our community with the distinguished schooling it has grown to expect.

Would you favor a tax increase for Rockwood School District residents or a bond issue to supplement district funds? Why or why not?

Even after the board evaluates the district’s programming and makes any cuts that it can without negatively affecting our mission, a tax increase is going to be necessary. A responsible board will limit the amount of the tax increase with a thorough analysis of everything we are doing in Rockwood. However, every person running for this position knows that it will be impossible for us to remain among the top school districts in the state if we don’t ask for a tax increase...and those that say we are not at that point yet must not have paid attention to Rockwood’s clear and transparent budget overview at their recent town meetings. It’s not a popular thing to say, and I am not a guy with a lot of extra money myself (I’m a teacher), but I know what is best for our kids won’t be available or possible without at least a minimal tax increase.

As the district continues to face a budget shortfall and uncertainty over state funding, are there areas you think shouldn’t be cut? What areas have to be cut?

I am a strong supporter of educational initiatives that increase student capability, but also those that increase creativity and confidence. Therefore, art and music programs must continue to be part of a Rockwood education, free of charge. I also feel very strongly that we must find ways to provide for the kids who already have learned what our curriculum requires us to teach. These gifted students must have a way to advance their learning, as they currently have with our Center for Creative Learning programming. Lastly, we must remain cognizant of the work our support staff employees do. They make the jobs of our teachers and principals possible. Therefore, we need to make sure we make our district inviting for these employees, as we work to do so for our certificated staff. I remain hopeful that we will not have to eliminate any programming, but instead meet the needs of our district by asking the community for what we absolutely need. In the case that we cannot find a way to do this, I will support participation fees for some extracurricular district activities and a freeze in administrative salaries, but want to further evaluate programming before making any large cut proposals.

What do you think is Rockwood School District’s biggest weakness, and what would you do to correct it? What is its biggest strength?

Rockwood’s greatest strength is its teachers. For years, this district has attracted some of the most talented teachers in the state, and the effects of this are evident in the success of our Rockwood kids. The district has a curriculum in place that is both rigorous and challenging and has plans in place for kids who are ahead of the curriculum. However, it is the teachers who transfer this curriculum and their hard work is evident on a daily basis.

Our weakness may very well be equity. Fees for some services limit participation for some of our less-wealthy residents. For instance, if I am not wealthy enough to afford it, my child cannot afford the tuition for full-day kindergarten, even though it is a norm in many parts of the country and even in the majority of our state. Also, fees for summer enrichment programs exceed those of other districts. In Rockwood, the “extras” are sometimes extra. If we can stabilize the budget, perhaps 5-10 years from now we will be able to make all services a bit more equitable.


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