McKim seeks third board term
KEN GARNER/THE FORUM
Josh McKim
MARYVILLE, Mo. — It doesn’t get much more hometown than Josh McKim. An advocate for all things Maryville and Nodaway County, McKim, a current member of the Maryville R-II Board of Education, seeks a third term in helping to lead the district.
“We are trying to do what we can to give the best educational experience to kids,” he said. “As I look across the school board I see a bunch of people that I think have the same interests. This is not a group who wants to gain personally from this position, they want to help kids and our school district become the very best it can be. … I just hope that I can contribute a little bit to continue moving the district in the right direction.”
McKim, the executive director of Nodaway County Economic Development Corporation, and his wife Angie have six children: daughters Grace and Claire and sons Jonah, Robert, James and Noah. Very much in line with his position of economic development, McKim wants students above anything else to have opportunity.
“Educating our workforce for tomorrow is my top priority,” he said. “I believe that’s an area that can really be a growth area for us as we look at how do we improve the educational experience for our kids but also how we position them for success in the future. One of those is connecting them to business opportunities and employment opportunities in the community.”
McKim believes being a thoughtful board member is one of his strengths.
“I’m going to try and weigh every decision that we make,” he said. “I’m pretty introspective. After a board meeting there have been nights where I didn’t sleep because of some of the decisions and how I voted on them because I just wasn’t sure they were right. I am someone who will think through and try to make the best decision I can and then will weigh whether or not it was the best decision so I can get better as a school board member. … I’ve tried to learn from those mistakes in order to do a better job the next time a similar situation comes up.”
When patrons of the school district have questions, he encourages direct communication with board members rather than commenting on social media.
“I am more than happy to meet with any patron face-to-face and talk through an issue,” he said. “In fact I’d prefer that. I think there is a lot that can be lost in communication by not sitting down face-to-face especially in more difficult decisions that are more emotionally charged.”
On the issue of four-day school weeks, McKim is not opposed to looking at the issue if the need arises, but doesn’t believe it is one Maryville currently faces.
“I’m not questioning the school districts that have it,” he said. “They had to make the best decision for their school district. It would take a lot of data and a lot of discussion before I would be in favor. If we’re saving money at the cost of education then we’re failing. We were given that money to educate, not save it.”
Keeping and retaining top quality staff is high on McKim’s priority list in a tight labor market.
“How do we as a school district position ourselves to be an employer of choice,” he said. “It’s a constant consideration — how do you become a place where teachers want to be? We try to provide teachers with a supportive system that says we believe in you as well as having high expectations of them. We want to be the very best. We should be one of the best school districts in the entire state. There is no reason that our goals and aspirations shouldn’t be the best of the best. If you can buy into that, we want to support you and take care of you. … Every school district in the state should be looking at us and say ‘how do we do what they’re doing.’”
McKim wants voters to know that he is always striving to be the best he can.
“I’m a continual learner, somebody who wants to continually get better at what I’m doing and hoping to have the opportunity to get better as a school board member,” he said.
