Meet the School Board Candidate: Marita Malone

Retired FBI Agent and Assistant Professor Marita Malone is one of three people running for two open spots on the St. Charles Board of Education.

Malone, 61, said running for school board is one way she can give back to the community.

She faces incumbent Tim Bekebrede and newcomer Sheri Bickmeyer, mother to several children in the school district. 

The election will be April 3.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Age: 61

Family: husband Michael, three step-children, two grandchildren

Education: Master’s Business Administration (M.B.A.); Ph.D.    (Public Administration)

Occupation: assistant professor and chairperson, Criminal Justice and Security Management

Party affiliation: Republican

Previous elected offices: University of Missouri Extension Council

Applicable experience:

• Assistant professor and Chair, Saint Louis University
• Retired FBI Special Agent and Assistant Inspector of FBI field offices
• 12 years High school teacher, basketball, track coach; Nine years in Saint Charles
• Missouri Certificates to teach high school English and social studies
• University of Missouri Extension Saint Charles County Council
• M.B.A., Ph.D. in business and public administration
• Lifetime history with and dedication to the Saint Charles community

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS

What is the primary reason you are running for School Board? 

I have a strong affinity to St. Charles, my family coming to St. Charles from Germany in the 1840s, and I am very proud of my family’s and St. Charles’ history. I believe that a community can only be as strong as its education system; a community excels when its children excel. Being a member of the school board is a concrete way that I can help our children and community.

Tell us one goal you have if you get elected? 

To ensure our children and faculty feel secure and safe in the school environment; and to improve the public trust and transparency by demonstrating efficiencies in the school district’s operational and instructional  programs through best-practice solutions.

What sets you apart from the other candidates, if contested?

My education and employment experiences are unique; they encompass business, public administration, education, public policy, security, and risk management. I bring to the table an ability to objectively scrutinize costs and benefits of programs and to be mission driven. In the case of the school board, the mission generally should be to be to keep the children in the forefront and to reflect the wishes of the citizens of the City of Saint Charles School District.

As enrollment has declined in the district, at what point does it make sense to consider closing a high school? When high school enrollment is at 1,300? 1,500? Should there be a threshold?

Closing a high school should not depend solely on student population. Other factors that contribute to the closing include costs of property maintenance, lack of usage of the building and other facilities, duplication of programs, and income. After these and other factors are studied, then a decision can be made. In essence, there should not be a threshold, unless it is one of many factors.

What's the biggest challenge facing the school district?

The biggest challenge facing the school district is to maintain excellent teachers and programs that definitively improve the children’s ability to compete in a rapidly changing world. This challenge is highlighted in the face of diminishing federal and state funds.