Paysinger, Webb seek Dayton School Board seat

Roger Webb is challenging incumbent Theresa “Terri” Paysinger for the Position 7 seat on the Dayton School Board in the May 20 election.

Also running are incumbent Kraig Albright and Marty Palacios for Position 1, and incumbent Larry Ringnalda for Position 4.

Voters will receive ballots in the mail soon after April 30. They have until 8 p.m. on May 20 to return them to the Yamhill County Clerk’s Office or local drop boxes.

Paysinger has served on the Dayton School Board for 18 years, first in the 2000s, then in more recent years. She is a Dayton High School graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Oregon State University.

She has lived in Dayton most of her life. Her children are fourth-generation Dayton High graduates.

Paysinger worked for large corporations as a young adult and has co-owned a small business in the community for the past 25 years. She currently is secretary/treasurer of the Paysinger Corporation.

Webb is a software engineer who works with web application development, business intelligence analysis and data science. He also farms poultry and sheep. He received an AA degree from Wentworth Military Academy, then a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

He has served on the Dayton School District Budget Committee for six years and on the Lafayette Planning Commission for a year.

Webb said the “turbulent financial times” prompted him to run for school board. “With few things certain, one thing that is becoming crystal clear is we are not going to have more money to work with next year than we had last year,” he said. “In these uncertain financial times, the need to fully embrace the budgeting process, utilizing the best minds and tools available, is all the more imperative.

As a budget committee member, he has advocated for a more collaborative process with greater transparency, using modern accounting and analysis tools, so the district can “develop the most optimized budget possible that delivers maximum services to our students, maximum support to our teachers and maximum accountability to our taxpayers.”

As board member, he said, he can use his professional skills as a software engineer to “help craft policies to deliver on what I expected, and desired to accomplish, on the budget committee.

Webb said board members need to serve students using taxpayer investments “to provide the maximum in services we are able to provide.” That means hiring qualified and stable teachers; providing them with the tools they need to deliver quality instruction and keep up their professional development, especially in the technology age; and being responsible to the taxpayers, balancing the cost of instruction and school infrastructure with other costs citizens must pay, especially seniors and those on fixed incomes.

“As a school board member, we bear a heavy responsibility to all three of these extremely important groups, and we need to be putting our full effort into using the best tools available to us to make the best decisions for balancing the needs of our entire community,” he said.

In the past, he said, his requests for information, such as a digital copy of the proposed budget, have “been met with resistance.” He has proposed measures to modernize the budgeting process and make it more collaborative, and also has requested more training and professional development for committee members — issues he can address as a board member, he said.

“I want to establish policies that have Dayton fully embracing the letter and the spirit of Oregon’s Local Government Budgeting Law,” he said, “in order to build the best qualified (budgeting) team possible to help the district navigate the complex and turbulent financial times we find ourselves in.”

Paysinger said she hopes to continue serving on the board because “it is all about the kids.”

“Each student is a unique individual with different abilities, learning styles, post-high school goals, hopes and dreams,” she said. “I believe every child has a fundamental right to an education, and I want to ensure they receive a quality education that best fits their needs.”

Paysinger said her experiences living in Dayton, in business and with the schools gives her “a valuable perspective of what our students need to be successful, and an understanding of the needs of the community.”

A school board member’s duty lies in being a community representative and understanding local needs while guiding school district policy to reflect those needs, Paysinger said.

“The entire board establishes policies and provides direction for the superintendent and the staff, but each individual member brings their own insights and skills to the team,” she said.

The board also approves the district’s budget to ensure the needs of the district are met. “I want to ensure the Dayton schools remain the hub of our community and meet the needs of all stakeholders — students, parents, staff, community members and local businesses,” she said.

Paysinger said the goal of Dayton, like any school district, is educating students and preparing them to become contributing members of society. “I want to make sure we provide options within the school’s curriculum to meet the needs of all students,” she said.

“Each student is unique and each student has their own set of goals for life after graduation, whether that be college, technical school, or entry directly into the workforce,” she said. “My goal is to provide a curriculum that provides options for everyone.”

She said she is especially excited that Dayton is expanding its career technical education programs, and advocates for further expansion in those opportunities for students.