Rohrig appointed to fill Red Oak School Board vacancy

The Red Oak School Board has filled a recent vacancy.
On Jan. 8, the board met in special session to interview a prospective candidate who had expressed interest in filling the vacant board seat. The opening was created by Red Oak School Board Member Aaron Schmid’s resignation in December for medical reasons.
Superintendent Ron Lorenz said they had one very highly qualified candidate express an interest in filling the vacant board seat, Pastor Ricky Rohrig. Board President Bret Blackman invited Rohrig to say a few words during the process.
“I’ve been in Red Oak since 2012. My wife, Melanie, was a substitute teacher in the district for a few years, and now she’s actually a contracted junior high teacher, I have four kids in the district as well. Zoie, Zane, Zariah, and Zadriana. I’m a pastor at  a church here in town. I’m employed by Accura Healthcare, which is a long-term nursing home company. I’ve been in long-term care for almost 12 years. I’m currently the administrator at the Cresthaven, Creston location,” Rohrig said.
Blackman asked Rohrig what interested him in taking over the vacant position on the board. Rohrig said there were several reasons.
“My wife works for the school district, I have four children in the school district, so I have a vested interest. I’ve been here 12 years and as a pastor and a person in the community, you hear lots of things in the community about the school, about the community, good or bad,” stated Rohrig. “I’m one of those people that I feel like, am I going to be a part of the problem or am I going to be part of the solution? And so really I want to be part of the solution.”
Rohrig added that he felt everybody in the room would agree the school district is not things to praise.
“I think there are some really good things going on in our district. I think there are some things that we could probably improve upon. And so I really see this as an opportunity to improve the district, to be a voice, not only for teachers and for students, but just be an advocate for Red Oak School District and the community at large,” commented Rohrig.
Rohrig had earlier expressed interest in serving on the board after the passing of member Roger Carlson. At the time, Rohrig was interviewed alongside former Board Member Bryce Johnson, who ended up being selected for the position. With his prior comments in mind, Board members Scott Bruce and Kathy Walker had no specific questions, but simply appreciated Rohrig’s interest.
Blackman asked Rohrig to talk a little bit about some of the priorities that he saw for the district. Rohrig discussed some of the things that he took note of
“After doing a little bit of research, you look at neighboring school districts. Stanton is probably the closest school district to us, then there’s East Mills and Essex. Maybe it’s just me, but I just have a real problem when people live in Red Oak and they open enroll to another school district. I feel like if you live in Red Oak, you should take your kids to school in Red Oak,” Rohrig explained.
Rohrig  said statistically, depending on where a person did their research, Red Oak was sort of in the middle of the road, and he’d like to do his part to improve it.
“I definitely think there’s chances for improvement. I just got some statistics, some of our testing scores, and I’d love to see that be higher. Forty-five percent of elementary students tested at or above the proficient level of reading. Sixty percent tested at or above for math. Forty-five percent of middle school students tested at or above. I’d love to see us improve those proficiency scores,” advised Rohrig.
Also, Rohrig said Red Oak was a unique district from an economic standpoint.
“Over 50% of all students are on free or reduced lunches. It’s a socioeconomic thing. In Red Oak in general, you have places where people don’t come for a lot of money, and then you have people in Red Oak that have a little bit more money. So there’s a whole dynamic there in how you serve that whole population equally. Finally, I like to win. I’m very competitive. Average of mediocre don’t sit well with me. I just want to raise the bar,” said Rohrig.
When asked if Rohrig himself had any questions, he stated if he was selected, he was sure there were going to be a lot of questions he would have as a new board member, but the details will come down the road.
Bruce shared with Rohrig that being a member of the Red Oak School Board was often a large time commitment.
“When I was asked if I would be interested in something like this, it was brought to my attention that it would be one meeting a month for an hour. I’m still waiting for that day. But I want to assure you that they do everything possible to try to make that happen. But I just want to make you aware of there are meetings that come up that not necessarily have to be 100 percent attendance, but it helps when everybody’s on board. There could be a meeting once a week, twice a week, and there are some meetings that are quicker and we can get right through to the agenda. But sometimes the agenda arises that we have to take care of. That’s just part of the scope of it,” stated Bruce.
Rohrig advised he had talked to former board member Aaron Schmidt and was aware of some of the ins and outs. 
“Fortunately, I’m in a position right now that I’m the boss, so I can kind of pick my hours. If I need to leave early, I can. So I do have that flexibility. And I’m the type of person who is all in. If there’s a meeting, unless I’m on my deathbed, I’m going to be here. I absolutely can,” Rohrig commented.
The board moved into closed session to discuss the appointment of Rohrig to fill Schmid’s vacancy, and after that closed session meeting was over, the appointment of Rohrig was unanimously approved, and he was sworn in as the board’s newest member.
The board also discussed the Jan. 15 meeting, and due to the fact that two board members would be absent, and a lack of pressing agenda items, the regular meeting would not be held on Jan. 15, and any necessary items would be put on the agenda of a special meeting on Jan. 29.
“Daric O’Neal and members of Boyd Jones will be presenting information, and we’re bound by public hearing notice requirements to have it that night. If we were to have a meeting before that, we’d still have to have the Jan. 29 meetings for posting requirements,” advised Lorenz.
The board agreed for its next meeting to take place at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.