Aase desires to help with transition
Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 26, 1999
At the end of the month, Lew Aase and his wife will celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Sunday, September 26, 1999
At the end of the month, Lew Aase and his wife will celebrate their 40th anniversary. His relationship with a bride called Education has lasted almost as long.
Aase worked for 30 years as a teacher and principal in Austin before retiring from Southgate Elementary. For the past six-and-a-half years, Aase has been as an Austin Board of Education member.
Heading into the Nov. 2 election for four open seats on the school board, Aase believes he can still be of valuable service to the district.
"I wondered whether I should run again," Aase said. "But I decided I ‘m able to be helpful with the transition."
The transition Aase speaks of involves new superintendent James Hess and – with 17 candidates in the running – what could be a new-look school board.
Aase said he would also like to follow through on the board’s efforts to get parents more involved in the district.
"By the end of the year there will be a telephone in every classroom," he said. "I’m certainly glad to see that. Communication between parents and teachers needs to take place."
Aase addressed the budget shortfall and subsequent mid-year budget cuts that the board experienced last year.
"Obviously you don’t want a budget shortfall," he said. "We felt we had adequate information and we didn’t. It was all of our responsibility and we had to deal with it."
Aase insisted the board members are thoughtful in their decision making.
Personally, he uses three Cs when it comes to making decisions – 1) Climate, 2) Collaborate, 3) Communicate.
"I consider the climate of support," he said, "then work for cooperation by getting any of the groups involved to communicate."
Ultimately, he said, the board’s initiatives always comes back to "what is best for our kids."
"That was always Dr. Myers’ (the recently retired superintendent) criteria for decision making," Aase said.
But it’s not always an easy thing to do. Even when weighing what is best for the students there are questions. Such as does a board emphasize achievement, Aase said, or emphasize equity. With a tight budget, meeting the needs of all students isn’t easy.
"There’s always a middle, or majority," he said. "That’s what we need to look out for."
When asked it the school board and school district succeeds in that mission, Aase answered, "Our schools do good things for our kids."