With a controversial appointment and some push back from other board members, current school board member Linda Cecil is a polarizing figure within the Loveland community. Cecil is running for one of the two open seats on the Loveland City School District Board of Education for the November 7th election. To help students and community members answer the question of for whom to vote, The Loveland Roar has been interviewing candidates, with Jack Gerber (12) interviewing candidate Linda Cecil.
Cecil is the parent of a recent Loveland graduate and is a longtime member of the Loveland community. She has more than forty years of experience in the world of business in companies like “Disney, Kenner Toys, Tyco Toys, Crafthouse, Gibson Greetings, Microsoft, Measurex, Jackson-Hewitt and running [her] own tax business.” She told The Roar that:
I can speak to alternative funding methods. I have spent my career going into situations and looking at better less expensive ways to deliver a goal. The board needs this. I have also been the liaison between multiple groups to get them to understand the needs of the other side and how they can support each other to reach a common goal. Again, the board needs this.
She said that she decided to run for an open seat on the board “ after watching the school and community behavior since 2019,” as “a community should never be torn apart from being asked to fund the schools. The schools cannot succeed without community support. The community does not thrive without good schools. The difficulty is finding the balance. Right now we are out of balance.”
Cecil told The Roar that she voted no on the last three school levies, and provided the following justification:
You all see the issues. You also see that money voted in doesn’t go to improving your education but to salaries. Do you realize that the current average teacher salary is $78,806 and that the 3 year contract just signed will increase that by $16,000 to approx. $94,000 in 3 years if everything remains the same. The administrator salaries increased by a greater percentage. All of this information is public information.
All of the new contracts are listed under treasurer’s page on the Loveland school page. I will vote for improving your education, not just increasing costs.
Cecil was appointed to the school board by a local judge after the resignation of former board member Kevin Dougherty. While an interim member of the board is usually selected by other members of the board, the public meeting at which this process occurred was temporarily inaccessible to the public after a door automatically locked. Since the locked door violated the “Open Meetings Act,” the decision of who to appoint to the board was then given to a judge. Instead of appointing the board’s preferred candidate, the judge appointed Cecil, who is now running for a permanent seat on the board.
As the election quickly approaches, students and community members must make informed decisions that represent their interests. To be able to make an informed decision, make sure to check out The Roar’s interviews with the other three candidates running for the school board.