Gundrum set to join board

There is no suspense when it comes to this year’s school board elections.
All four candidates are uncontested.
Three of them — Mike Shannon, Beth Krieg and Ron Laux — are familiar faces, with Shannon headed for a fourth term while Krieg and Laux will each earn a second. One will be new to the group.
Cory Gundrum, who is also relatively new to Jay County, will be the new board member for the District 1 seat representing the City of Portland on Jay School Board. He will take over for two-term incumbent Larry Paxson, who chose not to run for re-election.
“It was something that I was very hesitant about doing because I’m (substitute teaching), and I knew I would have to stop subbing,” said Gundrum, noting that he prayed about the decision. “God just kept opening that door and pushing me that direction, so I finally listened.”
A native of New York who was raised in Florida, graduating from Taylor County High School in the City of Perry, Gundrum had made visits to Jay County to visit a high school friend. He said he and his wife, Toni, fell in love with the area and decided to move their family to Portland in 2010.
In addition to substitute teaching, he runs a home business doing freelance web design and consulting and also works as a merchandiser for Fort Wayne’s Lewis Brothers Bakery. He is pursuing an associate’s degree in information technology with a focus on web design from the University of Phoenix.
Gundrum believes his time substituting in classes from preschool through high school at every school in the corporation gives him a good base from which to make decisions.
“I hope I can bring the viewpoint of someone who was recently in the classroom and can see the good points that are going on and keep advancing our school system forward,” he said.
Declining enrollment, and in turn declining state funding, is a major concern for the corporation, said Gundrum. But he added that some classrooms are experiencing overcrowding, which can lead to a difficulties with the learning environment.
He stressed the need for quality communication, not only from the schools to home, but from home to school as well.
“Teachers need support from parents, because teaching children is cooperative,” Gundrum said. “Teachers have a job to do at school, and parents have a job to do at home to help kids. And we have a great group of parents in our (community), and I’d like to be able to see parents and teachers work closer together to help educate our students.”
The father of four, a 2014 Jay County High School graduate and three current Jay Schools students, points to special education as one of his main focuses.
Gundrum has a personal connection to the issue, because his youngest daughter is autistic, and also has sensory processing disorder and third-nerve palsy. He said it's important that special education continue to get the kind of attention it has in recent years.
“I have a real heart for special education,” he said. “I want to make sure that special ed is funded and we have people in place to meet the needs of our special ed students in this community so they have every chance to get a quality education and go on and be productive citizens.”
He emphasized the importance of keeping Jay Schools A-rated and trying to make them as attractive as possible in order to fight declining enrollment.
As a new board member, he promised accessibility. He said he’s ready to talk with anyone who has ideas, issues or concerns.
“Come on up and say hi,” he said.
“I’m a parent that has a vested interest in how well our school corporation does,” Gundrum added. “I have students in it and I’m going to have students in it for the foreseeable future. I’ve been in the classroom so I can see first-hand the struggle of the teachers and the struggle of some of the students. And I want to work together with the teachers and the staff and the administration to make our county schools better and to keep making progress like we’ve been making.”