Editor’s note: The general election for school district offices is Tuesday, Nov. 7. In anticipation, ThePerryNews.com asked each candidate for a school district office to answer a few questions in order to give voters a sense of who the candidate is and what issues motivate him or her. These candidate profiles will be published over the coming days. Interested voters might also wish to attend a candidate forum for the school board candidates, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Perry Perk coffeehouse at 1201 Warford St. in downtown Perry.
Max C. Christensen is seeking a seat on the Perry Community School District Board of Directors. Christensen lives at 3320 Willis Ave. He can be reached at 515-201-4560 or maddmaxx313@yahoo.com.
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, Max. What do you want voters to know about you, your qualifications, your intentions as an officeholder?
My name is Max Christensen. I have lived in Perry for 10 years and have been married to my wife, Lisa, for 30 years. Lisa teaches middle school band here in Perry and has done so for the past 20 years. We have two children, Olivia, age 16, and Isaiah, age 15, who both attend Perry High School. Both of our kids were adopted from China as infants, so we are truly a diverse family! As to my qualifications, I have worked for the Iowa Department of Education since 2003. I oversee the school transportation office at the DE as the state director of pupil transportation, and prior to that I actually worked at Perry schools for five years as the transportation director. At the DE I also work very closely with the school finance team, so I believe that I would bring a wealth of knowledge to the table in regards to school business operations. On top of that, I know and work with contacts at all of the 325 school districts in the state as well as many if not most of the 150+ non-public schools in the state. This wide and diverse base of knowledge and working together, sometimes through disagreeable issues, has helped me to become a team player with wide ranging knowledge of how all schools work. My intentions as an officeholder would be to bring that knowledge to Perry schools as a way to improve what is already a very good school system.
2. Why are you running for elected office? Is it something that you have done before? Are other forms of public service a part of your background?
As mentioned, I’ve been a public servant for the state of Iowa for 20 years, thus doing so is a large part of my background. Additionally, as the state director of pupil transportation, I served 10 years on the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) executive board between 2010 and 2020 and had the honor of being the president of NASDPTS from 2012-2014. This involved attending many meetings across the nation, with many of those in Washington, DC. This experience gained me many contacts at the national level, including with the U.S. Department of Education. And I have run for the Perry school board in the past. Several years ago I agreed to be a write-in candidate at the last minute. I didn’t win, but I did enjoy the experience. And why am I running now? I think public schools are sitting on a precipice right now in regards to school funding and support. While I do support ALL schools, the majority of students in the state attend public schools, yet those very schools seem to be most under attack from quite a few different directions. Even so, Perry schools have proven they can thrive — just look at the recent 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools, where Perry Elementary was named as one of only five in the state of Iowa. That is fantastic news and something that should truly be celebrated! I’m running to help spread the message that public schools are not failing and as a “cheerleader” for Perry schools and to keep our schools moving forward.
3. Are there particular issues that you believe are urgent or important and are facing the residents of Perry? If so, what issues are these? How to you think the city council can address or resolve these issues?
I believe one of the top issues is school funding. Schools have been underfunded for at least a decade, and that has to stop. Working together as a team and also working with other schools in the area and from around the state, the message has to be that schools need more funding. I believe that once that message is being spoken load and clear and in one consistent voice across the entire state, the people in Iowa will do what is necessary to make that a reality. Student bullying and respect for staff are also issues to address. While I believe that Perry does a very good job in both those areas, there is room for improvement. And together with funding, I believe working these areas hand in hand will help with another area of concern — teacher retention. We need to make Perry a destination for teachers, where they want to come and, maybe more importantly, want to stay! Iowa has a proud tradition in education. Take a look at the state quarters — Iowa is the only state in the nation that mentions education on our quarter. It’s not too late to regain that mantle and put Iowa back at the top in education. And I’m going to mention Perry Elementary once again — they proved it can be done, right here in our own town!
4. What do you envision as the future of Perry? In what direction would you like to lead the school district?
Perry schools need to become a destination rather than a stepping stone for teachers. We need to make Perry into one of those classic school systems where teachers want to come to work, and once they are here, they want to stay! This in turn will bring consistency to our classrooms and improve overall instruction. At the same time, more kids would be coming into our school system through open enrollment because of how great Perry schools has become! We need to be supportive of all the departments in the school system, which includes not only the teachers but also other staff within the classrooms, administration, food service, buildings and grounds, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention transportation. Finally, the community needs to come together in supporting our various activities. We have so many programs that could benefit from additional community support and participation, which would truly help to better those programs and let the students see what “community” is all about!
