Two seek seat on School Board
Two men are seeking a position on the Pea Ridge School Board. Ryan Heckman is seeking a second term and filed for re-election. John Dye is also seeking the seat.
Heckman said he is running for reelection “because our district is very much in a transitional state, and I would like to see that change through. My current term on the board has taught me much from funding mechanisms to the importance of vertically-aligned curriculum to most importantly , as Peter Drucker famously said long ago, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’
“I would like to apply this wisdom, these learnings, from my first term into a second term,” Heckman said, adding “I personally won’t accomplish anything, as I’ll continue to work as a collective group, but I do hope to continue to bring a data-driven, and people-first perspective to the board.”
Heckman and his family — wife, Betsy, and daughters Laney and Bella — have lived in the Pea Ridge School District since 2003. Both daughters attend Pea Ridge schools. He is a graduate of Mid-Buchanan High School in
Faucette, Mo., and Missouri S&T: Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla) where he earned a degree in engineering management. He is employed with Clorox.
Dye said: “I do want to complete what I helped start — getting the new school underway, continuing the progress the school has made. I have been a part of a lot of what has occurred and I want to help that continue.
“I’ve supported our administration, where we’re going as a school district,” he said. “We’ve set some things in motion and done a lot of good things to get where we are. I’d like to continue that.
“We need to focus on the kids — where our kids are going future wise and the environment we’ve created,” Dye continued. “My focus is on the students and our growing town. My passion and care is for what we’re trying to accomplish as a school district — where we’re leading our district.”
Dye, a native of Seligman, Mo., graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a bachelor’s in accounting. He and his wife, Bobbye Jo Dye, have three children, Kamree, Jace and Gannon, all of whom attend
Pea Ridge schools. Dye, a certified public accountant, has lived in Pea Ridge since 2005. He was board president and sought reelection in May 2019, but was defeated by Mindy Cawthon.
The School Board is comprised of five members. Each position is a five-year term and one opens every year. There are 4,684 registered voters in the Pea Ridge School District.