One of Columbia’s longest-serving public servants stepped down in April when Karen Anderson attended her final meeting as a member of the Columbia School Board after 20 years of service. 

“I am getting old,’” the 69-year-old said. “Each time the election came up, I was in the middle of something I wanted to see through to the end, but, at this time, I do not believe there are any major or significant projects in (the works)… With some new people showing an interest in serving on the board, I felt like that this is a good time to step away.”

Anderson and her family moved to Columbia from Blue Springs, Mo., in 1988 due to work. 

She said Columbia appealed to a family with two children under 7 because it was small town near a large city. 

“Columbia seemed like a growing area with some control and oversight by the city council – something we hadn’t seen in other places,” Anderson said. 

About a decade later in 1999, Anderson decided she wanted to serve her new hometown on the Columbia School Board after her daughter graduated and her high school-aged son had been in the district his whole life. 

“I was impressed with the education that they received,” Anderson said. “I could see that the district was growing and felt that I could bring some sound leadership to the decision making processes. The board members that were not up for election were common sense individuals, and I believed that we would be a strong team.”

Before running, however, Anderson wanted to familiarize with the school board. So, she attended every meeting for two years and talked with friends to see if she could muster the support needed to run in the 2001 election. 

She determined she could, and was one of seven candidates running for four seats. 

“Even though this followed a time of some contention between the board and administration, all candidates were very respectful of each other and wanted only the best for the entire district,” Anderson remembered. “There was no one running with an agenda.” 

Anderson won the election and would not face another uncontested one in the next two decades. 

“As a board, we felt this was a signal from the community that we were doing a good job of providing an excellent education for the children of our community,” Anderson said. 

Over her time on the board, Anderson said she was proud of the work done to increase the number of advanced placement and dual-credit courses, upgrade classrooms, implement the in-house special education program, improve participation in performance and visual arts, succeed in athletics and excel at staffing. 

“My proudest event each year was celebrating graduation and the accomplishments of each student,” Anderson said. “Everyone worked hard to reach that point – some achieved higher marks than others, but, in the end, everyone got the same diploma recognizing years of hard work and a plan or options for their next career challenge.” 

Anderson further highlighted the major facilities projects that have been completed under her tenure, such as building Columbia Middle School and upgrading old facilities and buildings. 

She also humbly declined much credit for all that work. 

“These accomplishments are only achieved with good administrators,” she said. “They deserve most of the credit, because they identify the needs and make recommendations, and the board approves it with the recommended funding plans from the superintendent. A board member cannot take credit as an individual because there has to be a majority vote.” 

Anderson said her tenure has also not been without challenges. 

In years past, Anderson noted the CMS bond issue passed by only 33 votes and said board members “with a hidden agenda and micro-management are a distraction,” but the pandemic brought the greatest difficulty. 

“Each parent wanted the best for their child, but it may not have been the best for the overall population of the school or may not have complied with regulations that had to be followed,” Anderson explained. “The board struggled as to how to meet the needs of everyone.” 

Both the good times and bad taught Anderson valuable lessons and showed her some people have misconceptions about a school board’s role. 

“The board sets policy and hires a superintendent to run the district. Even though some believe that the board should do more within the buildings; micro-management is not a path to success,” she said. “Every child is different and they come with a variety of needs. Board members must allow the administrators and staff, who are trained, to consider and meet the needs of all children.”

Now that she has stepped down, Anderson, who describes herself as an “avid quilter,” said she hopes to make more custom quilts and continue making quilts for Quilts of Valor and other nonprofits and volunteer at her church. 

She also plans to spend more time with her four grandchildren, two of whom  live in South Dakota while the other two live in this area. 

In addition, Anderson  thanked those who helped during her 20 years of service while passing on some advice to the new board. 

“I have had the pleasure of working with many administrators with integrity and honesty that put the education of our children first: Brian Reeves (the principal I have worked with the longest), Beth Horner, Courtney Castelli, Jeanne Goacher, Jack Turner, Ed Settles, Chris Grode and Gina Segobiano – the longest serving administrator during my time,” she said.   

“My advice to the new board would be to take advantage of all the educational opportunities offered.  You may be great in your current professional field, but education and the many mandates that are passed down by the state, makes this a different business model. I wish you much success as you make plans to continue to move the Columbia School District on its path to provide a great public education for the children of this community.”