Two seats. Three candidates. It’s time for the people of Clayton to decide who will be the next two members of the Clayton Board of Education.
Both Jane Klamer and Lily Raymond are two-term incumbents hoping for reelection. Klamer is the current vice president of the Board and Raymond holds the position of secretary. For Darryl Higuchi, however, this is the first time running for a position on the Board.
On his website he said, “I’m running because of my concern for the issues facing our children, teachers, and school system.”
Higuchi is originally from Hawaii, but moved to St. Louis to attend Washington University. He has worked at Washington University for 35 years doing scientific research in the Divisions of Hematology and Rheumatology. He also has an MBA from the Washington University School of Business. He said that his science background has given him “years of analytical and diagnostic skills helpful in analyzing any issue.”
He has been a part of the Clayton community for over 25 years and has three children, two of which have already graduated from Clayton schools. Higuchi says he was attracted to the Clayton area primarily because of the school district.
“I’ve been participating in the science curriculum committee for the past three years and also been following the math curriculum,” Higuchi said. “With my background and my MBA degree I think I could make a positive contribution to the school board.” Higuchi also believes that, since he has not been a part of the Board prior to this, he could offer some fresh perspective.
Klamer, on the other hand, believes that it is her experience working on the Board that makes her a viable candidate for reelection. Klamer has lived in the Clayton area for 30 years and has served on the Board for two terms. She attended the University of Virginia where she obtained a BA in Studio Art and Religious Studies. She has also received a Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University School of Law. She has two children, one has graduated from Clayton schools already while the other is still enrolled.
“I think at this point I’ve been going to Board meetings for over 10 years,” Klamer said. “So I have the perspective of watching a number of Boards grapple with different decisions a great number of those years. That gave me some background that was very beneficial.”

Raymond has also had past experience serving on the Board. However Raymond has a far different background than Klamer. She received a degree in Counseling Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. She works as a psychologist at the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center.
Raymond believes that her background in psychology has helped her during her time on the Board. “Listening is really important to me in my profession and working towards consensus and communication,” she said.
On the days of the week when she is not working at the Rehabilitation Center she volunteers in classrooms and tutors students. Both of her children are currently attending Clayton schools.

She said that her years on the Board have given her “a keener critical eye, and a deeper understanding of and experience with how to effectuate change within the Clayton School District.”
All three candidates agree that, given the current economic climate, the Board is going to have to direct more focus towards resource allocation and making minor cutbacks.
“We’re running a budget deficit,” Klamer said. “We’re going to have to make some pretty hard decisions about how we’re spending our money.”
Raymond agreed. “I believe we should look carefully at all our expenditures and find areas where we could be more efficient. We need to continually evaluate our expenses and our revenues so that we are responsible stewards of our resources.”
However, though cuts are going to have to be made the candidates said that they will ensure that Clayton maintains its status as top-achieving high school. “I think decisions should be student focused and that we should understand what is important to students,” Higuchi said. “We need to retain high quality teachers and make sure that everyone has the resources to make sure kids can be challenged as well as be successful once they leave high school.”
The candidates also expressed a desire to bridge the large gap between honors and regular classes.
“I think that the whole curriculum could be made challenging for everyone so that they have a high level of achievement. I’ve talked to former graduates of Clayton High School and they’ve pointed out the same thing – that some of their classes were not as challenging,” Higuchi said.

Each one of the candidates has different backgrounds and different strengths. For Higuchi, his belief in the importance of fresh perspective sets him apart from Klamer and Raymond, both of whom maintain that experience is what makes them the best suited to positions on the Board.
However, regardless of their differences, each one of the candidates clearly has a strong desire to help the community and to ensure that each child that goes through the Clayton school system receives a quality education.