Harper Runs for School Board Re-election

Katrina Harper is not a ‘Brentwoodian’ but is married to one. Her husband, , is Brentwood born, raised and schooled.

“I didn’t understand the allegiance; the ‘Brentwood’ thing,” she said while chatting in her kitchen before going to work. But the 42-year-old social worker-turned-administrator does “get it” now, and wants to contribute more to the community that she has called home for the past 10 years.

Harper is running for re-election on the Brentwood Board of Education. She currently occupies the seat held by former board member Bill Lynch, who died last year. She was appointed to the board in October 2010, and was one of two applicants; the other was a neighbor and university professor. She is seeking to serve left by Lynch.

Confident, caffeinated (usually) and colorful in a bright turquoise tunic and black leggings, Harper said she has the skills and experience for a school board member.

A vice president at the Crider Health Center, Harper is in charge of Crider's school-based mental-health programs for children in Lincoln, Warren, St. Charles and Franklin counties.

“My professional career has exposed me to many of the things affecting my own school district,” she said. “I understand school culture and policies.” She has employees working within the school districts served by Crider.

As an administrator at Crider Health, Harper is also responsible for an annual budget of more than $5 million. “I understand the financial aspect of programming, planning or projecting," all of which translates well to her role as a board member, she said.

Harper is not concerned about a shortfall in revenue that the school district is weathering. An error in calculating tax rates resulted in a $1 million loss that will be repaid but over three years. Local property values are declining and the tax collection rate has dropped slightly.

“I don’t think we will have to make cuts at this time,” she said. “The majority of our funding comes from the local tax base.” In fact, the Brentwood district gets approximately 95 percent of its revenue from local sources.

If financial shearing becomes necessary, Harper said she would avoid anything impacting academics. She is also against merging grades as a cost-cutting measure.

“I think that’s one of things that makes Brentwood unique is its class size,” she said. “I am open-minded to consider what we have to do, but would not be in favor of changing the teacher-student ratio.”

She cited the small ratio as a factor in allowing Brentwood teachers to reach out to students who are troubled. “They can detect subtle changes,” she said.

Another challenge facing the district is its aging school buildings. The board recently approved a building study. “The buildings are of the age that they need to be assessed for the future,” Harper said. “We need to look at the flow. We need to make sure that our buildings are positive, welcoming environments.”

As a social worker, Harper is accustomed to listening to people and their problems. She feels the school board should be similarly receptive. “As a district, we need to make sure that our families are heard. We don’t want our families to feel that we are not listening. We may not agree, but it’s important to know they’ve been heard,” she said.

The most difficult decision Harper has made in her five-month tenure as a school board member? The selection of a , a topic that still triggers an emotional response among some in Brentwood.

Harper is married to Anthony Harper, a former school board member and current Ward 1 Alderman, who is running unopposed for re-election this year. The couple has a daughter, Abby, 12 years old, who is passionate about basketball.

There is no typical day for a social worker, and that goes for Harper and her family, too. The needs of her family members dictate their plans at time. “For the most part, I would say my days are just like everyone else: full of things that you ‘have to’ do and things that you ‘get to’ do,” she said.

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Katrina S. Harper
2236 St. Clair Avenue

PERSONAL: Age 42. Married to Anthony Harper. They have one daughter, Abby, 12.

OCCUPATION: Vice president of children’s community-based care for Crider Health Center.

EDUCATION: Harper received a bachelor’s degree in social work in 1991 from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a master’s degree in social work in 1996 from the University of Missouri in Columbia.

RELEVANT BACKGROUND: Harper has 20 years experience in the social service field and is the administrator of a school-based mental health program. She was nominated and attended Focus St. Louis-Leadership St. Louis Program, a leadership development program.

Editor's note: This is the third article in a series of candidate profiles leading up to the April 5 election.