Schlueter says time's not right for school upgrades

Tom Schlueter is painfully aware of how much influence one’s high school years can have on one’s adult life. Since his freshman year, he’s been blessed with the nickname “Chopper.”

Schlueter, who’s running for a seat on the Hutchinson District 423 School Board, learned another painful lesson this past February. He had a stroke, which he said gave him a new perspective on life.

He’s regained most of his normal functioning after a months-long rehabilitation process. Schlueter said one upshot to the experience was he had the chance to watch a lot of School Board meetings on cable. He didn’t like what he saw.

“I was like, ‘Come on people,’” he recalled. “I’m sitting here and I’m supposed to be the one with the half-functioning brain. I said, ‘I can make better decisions than that.’”

Past experience
Although he’s never held a public office, Schlueter has been on the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran School Board for five years.

Schlueter said he’s been following the Hutchinson School Board since 2002, when voters defeated a proposal for a new high school. Schlueter expects a similar outcome for this year’s building bond vote.

He thinks voters are facing difficult economic circumstances. “The timing is terrible,” he added.

For more on this story, which is part of a series of profiles on School Board candidates, see the Leader’s Oct. 7 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)