Wright City candidates for board of aldermen and school board seats gathered Monday evening at the city’s Wil Heiliger Building to present themselves and answer questions at a public forum hosted by the city’s Chamber of Commerce.Three alderman candidates and four school board candidates all cited Wright City’s sense of community and excellent school district as reasons they enjoy living and serving in the area. They were asked questions, such as how they would promote the city or make improvements in their roles.First to speak was incumbent Dan Rowden, who is running unopposed for re-election to the city’s Ward 1 alderman seat. Rowden highlighted the growth of the city during his time in office. He fielded questions about Wright City’s financial status and how a consideration to sell the city’s sewer system might affect residents.Rowden sought to reassure the group that the city’s budget is tight, but manageable. He said the potential move to sell the city’s sewer system to a private operator would be a “plus” and save money for residents while providing necessary upgrades.Following Rowden was Nathan Rohr, a longtime city public works employee who helps maintain the public water system, running for the Ward 2 alderman seat.Rohr agreed that the city should divest its sewer system to avoid expenses incurred from state-mandated upgrades.“Wright City cannot afford to keep up with the upgrades,” Rohr said, calling the impending financial requirements of the system “toxic.”Rohr said other improvements he would push as an alderman would be to ask developers to repair road damage caused by construction vehicles, fix the city’s promotional sign along the North Outer Road, and improve city employee insurance benefits to increase retention.Incumbent Ward 2 Alderman James Toothman said he has seen an influx of business while on the board and has encouraged “sensible growth.”Toothman highlighted the city’s current major project to renovate the existing police station and a new city hall building, as well as build an adjacent baseball park. He was asked why the city could afford those projects but not some other improvements.“On the bond issue, you can’t use that money for anywhere other than the city hall and the police department,” Toothman explained. He said the city is being cautious with funds in part because of the potential cost of upgrading the sewer system.Four candidates competing for three open seats on the Wright City Board of Education introduced themselves and discussed their education philosophies.Teacher retention and state-level funding for public education were points of concern for several of the candidates, but members of the audience steered questions toward how each candidate would address poverty among students.About 18 percent of Wright City’s population lives below poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many students in the school district are on a free or reduced lunch program, Superintendent David Buck said.Michael Bates said he would align the school district with community programs to enable individuals to be successful, as well as providing individual support for students and empowering teachers to find innovative solutions for students’ needs.Incumbent Heidi Box said the school district already has two programs in place that are helping students living in poverty succeed. She said the one-to-one initiative is a drive to equip each student in the district with a personal Chromebook laptop they can use as a resource at school and at home, addressing the needs of students who might not have personal computers.The district also helps supply backpack meals to supplement students’ food over the weekends, Box said.Incumbent Alice Jensen said she would be open to working with community programs to provide school supplies for students, also relieving teachers from the burden of having to buy supplies with their own money.She added that although the district is moving toward more digital education, she values the relationships established in a classroom setting.Thomas Uhl suggested addressing students’ needs requires understanding that students living in poverty develop different skillsets growing up than middle-class students.He said since the education system is designed around middle-class skills, teachers need extra training and support to work with children in poverty.Uhl also said the district needs a before-and-after school program to take care of students while their parents are at work, and that he would emphasize data-driven education.Candidates