Rieke hopes to make a positive impact if elected to R-2 school board

By Neal A. Johnson, UD Editor
Posted 3/25/22

Albert Rieke, 54, of Linn, is seeking election to the R-2 school board on April 5 because he hopes to make a positive impact on the education of students at the school.

“I believe Linn R-2 …

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Rieke hopes to make a positive impact if elected to R-2 school board

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Albert Rieke, 54, of Linn, is seeking election to the R-2 school board on April 5 because he hopes to make a positive impact on the education of students at the school.

“I believe Linn R-2 has provided the students with a good foundation of learning and parents are very supportive of the district,” said Rieke, who has been an Ag teacher and FFA advisor at Fatima for 28 years. “I would like to see the district continue to build upon this educational foundation and keep providing students with opportunities that will help them achieve their goals no matter what that they choose to pursue, be it a vocation (workforce), the armed forces, or continuing their education.”

Rieke added that the last two to three years have been challenging for students and teachers. “Many students may not know what normal looks like anymore,” he said. “Teachers are doing their best to catch their students up with concepts that were foregone with all the time lost due to COVID. Being a teacher and going through COVID protocols myself, I can offer my knowledge to the board of education.  I strongly believe the district needs to concentrate on retaining and recruiting quality teachers and providing them the support they need along with better compensation within the district means. I feel I can help with this concept since I have stayed with the Fatima district for my whole teaching career and can help Linn find more long-term teachers.”

Educating students should be the first priority, Rieke noted. “Many programs and opportunities are available for students to excel within the school district,” he said. “All of these programs are important in helping students find their purpose and can help them strive for success within their core classes. I believe that existing programs should be maintained and new programs should be examined but need to be affordable and able to maintain themself without sacrificing financial support for existing programs.”

Rieke also believes that turnover among administrators should be addressed. “Our students deserve better,” he said. “We need people who want to be a part of the community and live within the community that they serve, not just people who want to pad the last few years of their careers to receive a better retirement. If prior administrators lived within our community and played an active role within it, maybe some of the issues that were realized in the past could have been avoided.”

He noted that when schools receive additional funding (for example, COVID funds, etc.), which usually are a one-time windfall, serious thought needs to go into what and where these funds should be used for, including updating facilities, technology, or the fleet.

“How can some of these things get accomplished? By listening to district patrons, teachers, and students’ opinions and making informed decisions,” Rieke said. “I believe people should be able to speak their minds and sometimes we have to agree to disagree and make the best choice for the good of the students.”

Rieke said he has a fairly good handle on the running of a school being an educator for 28 years. “There are several different funds in which schools operate,” he said. “Although a majority of school funds go toward payroll, others are used for facilities, debt payment, etc. I believe this knowledge would be a strength as well as the willingness to learn additional topics about how the district operates would prove beneficial. Those that know me know I am a no-nonsense person. I am an honest person, who gets directly to the point and weighs all facts before making an informed decision. With that being said, one of my pet peeves is people who tell one person one thing and someone else the exact opposite, or telling them what they want to hear.”

Rieke has lived in Osage County for the majority of his life and was raised on a diversified crop and livestock farm in southeastern Osage County. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Ag, majoring in Animal Science, and a Masters in Education from the University of Missouri in Columbia. While at MU, he worked in the Reproductive Physiology Lab, which led him to take a job in Ohio working for a Biotherapeutics company for a year before he and Christine were married. After she graduated from MU and they were married, she moved to Ohio as well, where they lived and worked for six months before deciding to move back to Missouri. 

Albert and his wife of 29 years come May, Christine, have four daughters. Megan and her husband, Daulton Niederhelm, are expecting their first child and the Rieke’s first grandchild in May; Allison Rieke and Cody Meyer just became engaged in December, and junior Kristin and seventh-grader Emma Rieke are currently enrolled at Linn R-2.  

In addition to his teaching career, Rieke has served on many professional agricultural committees over the years and the Osage County Livestock Fair Board for more than 20 years.