Roys proud of her time on MFL MarMac School Board

By Audrey Posten | Times-Register

Gina Roys presided over her final MFL MarMac School Board meeting on Dec. 8. It was a bittersweet moment for Roys, who’d served on the board since 2009 and held the position of president for over a decade.

“It’s bittersweet because I’ve enjoyed it. I loved what happened over those years,” Roys reflected, “but I’m just at a different point in my life. I have other things to focus on right now.”

Roys recalled when she first ran for school board her son—and youngest child—was starting junior kindergarten. Her two daughters were already in school. She had just taken a job at Clayton County Recycling and her family was living near Monona. 

“I wanted to be another part in my kids’ lives in the education system,” she said.

At the time, one conversation with a community member who was encouraging her to run stood out.

“They said, ‘You get on the school board, but it’s not changes you want make for your kids. It will be for your grandkids.’ I thought they were crazy,” Roys said, “but it’s true.”

Yes, Roys saw all her children through school—and was proud to sign and hand each of them their diplomas on graduation day. But now, she has two grandchildren who are future Bulldogs, poised to benefit from 16 years of service by Roys and her fellow school board members.

Roys credited MFL MarMac Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and veteran board members Patti Ruff and Patty Burkle—both of whom succeeded her as president—for helping her learn the ropes early on.

“The first year I was scared to death. I didn’t know anything,” she said. “I’m an accountant by trade. School finance is way different.”

“There’s a whole bigger picture than what anyone thinks about,” Roys continued. “It was very interesting and scary at the same time. But I hit the ground running and learned a lot.”

After Ruff left the board and Burkle became president, Roys was encouraged to become vice president. When Burkle retired, Roys was elected board president for the first time in 2013.

Her role expanded to working even more closely and communicating more often with the superintendent, particularly on finances, projects and legislation. She signed legal documents, checks and contracts. 

“There’s a few extra things to do,” Roys quipped.

During Roys’s tenure on the board, MFL MarMac oversaw safety upgrades, construction of the auditorium, remodeling at the McGregor Center and the elementary edition, athletic facility and field maintenance and a new crow’s nest—just to name a few projects. Now, a new bus barn is in the works. 

In addition to that, though, “we always prided ourselves on taking care of the nuts and bolts of the district,” said Roys. “We always prided ourselves on making sure our parking lots and our roofs and our air conditioning units were up to date.”

She’s also proud MFL MarMac could manage those efforts while being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars.

Managing projects and school finances don’t rank as the most challenging issues Roys had to deal with in 16 years, however. That honor goes to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Navigating that was crazy,” she recalled. “That was a case where I worked with not only the superintendent, but we worked with the Department of Health and the Department of Ed. As soon as anything would come out, we would evaluate it and then we would be able to act upon it.” 

Roys remembered one school board meeting, in particular, near the start of the 2021-2022 school year. There was such a crowd the meeting had to be moved from the high school library to the auditorium.

“There were so many people, so many questions, and they were looking to us for answers and we’re like, ‘We can only do the best with the information we’re given. Our ultimate goal is to protect the students and our staff,’” she said.

In all it does, the school board has the best interests of staff and students in mind, according to Roys. She’s happy to see enrollment has either grown or remained stable in the past decade—something not all school districts can say. MFL MarMac is also turning out what Roys believes are well-rounded students, thanks to community partnerships, in-school collaboration and hands-on learning.

“It gives me pride that the things we’ve done over the past years are enticing some of people to come to or come back to our community,” she said.

Roys encourages others to get involved, as she did in 2009, if they have a passion for the education system and providing opportunities for students. Varying perspectives make for a good board.

“We have a lot of discussions. In a board meeting, sometimes we agree and sometimes we don’t, and then sometimes we agree to disagree. It’s always good to have lots of different people on there that have different specialties. Everybody brings a special piece to the puzzle,” she said, “but everybody has the ultimate goal: we want to see MFL MarMac succeed.”

Now, as she steps away from the board, Roys joked she might attend a meeting or two. After all, she has to find out how the bus barn project progresses. 

Roys even admitted she’ll miss giving a speech at commencement. 

“As much as my voice cracked and I was up there in front of all those people—I’m not a public speaker by any means,” she said. “It was just the pride of that graduating class. Giving that speech and handing those diplomas to those kids that work so hard and to see them closing one chapter, but opening another.”

That’s what she’s doing now, too.