BETHALTO - Dr. Natalie Langenfeld-McCoy wants to help.
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Langenfeld-McCoy, one of nine candidates running for a seat on the Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 Board of Education, shared more about who she is and what she stands for. After filling one of the vacancies on the school board last summer, she hopes to earn another four years to serve the Bethalto community and the students.
“I just wanted to help because I really care about the school district,” she said. “I’ve got a lot of kids in the district and I want them to have the best education, but really, I was just motivated to help because I didn’t like seeing what was happening. Right now, I think that we have a lot of great candidates that want to help, and they all have differing experiences and qualifications. I think that, really, our community has a lot of great options to get somebody in there, whoever they want in there, to lead the school on the right path.”
Langenfeld-McCoy works at Nestle Purina PetCare as a manager and data scientist. She previously taught at the high school and collegiate level while obtaining her doctorate.
She has two children at Civic Memorial High School and two younger kids who are preparing to enter kindergarten. She volunteers at her 5-year-old’s school and coaches his soccer team. She decided to apply for the school board seat because she wanted to make sure the district continues to be a great place to raise a family.
“Our life revolves around our kids,” she explained. “I just wanted to make sure that there was someone there that cared, that they were just there to try to do what was best for the district. I don’t have an agenda. I really just want to take in information and make good decisions that keep the district on track.”
As a member of the board, Langenfeld-McCoy is concerned about transparency and communication. She wants to see more communication between the board and the community. She is pleased with the Eagle Eye discussions and surveys that have gone out to increase community involvement, and she wants to continue this trend.
She thinks transparency could be increased by restructuring the board meetings to encourage more community participation. She noted she has a “big appreciation” for the board’s long-time members, and she emphasized that everyone serving on the board is a great advocate for kids.
“The school board is doing great things,” she added. “The people that are on the school board have the best interests in place. I think when people say transparency, it’s with this underlying idea that we’re hiding something. And it’s really just, from my experience, not the case. Everybody there has the best interests, and I don’t think anybody’s trying to hide anything…It’s really just trying to do the best for the kids.”
As the consolidated election on April 1, 2025, approaches, Langenfeld-McCoy encourages people to vote for the candidates they believe will continue to improve the district. She is proud of the schools, and she wants to see them thrive.
“Really, I just want good people in there that want the best for the district, and I really think there are a lot of good candidates that everyone can choose from,” she said. “If you think my qualifications would make me a good candidate to be on the school board, I’m happy to continue to serve the district.”
This is the eighth in a series of nine articles about the Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 Board of Education candidates.
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