Jason Harrison

Our Daily Show Interview! Jason Harrison- Candidate for Alton School Board

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ALTON - As the Alton Community Unit School District #11 Board of Education gears up for the consolidated election on April 1, 2025, Board of Education candidate Jason Harrison shared more about his goals if elected.

There are four Board of Education seats up for grabs in ACUSD11. Harrison and five other candidates are hoping to fill those seats. In a recent interview on “Our Daily Show!” with C.J. Nasello, Harrison explained that his first goal is to advocate for those who need it.

“One of the main things, I want to be a voice to those who feel like they don’t have a voice, whether that’s educators, whether that’s parents or whether even that’s students,” he explained. “I want to bring some innovation to the team. I’m familiar with AI. I’m familiar with STEAM, science, technology, engineering, arts, math. It’s so relevant to where we are now and to where jobs are going to be.”

As a business owner, Harrison is interested in entrepreneurship and helping students find jobs. He said he is a “product of trade from Alton High,” as he learned about the hospitality and cooking industries in the J.B. Johnson Career Development Center at Alton. These lessons still benefit him today.

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Harrison believes that students can build skills in the classroom to help them in the real world. As an example, he shared that he recently hired over 40 Alton High School students when he had a major contract with the Missouri Botanical Garden, which helped Harrison’s business and benefited the students.

He wants to see more partnerships between the school district and the community, and he hopes to help facilitate those partnerships. He noted that students need more opportunities to build their entrepreneurial and job skills.

“What we desperately need is more community centers spread about our community for children,” he said. “But not just a safe haven. A safe haven is definitely important, but we also need to incorporate entrepreneurial pieces in there. Not only teaching them about entrepreneurship, but something that actually hires them and gives them jobs, from the youth all the way to the high school.”

Harrison said that he has been thinking about running for the Board of Education seat for years, but it wasn’t until recently that he felt like he could be “an asset where [he] can add value to the Board.” He said he didn’t want to run prematurely; he feels like he is now in a “season” where he can make a real difference on the Board.

Ultimately, Harrison said he hopes to help the kids and educators in the community. He noted that he will continue to advocate for people no matter if he is elected or not, but he believes the ACUSD11 Board of Education is his next step in supporting the community.

“I believe that every child has a seed within them that just needs to be fostered, cultivated, moved up for them,” he added. “If I’m not elected, I’m still going to do it. My love for my community, my activism doesn’t stop because I’m not elected or if I am elected. I’m bringing a history of, I’ve always been an advocate. I’ve always fought for individuals.”

The election is scheduled for April 1, 2025.

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