RFP Staff
♦ Tuesday evening’s Board of Education Candidates Forums at Catawba College drew a fair number of empty seats in the audience. Lawrence Helms, a challenging school board candidate, was a no show. Incumbents present were Richard Miller, L.A. Overcash, Kay Wright Norman, and Jean Kennedy. Challengers present were Dean Hunter, Travis Allen, Phil Hardin, and W.F. Owens.
Each candidate was provided the opportunity to present opening and closing comments, as well as answer several questions. Each was given two minutes each time they responded.
The questions were submitted by the Salisbury Post readers and covered such topics as policy, diversity, budget cuts, the Central Office, relationships with the county commissioners and the Salisbury City council, and preparing students for the future. New questions were introduced after each candidate for a particular seat had a chance to answer.
Phil Hardin, a retired school system technology employee, told the audience he wanted to help the board refocus on student priorities and teacher success. He said budget cuts forced the school district to examine its priorities and find more grant funding. He stressed not cutting teaching staff and not cutting teaching assistants. He wanted the board to think creatively to get additional funding.
Richard Miller, current school board chairman said that during the four years he’s served, the board set the stage for excellence and equity. He told the audience that staff retention was a high priority for the current board. He blamed recent staffing cuts as resulting from funds being cut by the state legislature. The school board had no authority in generating monies. There comes a point when everything else has been cut so far that personnel is the only place to go.
W.F. Owens stated that school system funding ought to be cut. He won’t vote one more cent for education. He said we should not reward failure–we should reward success. Students, when they leave the school system, need to get a job. Owens focused on cost cutting. Be energy conscious, wanting to phase out high-paid administrators, and cut down on bus routes. Stirring murmers in the audience he announced that he would be ashamed to show his face as bad as things are.
Dean Hunter explained he had a vested interest in the failure or success of our school system. His wife was a teacher–his children were nearing elementary school age and many of the students he pastors attend district schools. He did not enter the race because of social issues. His decision to run came a year ago. While he believes the Central Office is a legitimate need, he thinks the current school board is making the school system’s administrators a priority over its students. Many in the audience nodded in agreement.
L.A. Overcash, on the board in the late 90s and for the past 24 months, told the audience he wants to see the board’s current initiatives through to completion, including the district’s strategic plan, one-to-one technology initiative and its energy performance contract. He stressed he’s not a politician and or a public speaker, but knows hard work. Overcash held central office up as a necessity. Under current conditions, he claimed the board is wasting time and energy. The power bill alone is astronomical. It’s a no-brainer that we’ll save money.
Travis Allen stressed the importance of prioritizing relationships and traditional teaching methods. He maintains that traditional education is not dead, believing that test scores fall as the district strays from those methods. While he acknowledged that technology is good, he also said it was important that we don’t neglect the fundamentals or get rid of classes like masonry and carpentry. Relationship is the key ingredient. We try to replace relationships with other things. Allen said the district’s priorities should be on the consolidated elementary school and Knox Middle, rather than a Central Office.
Kay Wright Norman, the board’s vice chair, has almost 20 years on the school board. She touted that experience matters in the classroom and the boardroom. Poverty is no excuse for not learning,
She noted the schools still have a problem with literacy. Technology is the world of our young people and that along with critical thinking and problem solving skills are key to preparing students for 21st century jobs.
Jean Kennedy, running unoppoa told the audience we need to feed the mind, the body and the spirit. Kennedy said when asked how to create equal learning opportunities for students coming from poverty. She said she was a child of poverty and the only difference was, no one told me I was poor. She overcame poverty through her insatiable desire to learn. Education can’t be uniform across the board. We must be able to teach to meet different needs.
The RFP will post a video of this forum as soon as it becomes available.
