Travis Allen (2014 candidate for the Board of Education) Salisbury, N.C.
♦ I would like to start this letter with a resounding thank you to all of the teachers and support staff that work in our school system. My daughter graduated from West Rowan High School last year, and my wife and I have 3 boys currently in our Rowan County Schools. We have one at Mt. Ulla Elementary, one at West Middle and one at the high school. Needless to say I am very familiar with the state of our schools, and have been for some time. My wife is an assistant teacher at Mt. Ulla Elementary.
I am probably one of the very few people in the county who have actually been in every one of our public schools. I am currently employed as a Criminal Investigator with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. I’ve been with the Sheriff’s Office for going on 17 years, and spent three years with the City of Salisbury Police before the Sheriff’s Office. I hold a Master’s Degree, and teach Organized Crime and Constitutional Law as an adjunct instructor at RCCC. Prior to being promoted to an investigator I spent a little over a year assigned to School Safety and Community Relations. I spent many hours and days walking the halls of the schools in our county. I would stand at the doors and listen to the teachers instructing our children. I have always been amazed at what a good job our teachers did with such limited help. Their patience and devotion were very impressive. I’ve seen them arrive early and leave late. I’ve seen them spend their own money for their classroom. I have observed teachers in classrooms with more children than most could handle, and yet they always seemed to manage.
The recent squabble between the Board of Commissioners and the School Board was a struggle to say the least. I watched the many meetings between the two boards here on RFP as well as other media sources and just shook my head. I do not think that anyone can argue with the fact that our school buildings across the county need some major work. I can understand the Board of Education going before the County Commissioners and asking for assistance. I can understand the County Commissioners trying to accommodate them to the best of their ability while trying to protect the tax paying citizens.
Contrary to the view of many in the political arena, I liked the vigorous debate between the two boards. An adverse political climate often protects both groups involved because it insures that no single entity can remove the liberties or rights of the other. General George S Patton stated “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” I believe this incident gave the citizens of our county a very good look into the true priorities of each board. When a compromise was finally completed it was not the final price tag that I was discouraged with. I was encouraged to hear that Knox would get the many need upgrades, and I think the new elementary school for the western community will be a great benefit to the education of those students. I would caution however that throwing money at education does not fix the problems we are facing. Our nation spends more money on education than ever before and yet our system gets worse. Money is not the answer.
I do take issue with one part of the 40 million dollar agreement. What bothered me were the priorities of many of our school board members. I have to be honest. I detest spending 7 million on a Central Office. I do not care where it is built. The idea in and of itself is flawed. Being “centralized” is an archaic term. Business and corporations today are global. We don’t walk down the hall and talk anymore. We communicate and meet via media and technology. Maybe 20 years ago a central office would fit into a practical business model. Today that is not the case.
I realize the Long St. and Ellis St. offices are no longer sufficient, but there were several low cost options the school board refused consider. I ask why? Why was the only job that was “shovel ready” the central office? I think that it is a slap in the face to the students, teachers and support staff our school system. We have children in trailers. We have over worked and under paid teachers. We treat our support staff, assistant teachers, cafeteria and janitorial employees like meaningless servants. We have countless buildings that need upgrades. With all of this our main priority is a 7 million dollar facility that will not do a single thing to educate a student. My soul what we could do with $7 million! Why is it even a consideration? What parent reading this would buy a new $40,000 vehicle yet deprive your children of shoes, food and medical attention. Well, that is exactly what some of our board is doing. They are building a 7 million dollar building when our children need the basics. They are building a 7 million dollar building while teachers are printing copies and working 10+ hour days just to stay ahead. If I were a school board member or an administrator I would rather have my meetings or office in a trailer than placing 20 some children and a teacher in one. It is all about priorities. This is not a trivial point. This is a picture of the mindset that rules our school system. We in law enforcement call it a method of operation. Actions speak louder than words. This is a true indication of where my children and your children stand in their list of priorities. If you are a teacher you now know where you stand. They get 7 million while you get more work, longer hours and less support.
Schools are struggling and it is not just a problem here in Rowan County. Our leaders in education on the local, state a national level have abandoned traditional education for a contemporary liberal philosophy. The problem with our schools is the direction and leadership of those in charge, and it starts right here at the local level. Many of our local school board members fall right into this mold. I wonder if they even know it. I wonder if they realize what type of leadership they have become. It is a leadership that abandoned the teacher, student and classroom. It is a leadership that has forgotten the parents. It is leadership that has abandoned common sense curriculums and embraced the failing Common Core Curriculum. Our school board should be on the front line in the fight against this. It is a leadership that has no accountability in spending. It is a leadership that protects the jobs and salaries of administrative positions while stripping the schools of assistant teachers and smaller class sizes. It is a leadership that will not face the fact that what they are doing has not worked and will not work. I pray that our superintendent can lead our schools out of the educational recession we are experiencing. It appears that she is a very competent person, and she shows great promise. Given the right support I believe she can help our children. However, without a school board that is willing to change their philosophy I fear she will not be able to do so.
I recently decided to stop complaining about these things and actually try and do something about it. I decided to run for the West Rowan Seat on the Rowan Salisbury Board of Education that is currently held by Kay Wright Norman. I hold no ill will against Mrs. Norman. She is an educator and has devoted hundreds of hours to our children. I am sure she has been a wonderful mentor to the students she has had over the years. For that I say thank you. She has served our community for many years. I am sure she is passionate about her career. However, I believe that a new direction is need. We can no longer afford to waste resources, and neglect our employees and children. We can no longer sacrifice the needs of our students for plush offices and administrative perks. We are a top heavy school system with too many chiefs and not enough Indians. I would like to see the Rowan Salisbury School System become the standard bearer across the state. We have the teachers. We have the families, and we have the community that can make this happen.
Thank you for listening to me. I look forward to sharing my ideas with the citizens of Rowan County in the next few months. I hope to earn your support. I am a lifelong resident of this county. I am a registered Republican and have been all of my life. However, I view myself as a conservative more than anything else. My strings are not pulled by any party or political group to the left or the right. I am not the puppet of any county commissioner nor school board member. I am an individual who believes in my faith, family, personal accountability and hard work. I believe in limited government. I am proud to be an American. I will not join a party, group or organization just to get their votes. I will not come tell you what I think you want to hear. However, I will come give my ideas where ever I am invited. I do not claim to have all the answers, I can promise you my priorities will be in the right place. I believe that we can be financially responsible and aggressive in growth and development at the same time. I have a plan where the school system itself can assist with capital improvements, raise teacher incentives (thus attracting the best candidates) without placing an added burden on the taxpayer. If our priorities are in the right place I believe we can become one of the best systems in the state. If you have any questions or concerns you may reach me by email at pccdeputy@aol.com
