Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/405847
OCT 29 - NOV 4, 2014 UCW 9 ELECTION GUIDE 2014 ELECTION 2014: BOARD OF EDUCATION David Booth After 22 years in the army, I retired in 1996 as a Special Forces Lieu- tenant Colonel and I began my 2nd career teaching civics at South View High School. I retired last June after teaching for 18 years. The reason I am running for the Cumberland County Board of Edu- cation is that our schools are in serious trouble. Many of the problems facing our schools are the result of poor decisions made by our Superintendent, and rub- ber stamped by the board. One of the most important things parents want in a school is a safe learning environment for their children. We have increased gang activity in our schools which is being ignored or under-reported. We have lowered academic standards in our schools. Cumberland County Schools have established a mini- mum failing grade of 60 for high schools students for the first two grading periods of a semester. A student will receive a minimum grade of 60, even if they don't turn in any assignments or even attend class. In the real world you don't get 60 percent of your paycheck for doing no work! Our children are barely meeting the new lower standards on state tests that weren't that difficult to begin with. Last year, almost half of our students failed to meet the new lower standards! There is a lack of accountability by our school leaders and very little transparency by our Board of Education when it comes to most major decisions. I support making the hiring of principals and as- sistant principals more open to the public. The board should ensure they have input from parents and teachers before they hire those to whom we entrust our children. I want to change all this by bringing common sense and classroom expe- rience to a board that lacks both. I believe I will bring a unique perspective that will aid the board in making better decisions. I believe there is a great need for establishing a vocational high school in our county. A vocational high school would provide Cumberland County with a well trained workforce and prepare students to graduate and immediately find good paying jobs. We must also change disciplinary policies to allow our principals to identity and remove disruptive stu- dents from our classrooms. No student should be afraid of going to school! Additionally, we must increase educational standards if we want to improve our schools. We need fewer re- quired tests and more instructional time. This will help our students to meet higher academic standards. Finally, to meet the goal of improving our schools, we need to establish accountability at all levels. Administrators, teach- ers, parents and students must all be held responsible for ensuring our schools graduate well-prepared students. If you are happy with the current state of our schools, vote for the candidates who are satisfied with the status quo, but if you believe that our children deserve better, then I ask that you vote for me! If you would like additional information, contact me at elect- booth@aol.com. Rudy Tatum I have more than 35 years of experience as an educator in the Cumberland County School System. My experiences range from pre- kindergarten to the central office, as a teacher, instructional specialist, central office director, parent facilita- tor and principal. I have served in high schools, a middle school and elementary schools. A major focus of my career has been on keeping schools safe, student success, positive working conditions, team leadership and community relations. It has been my honor to serve as the principal of two school teams that earned the National Blue Rib- bon Award, Eastover-Central and Pauline Jones now relocated to Walker-Spivey School. The award is for the highest level of achieve- ment of schools in America. Also, the Pauline Jones team was recognized internationally for student achieve- ment and community involvement and Eastover-Central was recognized for having the highest ratings in all categories of teacher working condi- tions in our state. The Cumberland County Associa- tion of Education endorsed me along with two other candidates seeking positions on our Board of Education. I also have been endorsed by our local Goodyear Company union.I am honored to represent these support- ers of education in our community. I believe that experience and proven high results are important when selecting leaders that can help develop a world-class school system o rany high performing organiza- tion.Great communities have great schools.Our children and parents deserve no less than the best. Please vote for me as your Board of Education member.