Published: May 11, 2008 09:18 pm         

Board of Ed. candidates discuss issues facing Mercer

BLUEFIELD — Three candidates running for seats on the Mercer County Board of Education met recently with the editorial board of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph to discuss issues concerning schools in Mercer County.

Two incumbents, Mary Alice Kaufman of Bluefield and Lynne E. White of Athens are running along with candidates Mona Poling of Bluefield, Kenny Harmon of Kegley and Brandon K. Young of Princeton. Harmon and Young did not reply to invitations from the Daily Telegraph to participate in the editorial board session.

Lynne E. White lives in Athens with her husband Jim, a political science professor at Concord University, and their two sons, Tom, an eighth grader and Teddy, a fourth grader. Both boys attend Athens School. The Whites moved to Athens 10 years ago from Durham, NC, and Lynne White has been on the board of education since 2004. White currently works with Concord University Student Affairs where she supports the university’s student retention activities by coordinating the intramural program and Parents Club. She also assists with the development and delivery of the first year student University 100 class and analyzing student retention data. White also supplements technology support to the Division of Social Sciences faculty and students.

Mona Poling began teaching gifted students for Mercer County Schools before becoming a principal. She was principal at Ramsey Elementary for two years and for 23 years at Memorial Elementary. While at Memorial, White was contacted by the West Virginia Education Fund, now the WV Alliance. Memorial was asked to participate in a research project funded by the Benedum Foundation to identify the characteristics of elementary schools in West Virginia that consistently produced higher levels of student achievement.

Five hundred sixty-eight schools’ test data for five years was analyzed, Poling said. Three high achieving schools were paired with three low achieving schools with similar populations. All schools remained anonymous. Memorial was one of the high achieving schools.

“We were pleased to be part of this important study. I appreciated the opportunity of sharing with you today. If elected to the board of education, I will continue to work hard for students, parents, school personnel and members of the community,” Poling said.

Poling said while teaching in Ohio, she was offered a two year graduate fellowship at Ohio University. She accepted it and completed her Masters in Education and all the course work on a Ph.D. She did her internship at Concord College and returned to Concord to serve as Dean of Women and teach in the Education Department. Poling also did adjunct teaching at Bluefield College.

Mary Alice Kaufman is a retired educator who worked for more than 30 years in Mercer County. She taught at Memorial Elementary for 10 years before becoming assistant principal at Glenwood School.

Kaufman served as interim principal at Ramsey School in 1985 before being assigned to Mercer Elementary in Princeton where she remained for 16 years. She retired in 2001 and worked for the State Department of Education, focusing on low performing schools, and for Monroe County Schools as a consultant before being elected to the Mercer County Board of Education in 2004.

“Perhaps the most meaningful honors I received during my years at Mercer were “Extra Miler” recommended by my staff, West Virginia Principal of the Year by the West Virginia Education Fund and Mercer was the first school in Southern West Virginia to be designated a West Virginia School of Excellence,” Kaufman said.

“I was very honored that after seven years of many fund raising ventures and the determination and hard work of the Mercer School PTO and staff, we built the student life center, a gymnasium used by both the school and community, which was named after me,” she said. “I belong to a family of educators. My son-in-law is the principal of Bluefield Middle School, one daughter has taught in this county for 20 years, a daughter that substitutes and our granddaughter began her teaching career at Oakvale School this year. My husband retired from Bluefield State College after serving as Professor of Education for 34 years. His career was spent training teachers.”

Each candidate answered a series of questions asked by the editorial board.



Are you satisfied with Superintendent Deborah Akers?

Poling: “I think Dr. Akers is a very talented person who has moved our county in a positive direction for many years,” Poling said. “We’re usually on the cutting edge as opposed to other counties. What they’re excited about, we’ve been doing for years. She’s doing a very fine job.”

Kaufman: “I think Dr. Akers has done a very good job,” Kaufman said.

Akers has helped teachers in Mercer County be the best they want to be as teachers, she said. And Dr. Akers has kept the county school system “in the black.” The school system is fully accredited and it is meeting the needs of the 21st Century. Dr. Akers has been “very fair” in allocating tax money in the school system, including additional money for medical expenses.

White: White said she concurred with Poling’s and Kaufman’s assessments of Dr. Akers’ performance.

“She is a very talented individual,” White said. She has brought maintenance to schools where it was not being done, the school system is in the black, and it is fully accredited.



Where do you draw the line between sufficient school security and a prison-like atmosphere?

Poling: “You must have structure and discipline in a school,” Poling said, adding that parents must feel their children are safe there. “I don’t associate that with a prison-like atmosphere.”

When shootings such as the ones at Columbine High School occurred, security at local schools was tightened, she said.

“School can be the safest place a child can be,” Poling said.

Kaufman: Kaufman said she concurred that structure and discipline are necessary. Measures such as locking school doors and developing emergency procedures have been taken as precautions.

“The best security is teachers being alert and being part of the system in a good environment with good communications,” she said.

Kaufman recalled a bomb threat at Princeton Middle School that demonstrated procedures put in place. Students were immediately moved to a nearby church.

“I think we’re all in the county aware and very organized,” she said.

It is also important to communicate with children so they will feel they are safe, she said.

White: Despite the awful things that have happened in other schools in the nation, schools are one of the safest places where student can be, White said. Local schools do a good job with security. There are identification badges, teachers in the halls and principals who know their communities, she said. It is easier for principals in smaller schools to know what is happening in their communities.

Security officers in schools do a good job, but White said she wonders what students think of them, and how they would react if officers had different uniforms such a khaki shirts.

“Security cameras are wonderful assets,” White said. “The state is making more money available for key cards on doors. I think there are lots of things we can do to make schools a safe environment.”



How would you characterize overzealous parental complaints?

White: White said she felt it was a “real privilege” to be elected. She said she had heard parents’ concerns and complaints, even being stopped in grocery stores.

White explained that while she may not always agree with a parent’s concern, she will try to share the information with other board members and work to address the issue.

Kaufman: Kaufman said she welcomed the calls, and that every call is important. She will listen to concerns, offer advice, try to help parents find the people in the school system administration that they need to speak with, and share the concerns with Superintendent Akers. Many times the calls are about administrative concerns that may not be solved.

“Not any call is unimportant,” Kaufman said.

Poling: Parent concerns are always important, Poling said, adding that she sometimes lacks information, but she would try to guide them to the appropriate person or persons at the school board’s central office. She said she tries to understand the situation and give guidance about what to do. Parents provide valuable information about what is going on in schools.



Do you feel state, federal mandates interfere with local autonomy?

Poling: State and federal laws regarding education must be obeyed even though there are times when you would rather do something differently, Poling said. There are things in the federal No Child Left Behind mandates that educators would like to change.

Kaufman: There are a number of decisions on the state and federal level that “tie our hands,” Kaufman said. The decisions have given some opportunities.

“Without state support and state guidance, it would be utter chaos,” she said.

White: State and federal governments do provide important resources, White said. State and federal government could do a better job of providing input up front rather than reacting to information. In No Child Left Behind, test scores have been used in a punitive rather than a supportive way.



What are your plans to promote the arts in schools?

Kaufman: There are not enough teachers qualified to teach art such as drawing, music and drama, Kaufman said. Finding qualified teachers in all areas of the arts is difficult. The state tends to cut costs in the arts first when money is a concern.

“I would like to see at least a part-time art teacher in every school,” she said. Music in all schools would be good, too. Drama classes are in high schools in most cases.

“It would be wonderful to offer drama to elementary schools,” she said.

Kaufman said she is seeing a decline at many schools in interest for the arts. Not having enough students for choirs and bands is the direct result of not offering enough of such opportunities in elementary schools.

White: There is a need to find more funding to hire enough art teachers, White said. When funding is available, the school system needs to know if it can be used to hire arts instructors.

Sometimes state and federal mandates for time spent on subjects like reading and math lead to less time for the arts and physical education, White said.

Poling: One problem with offering scheduling mandates, Poling said. When the mandates are met, there is less time for arts classes. She added that in 25 years as a principal, she had never had an art teacher. Teachers need to be integrating art into their classes.



What are your basic guidelines on child expulsion from school?

Kaufman: The board of education basic guidelines for expulsions are part of the county and state code, Kaufman said, adding that since she had been on the school board, no expulsion has not been based on code.

White: White said the basic expulsion guidelines are based on state and county policy.

All three candidates agreed that nothing was more heartbreaking than expelling a student from school. Under state code, a student must be expelled for felony level offenses involving drugs and weapons.



How can teachers regain control of the English language in classrooms? (Text messaging, e-mails, rock lyrics, etc.?)

White: White, who works part-time at Concord University, sees the use of text message and e-mail abbreviations even at the university level. She said she counsels students to use more formal English. White said while she is not a professional educator, she would have standards showing students when text message language is and is not appropriate. The audience an essay or letter is aimed at must be considered.

Kaufman: Kaufman said penmanship is no longer emphasized. Much of today’s writing is done on computers, so students are not taught what is expected in formal English.

“I really think we should be teaching penmanship and teaching the correct formation of letters and grammar,” she said. “We need to emphasize these skills, and I think it is not happening now.”

Poling: Like Kaufman, Poling said she felt computers have changed how students look at writing, and that the rules of writing and grammar need to be emphasized in class.



What do you think is the reason more teachers are indicted for student sex abuse?

White: White said she hoped that more cases are reported because schools are more vigilant. Teachers and staff have better training about what to look for in sexual abuse cases.

Poling: Poling said that she believes teachers and students know it is wrong, and that alert administrators know what to look for. As for why more cases are reported, Poling said she thinks there has been a change in society. Teachers and students are more willing to report sexual abuse.

“I’m appalled by it [sexual abuse,]” she said. Superintendent Akers has not kept such cases confined to the central office. She has called in the police and there is zero tolerance, Poling said.

Kaufman: “I think we’re more aware in Mercer County and address it very quickly,” Kaufman said. In one case, a student having rehabilitation recalled being sexually abused by a teacher years earlier, and it was addressed. In another case, an alleged sexual abuse incident happened not at school, but during the summer break. It too was addressed and the teacher did not come back to school, Kaufman said.



What area of Mercer County Schools is at the top of your list for emergency funding?

Kaufman: Kaufman said safety issues and alleviating crowding at some schools were on top of her list. When it comes to overcrowding, Ceres Schools is an example. And at Glenwood School, computers and other equipment needed in classrooms are causing crowding; the school was originally built for 100 students.

Poling: Poling wanted more funding for personnel such as physics teachers and student counselors. She knows one counselor who has to serve four schools.

White: Making more schools accessible to students with disabilities would be a good way to spend emergency funds and should be a high priority, White said. Many “fragile” children are bused to Princeton Primary, a school with Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations.



Explain your position on tenure.

Kaufman: Tenure is a security for teachers, and “they certainly work for it,” Kaufman said. Without tenure, teachers are afraid they can be easily passed over. Tenure was created in the days when political parties would had out teaching jobs based on political affiliation.

Poling: Many of the problems related to hiring for school positions is based on seniority rather than tenure, Poling said, adding she has been limited to who she could hire based on seniority. The hiring of service personnel is strictly seniority, she said.

White: White said she supported the principle of tenure. It protects academic freedom so educators will not be fired due to points of view. There are appropriate policies and evaluation criteria for teachers. White said she did not think tenure would interfere with dealing with teachers who should not be teaching.



Do you have any closing comments?

Kaufman: “I think the board should work towards equity,” Kaufman said. “Each school should get what it needs to progress.”

Each student should have the opportunity to progress to the best of his or her ability, she said.

Poling: Schools should look at individual students and test them when needed, look at each individual student’s needs, and continue to help them do the maximum they can do, she said.

White: The public should active participants in public schools, White said. The public’s voice is really important to every decision, she emphasized.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

     

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