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April 27, 2022
sReparter
BOE candidates explain philosophies at Forum
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Candidates vying for the
four Monroe County Board of
Education seats up for election
in May introduced themselves
and answered seven questions
at a two-hour political forum on
Monday, April 25. The forum was
moderated by Suzanne Lawler
of Macons WMAZ channel 13.
Timekeepers were Dr. Margie
Bryant, Carolann Evans and An
nie Stewart McCray.
Lawler said the questions were
submitted by email and U.S.
Postal Service and that candi
dates had no access to them prior
to the forum. In addition to 90
seconds to answer each question,
candidates had two minutes to
introduce themselves and two
minutes to summarize at the end.
Asked to give their philosophies
of public education, District 1
candidate Sherrye Battle said,
“Never stop learning.” District
3 incumbent Greg Head said
“Learn, grow, succeed,” the Mon
roe County School System motto,
best summarizes his philosophy
of public education and added,
“Knowledge is power; you can do
anything you want to do.”
“I’m a strong believer in public
education,” said District 3 can
didate Melissa Mixon. “A strong
foundation in public school is
the best way to adapt to the real
world.”
District 5 candidate Robert
Jenkins said he believes education
starts at home and it is very im
portant to get parents involved in
the educational process. He said
it is important to free children to
just learn in a positive environ
ment. District 5 candidate Kristi
Varnadoe said her philosophy
of public education is “Enrolled,
Enlisted, Employed,” which is
where she wants students to be
when they graduate.
District 7 incumbent Eva
Bilderback said “Learn, grow,
succeed” is her philosophy of
public education. “Were never
too old to learn,” she said. “We
learn every day of our lives.”
District 7 candidate Rick Lanford
said he would expand the school
systems motto to “Listen, learn,
grow, succeed, lead,” and said
education is the foundation of
our democracy.
The second question asked
candidates how the school
system should prepare for “rap
idly increasing growth.” First to
respond, Head said the Board of
Education needs to stay informed
from the tax base and other data
about people moving into the
county. He said it is important
to improve the school systems
athletic facilities to be able to en
gage as many students as possible
because engaged students will do
well in school. Mixon said she
knows growth is coming and is
not sure yet exactly how the BOE
should prepare but knows it will
stay informed and figure it out.
She said a new elementary school
and a new middle school are top
ics of discussion.
Jenkins said Monroe County
has to make its schools number
1 so that people will move to
Monroe County who want the
best schools. He said he is a fiscal
conservative who believes we
have to take what we have and
make it the best. Varnadoe said
she has seen rapid growth since
she graduated from Mary Persons
in 2008. She said it is priority
to keep the best teachers and
other school employees. To do so
Monroe County schools should
partner with colleges throughout
the state to attract highly quali
fied staff and should partner with
the community to support the
staff and the school system.
Bilderback said BOE has a five-
year plan and is always looking
toward the future because it takes
a lot of planning to be ready for
growth and other changes. Lan
ford said, “Plan your work, and
work your plan.” He said BOE
needs to have a good relationship
with Monroe County Board of
Commissioners and get feasibil
ity studies of the county to help it
plan. Battle said she agrees with
Lanford that the board must
evaluate growth and plan, getting
constituents, including those who
don’t have children in school, to
buy into the plans.
Question 3 asked candidates
what experience they have in
leadership and in educating
students. Varnadoe said she edu
cates students and works to lead
every day as a teacher at Howard
High School. She is also on the
leadership team and is depart
ment chair. She said the most
important part of leadership, and
an important part of teaching,
is to hear everyone. She said just
because opinions are different
doesn’t mean they’re wrong; the
best work is done by a team.
Jenkins said that part of his
position with Georgia Power is
as an instructor in training. He
said it’s a large task to accommo
date everyone but is important
to try. He said core classes and
extracurricular activities are most
important.
Lanford said he has worked
in many leadership roles in the
Methodist Church, including
chairing boards with budgets
over a million dollars. As direc
tor of the Methodist Children’s
Home in Macon he was respon
sible for 125 children. It was
decided the children would be
best served by creating their own
school system where issues could
be handled by therapists in-house
and students quickly returned to
classrooms.
Bilderback said that she learned
years ago working as a teacher’s
aide that students will act out
to get attention; the lesson for
leadership is to let everyone know
we’re listening. “We want to be
there for teachers and for the
community’ she said.
Battle said she has been on a lot
of boards but what has helped her
most in leadership is the experi
ence of administrators that let
her “boo hoo” or scream to let
it out. Mixon said that while she
has never been an educator she
has always been a voice for all
students and she is able to create
rapport with students. Head said
parents are the first teachers. He
teaches his own five children and
teaches Sunday School; he has
been active in Monroe County
classrooms and around the com
munity as the “Cat in the Hat” ad
vocating literacy. He also publicly
advocates the CTAE (vocational
programs) at Mary Persons and
Monroe County Middle School,
encouraging students in person
in the classes and donating his
BOE salary to the programs.
The fourth question asked
candidates how they would set
priorities in academics, athletics,
fine arts and other opportunities
for students.
Asked to answer first, Bilder
back said it’s important to offer
a variety of things to reach each
child. She said being able to build
the Fine Arts Center is “phe
nomenal for the kids and for the
community’’ “Each child deserves
something to make them special,”
she said.
Lanford gave examples of his
three daughters participating in
different activities and having
different experiences academi
cally in Monroe County schools.
He said it’s important for students
who want to pursue higher edu
cation to participate in extracur
ricular activities in high school.
Battle said the BOE can develop
humanities. She said corporations
are now looking for well-rounded
employees who can get along
with people.
Head said Monroe County
Schools does a great job with
CTAE. He said Monroe County
Achievement Center is a valuable
asset that helps the school system
respond to individual needs and
keep students in school. He said
BOE should try to find more
funding for students with dis
abilities and should be vigilant
to keep divisiveness, like Critical
Race Theory, out of the schools.
Mixon said Monroe County
schools offer a wide variety of
options for children in both
college and career pathways. She
sees room for improvement with
children with IEP’s, who some
times fall through the cracks. The
goal should be that each child
has a purpose. Jenkins said that
support and love is what children
want, and he has fond memories
of support from the community
when he graduated from Mary
Persons in 1983. He cited JROTC
and the new fishing team at Mary
Persons as good offerings to
reach diverse interests.
Varnadoe said the standardized
CCRPI scores and health and
wellness surveys required by the
state provide data that can help
Monroe County schools know
where priorities should be. She
said Monroe County schools
are doing great things with PBIS
(positive intervention strategies).
“Learning starts at home, but not
everyone has that privilege,” she
said.
Question #5 asked for the three
best characteristics of Monroe
County schools and three areas
where improvements are needed.
The answers focused heavily on
positives.
Battle said children are the most
important seed; she said to water
them and watch them grow to get
the best vegetable you ever saw.
She said improvement might be
made in serving special needs
children and that special needs
teachers deserve halos.
Mixon said parents, students
and community coming together
as one town and one family is
the best characteristic. She said
the many different career paths
offered is awesome. Head agreed
that the parents and children are
the best characteristic. He cited
the camaraderie he has seen on
the Mary Persons baseball team,
of which his son is a member, as
a good example. Head said the
board needs to continue improv
ing the facilities and planning
how it will get improvements
done.
Varnadoe noted that Monroe
County spends less per student
than average in Georgia but has
one of the best school systems.
She said the community and
staff are wonderful. Varnadoe
said the improvement in gradu
ation rate over the last 20 years
is commend
able, but even
30 students/
year dropping
out is too many.
Jenkins said
parental in
volvement is the
most important
priority; parents
should be able
to let the school
system know
concerns. He
said some of the
best employ
ees he sees at
Georgia Power
are graduates of
Mary Persons.
Lanford said
the best char
acteristics of
Monroe County
schools are the
faculty, parents,
students and
superintendent.
He said Supt.
Dr. Mike Hick
man has a heart
for children
and is the
quarterback of
Monroe County
schools. He said
he advocates
dual enrollment
and programs like agriculture
education. Bilderback said teach
ers are on the front lines, and
good administrators make sure
teachers are trained. She said an
improvement would be mak
ing it easier for teachers to have
someone to go to with concerns.
Other positive characteristics are
parent involvement and commu
nity involvement.
The sixth question said that
male teachers are in low supply
in Monroe County and asked
how to attract more. Head said
Monroe County schools goes to
colleges and tries to reach out to
good teachers. He said making
sure teachers have authority and
are recognized and respected will
attract more male teachers. Mix
on said she has always thought
of teaching as a predominately
female position. She said it is
more important to do a better job
of weeding through applications
for quality teachers that focusing
on hiring more male teachers.
Jenkins said he was not aware
of a disparity between female
and male teachers. He said the
pay, benefits, environment and
administration need to be at
tractive to quality applicants. He
said female teachers do as good a
job, or better, than male teach
ers. Varnadoe suggested creating
a teaching career pathway for
Mary Persons students. She said
there are some good teacher role
models at the school. She said
increased coaching opportunities
would attract more male teachers.
Bilderback agreed that coaching
opportunities attract male teach
ers. She said Monroe County
schools have job fairs and attend
recruitment events to reach out to
good applicants. Lanford said it
did his heart good that this year’s
national Teacher of the Year is
an African American male. He
said he didn’t have a male teacher
until he was in high school but
had some good role models then.
Battle said that Varnadoe’s idea
of a teaching career pathway is
a good one. She said there are
some great male teachers at Mary
Persons.
The seventh and final question
asked how
Monroe
County
schools
should
recruit
and retain
teachers
to replace
the many
retirees.
Varna
doe said
she appreciated that at its April
meeting BOE had looked at
making matching contributions
to the retirement plan it offers all
employees. She said many young
teachers are paying off student
debt. “Pay us what we’re worth,”
she said.
Jenkins said Monroe County
has to create an atmosphere
where it lets teachers teach, where
the administration supports
teachers. It has to compete with
all the schools that want to get the
best teachers.
Lanford said he thanks Gover
nor Kemp and the legislature for
giving teachers raises and said
teachers are the school system’s
most valuable resource. Bilder
back said BOE has to look at its
budget and come up with options
and incentives. Representatives
need to talk with people at job
fairs and other recruitments to
learn what is really important to
them.
Battle said Monroe County
schools should pay teachers what
they are worth and come up with
a good recruitment package. It’s
also important that the adminis
tration supports teachers. Mixon
said that in working with the PTA
she saw how little it takes to boost
teacher morale, like duty-free
lunches and small gifts of ap
preciation. She said there should
be more pay and support and that
a teaching pathway is a great idea
to recruit future teachers locally.
Head said pay is big in recruit
ing and retaining teachers, and
camaraderie and support is also
key. He said teachers take a lot
of work home and don’t get
paid overtime. Monroe County
schools should try to relieve
teachers of duplicated tasks that
take time but aren’t productive.
The Candidates Forum was
sponsored by Monroe County
Retired Educators Association
and Concerned Citizens of Mon
roe County and held at the BOE
auditorium. Early voting begins
on Monday, May 2; Election Day
is Tuesday, May 24.
The Reporter is hosting a candi
dates' debate at 6 p.m. on Thurs
day, April 28 at the new City Hall.
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