Chamber shares candidate answers
Editor’s Note: The following is an abbreviated version of the additional questions found on both the Chamber’s website ( polkgeorgia.com) and the Polk County Standard Journal’s online news coverage found at polkstandardjournal. com. Due to space constraints, but giving a chance for every candidate to field a question, we have selected at random questions for the print edition to publish. However, all of the questions and responses that the candidates didn’t get a chance to answer during the Chamber’s Political Forum held on May 3 can be found in individual stories with this story online. We thank the candidates for taking time to respond and send in questions.
The below responses come from candidates for both local and statewide offices who participated in the Political Forum.
We will add that two candidates who didn’t get to participate in the Political Forum in the contested District 1 School Board Race – both Britt Madden Jr. and Robert Furr – were given a chance to field questions in an e- mail forum, and those full responses are available as well here in the paper. No responses were received from Gary Martin in the District 1 County Commission race by the deadline on May 11. – Kevin Myrick, Editor
District 1 County Commission Race
Jose Iglesias,
incumbent
Question 4: Do you feel that Polk County is spending adequately to keep our roads up?
I feel that Polk County is not spending enough to keep our roads up. For example, if our County had 600 miles of roads, and the capability of paving is only 15 miles per year, it would take us 40 years to pave all the roads. It always comes down to the money factor and not having enough for paving roads.
Even, i f we had t he money, we don’t have the manpower to go out and pave it, so we would have to contract it, and if we contract it, we won’t get as many miles if we were to do it ourselves. So it’s a circle.
Again, we need to go aggressively after grants, and I’m happy to know that this year we received State funding for Cherokee Rd, which our State Representative Trey Kelley put in a lot of effort in making sure Polk County got some money in Grants for paving roads.
District 1 School
Board race
Robert Furr
Question 1: Do you feel educators are paid sufficiently?
No I do not believe teachers are paid sufficiently for the job they do
Educators have t he future of our community, state and nation in their hands; yet disrespectful football players are paid millions of dollars. A first year teacher in Polk County barely makes enough to stay off food stamps. We pay teachers the state base teacher pay and give teachers their part of what social security that would have been taken from their pay. PSD gives the part that PSD would pay to the teachers. We also have the highest paid superintendent in the area, even though one of the past superintendents came close to destroying PSD. With 2 of the highest turn over years in PSD history. PSD even gave this particular superintendent two substantial pay raises in four years. PSD did this while the teachers were on furlough and had not received a pay raise in five years. Teachers should be given substantially more than they are paid, receive better benefits, and be allowed to earn seniority and bidding rights on available positions.
Polk School District must start acting more like a business. ( The Business of Education) PSD Must Stop Flying By The Seat of It’s Pants!
Question 2: Do you feel Polk County receives its fair share of federal and state DOE funds?
Polk School District received $ 4,807,785 in SFDF funding (this is state fiscal stabilization funding). Grants based on FTE P: Title 1 grant $ 1,401,531, Special Education Grant $1,401,531 and yet PSD is considering discontinuing community based instruction. $ 115,898 for homeless students, $ 45,961 for preschool and $45,961 for special preschool. I believe that PSD could receive much more state and federal funds if we did a better job of conducting the FTE count. We need someone in the federal funding position who is well trained to write grants. Grants are over and above what trickles down from GDOE and Federal DOE.
Question 3: What are your top three goals if elected?
My top three goals if elected?
If I am elected I will attempt to accomplish three important aspects of the business of education at PSD.
1. I will do everything in my power to make sure every dollar that is spent is accounted for. Fiscal policy will be legal, ethical, moral honest, and fair. No more five million dollar short falls that do not get investigated and have not been accounted for.
2. I plan to work with PSD Human Resources and the superintendent to create a merit based employment and promotion process that is legal, ethical, moral, fair, and honest. No more of the common practice of picking who you want and do a few token interviews to cover up the dishonest process.
3. Teachers have too much redundant paperwork. I want to see more planning, more teaching students, and less fluff paperwork. The administration can do paperwork and discipline. Let the teachers do what they do best and that is to teach the students.
Above all I will act Legal, Ethical, Moral, Honest, and Fair.
Question 4: Do you support an appeal process for TKES?
I will support any actions that abolish the disaster called teacher keys effectiveness system. TKES is nothing more than government double talk. It is strictly the opinion of the evaluator. Teachers should be allowed to teach to the students. Every student does not learn the same. Every student does not respond the same.
Every student does not have the same background. TKES is nothing more than scripted teaching following an outline of task based teaching. Good teachers put their heart into teaching each lesson.
Teachers are not robots without feelings and ideas. I support any action that will put an end to TKES.
In closing if elected we will do a better job and it will be legal, ethical, moral, honest, and fair.
Britt Madden Jr.
Question 1: Do you feel educators are paid sufficiently?
It is my belief that educators in Polk County work every day with our most important asset, our kids. The students represent our future and the importance of what the teachers do cannot be underestimated. Based on research from the Georgia Department of Education on 2016 data, the state average salary is $54,000 and Polk County’s average salary is $56,000. Floyd and other neighboring school systems have average salaries for their teachers at $57,000. There is no amount of compensation that can match the impact teachers make on a daily basis in children lives. I feel that the compensation is fair but always needs to be competitive with other local, neighboring districts.
Question 2: Do you feel that Polk County receives our fair share of Federal DOE funding?
No. The State of Georgia Department of Education passes through monies from the federal government used in our local school system. Funding at the state level is based on a formula called QBE (Quality Basic Education) which was enacted in 1985 and is old and antiquated. When written, Georgia looked much different than it does today. The formula limits smaller, rural systems across the state like Polk County. While the formula is not fair, it is what we have until it changes and I will work with the rest of the board to utilize the funding the most efficient way possible to achieve student success.
Question 3: What are your top three goals if elected?
My goal as a school board member is to serve the residents living within District One. I will do that through approachability, accountability, and transparency. My goal as a school board member is to respect the board as a whole. I understand that in order to tackle issues like school safety, scholastic achievement, and district morale, the board needs to move together as a unified governing body. We do not always have to agree, but disagreements should not end up costing the students. My goal when elected is to do my very best to lay the ground work so that every student in this county – now and in the years to come – will have access to a rewarding and inspiring education. This includes recruiting and retaining the best and brightest educators, improving our facilities, increasing student success, taking a hard look at school safety, and communicating district achievements to the public.
Question 4: Do you support an appeals process for TKES?
The State of Georgia Department of Education unveiled the TKES system in 2016 as the evaluation process of local educators statewide. While the system is still very new, other than existing local district grievance processes, there is little a teacher can do to dispute a seemingly unfair TKES evaluation. As this state teacher evaluation system matures, I believe and would support peer review or administrator review panels.
District 4 School
Board race
Vicki Mayes
Question 3: What are your top three goals if elected?
The first priority is to build the trust back in Polk School District. The past actions of the previous leadership has impacted this area greatly. All of the stakeholders need to feel the Board and the County office is fully supportive, and will work diligently to ensure the everyone has a seat at the table.
Secondly, I want to seek and find ways to enable all of the students, no matter their post school plans are prepared face jobs, military, college, or any other route they decide to take.
And last but not least, I want to make sure we are using our resources wisely to ensure we are fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars.
Note: Incumbent Grady McCrickard was unable to take part and called off his participation in the Political Forum. Additionally, t he Standard Journal reached out to him for an interview last week but received no return call.
Lieutenant Governor
Sarah Riggs Amico
Question 1: What is your assessment of health care in rural Georgia and your plans to improve health care of citizens i n rural Georgia?
Rural healthcare in Georgia is in crisis. Rural hospitals in Georgia are going bankrupt and closing - six have closed since 2013 and others could close soon, leaving thousands of Georgians more than fifty miles away from a doctor.
We have 60 counties without a pediatrician, and half of our counties don’t have a OB/ GYN. I believe that every child should have regular access to a pediatrician near their home or school, and that every Mom and Dad should have affordable insurance options to pay for their own family’s healthcare.
Expanding Medicaid would help shore up the system, bringing billions of federal dollars to the state, and millions to rural healthcare providers.
Secretary of State
Buzz Brockaway
Question 2: Absentee ballots pose a very real opportunity for fraud. How can we do a better j ob of voter ID f or absentee ballots?
There are a couple of options we should consider for improving the security of absentee ballots. Some have proposed having an absentee ballot application notarized, but that could involve time and a cost a voter may not be able to afford. Others have proposed requiring the use of photo ID when applying for an absentee ballot. This has promise, but we need to make sure we don’t open ourselves up to a legal challenge that imperils our entire photo ID policy. Colorado and Oregon are two states where all votes are cast by mail, similar to our absentee voting system. I want to learn how they secure their ballots and apply those techniques to our absentee voting system.
State School Superintendent
Richard Woods,
incumbent
Question 3: Do you think we are putting too much emphasis on new technologies such as iPads?
Technology cannot and should not replace a classroom teacher. It is only a tool. Technology does not build relationships and can be a hindrance to the instruction and learning if misused.
In my 22 years of K- 12 experience at the school level, I have not seen new technologies as an issue. The concern has always been in teacher training and support on how to properly use technology to enhance learning. I have seen technology magically appear in classrooms with no input from teachers or clarity on how it should be used.
Technology can be a great asset in teaching and learning. I do believe it helped to make my classes more relevant and meaningful. It has given students great opportunities to expand learning. The key is having an effective plan and knowing how to use it.
John Barge
Question 2: What should the State Superintendent do to provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12?
Through effect policy development and influence of legislation, the State Superintendent should provide an environment in which districts can be successful, teachers can teach unimpeded by worries of high stakes testing and evaluation, and students can safely learn and be prepared for success in life.