Candidates

as a whole. My goal is to support, supplement, and to aid those efforts by making sure we provide necessary resources while also being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.

If elected, what would you like to accomplish as a public official in your fouryear term?

-School security is incredibly important. Our schools have made outstanding strides in school security in recent months, and this effort must continue. We have so many resources in our community that can aid in this effort. We should be involving community resources to guarantee we have the best possible security plans, action plans, and prevention/ intervention plans. These plans also need consistency across the system.

-Community involvement is a key component to the civic pride we all expect in our schools. Our schools want input, volunteer service, and general involvement from the community. I want to do more to proactively invite that type of community involvement in our system.

-Our school system lists on our website that “we believe all students need an advocate.” This is an incredibly strong statement, and it is listed as one of our primary belief statements. We have to place appropriate action into this belief. It is proven over and over again that students perform better and have higher success rates when they have a support system. Unfortunately, we know there are some students that don’t have this support. We need to better understand ways to identify those students, and we must make sure they gain an advocate. Longer term, the assurance of all children having a supporting advocate becomes a critical element in school security and the wellbeing of all students. What qualifications do you have to run for the office you are seeking?

I have been working in higher education for 15 years as an instructor, orientation advisor, and as the first year experience faculty coordinator while also teaching a full time class schedule. Over this time I have engaged with a large number of income college students. I believe I can bring my experience working with underserved and financially disadvantaged students to the Gordon County Board of Education.

What Civic activities/ volunteer work in Gordon County do you currently participate in and how long have you participated in those activities?

Since my wife and I arrived in Gordon County, we have been active members of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. I served for several years as a Youth Leader. I am also a past board member and volunteer with the Network Day Service Center for mentally challenged students and adults in Northwest Georgia. I have been an active parent volunteer at Red Bud Elementary, Sonoraville Middle School and Gordon Central High School.

What is your ultimate purpose/ reason for running for the office you are seeking?

I think students, faculty, staff and parents of the Gordon County School system deserve active and knowledgeable board members who are willing to listen, study, and implement the best programs and curriculum to keep Gordon County Schools both competitive and compassionate environments.

If elected, what would you like to accomplish as a public official in your fouryear term?

We have an obligation to work on school safety and academic excellence over the next four years. Research shows that students in schools with fine arts and professional extracurricular programs such as FBLA and FFA have better success rates at the next level of their education or employment. I will serve as an advocate of these programs as well as the continuation of the dual enrollment program in our county.