Candidates speak out on KISD
By LESTER MURRAY news2@kilgorenewsherald.com

TERRY GEORGE

The Kilgore school board election on May 10 could bring new faces to the board.

Long time board member George Faber decided it was time for him to step down from the board in Position 1. Dereck Borders and David Hedrick will be facing off against each other for that position.

It's a new experience for Borders; Hedrick resigned from the board three years ago after several terms on the board.

Terry George, the incumbent for Position 2, will be challenged by Dale Henley.

Early voting is already underway. Election-day balloting is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Kilgore City Hall.

DALE HENLEY

Henley, who is the vice president of finance at Cudd Pressure Control, located on Hwy. 135 in Kilgore, said issues such as morale, campus security, discipline and other issues pertaining to students and staff should be addressed through KISD's superintendent rather than by the board

Asked about a recent KISD survey and issues such as those, he said when there is problem such as morale on a campus the superintendent and his staff must look at the cause or causes of the problem and address a plan of action for that campus which should be brought to the board. "These type of problems could be a quick-fix or take many months to correct," said Henley.

DALE HENLEY

Campus security was another issue brought up by the KISD survey. Henley addressed the issue by saying he believes each campus should be as secure as possible, doors should lock when shut and they only be opened from the outside by a key. "There should be one main entry into any campus," said Henley. "The main concern of the district is the safety of the students and staff that work in these schools."

Henley said discipline in the schools should be addressed on an equal and fair basis for each student. "Every student should be treated the same, regardless of who they are," said Henley. "But the discipline taken should ensure that students will respond and conform to the main stream of the student body."

If a student touches a teacher in an aggressive manner, that student should be removed from the campus until a time administrators feel the student can conform main stream activities, said Henley. "On campuses where students cannot be removed, there should be a type of alternative classroom for those students where they are isolated from the student body," said Henley. "Learning is a privilege and we want our students to learn and this should not be disrupted by a few unruly students and this would give teachers a proper environment to teach."

DERECK BORDERS

DAVID HEDRICK

Hedrick, challenging for the board spot opened by Faber's decision not to run again, said he has been encourage by community members to run for the board.

"I have always been civic minded and I enjoyed being a part of the KISD board," said Hedrick.

"The school district, like any organization, has a chain of command and the school board is the last step in that chain," said Hedrick. "There should be an open line of communication between staff and administrators. There are different avenues to address any problem and these alternatives should be looked at."

DAVID HEDRICK

The school board, he reiterated, is not a starting point in dealing with campus issues.

Discipline on campuses should be handled by the campus principals and their staff, he said. "This is not a board problem unless it gets to the superintendent and that teacher still cannot get the answer he or she is looking for."

"I want our campuses to be safe, but we don't want our campuses to become prisons. I believe our campuses are a safe place to learn," said Hedrick.

Hedrick said he believes the KISD survey is a good idea. "This survey gives teachers, administrators, parents and students to voice their concerns.

He said voters won't see any "vote for Hedrick" signs around the community. "I have been talking to people in the community about the election," said Hedrick.

DERECK BORDERS

Borders, running for Position 1 against Hedrick bases his campaign on change.

Borders said for the past several weeks he has been talking to teachers, parents and members of the Kilgore community and what he is hearing is they want change for their school district.

"I stand on what I said in an earlier interview, that the board must be held accountable and to be accountable a board member must be willing to go out to the schools and into the community and find out what the problems are and, if elected, that is just what I will be doing," said Borders.

"I know everything can't be changed over night, but the process must begin somewhere as with the survey Superintendent Jody Clements just implemented for the district. Teachers must be heard, they must be able to go and talk with their supervisors without fear of reprisals and administrators must know what is going on at their campuses," said Borders.

As for discipline issues brought up in the recent survey, the board "must set tough discipline policies, but this won't do any good unless though policies are backed up by teachers, administrators and adhered to by students. These policies must be fair and enforced across the boards for every student if we want a proper learning environment for our children," said Borders.

"I consider our campuses safe, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement," said Borders. "Nowadays we can't take anything for granted just because we live in Kilgore. Our teachers and administrators on our campuses have to take a stand, be more observant and challenge anyone who they see on a campus that doesn't appear to belong there and everyone that visits a campus should be required to check in and wear a visitor badge that staff can readily recognize."

Borders said these are just a few of the changes needed at KISD and he has "great faith" in Clements to make the changes needed to improve the district.

"I want people to come out and vote, just consider what you want for the district when you do that," said Borders. "If you have been happy as a teacher, parent or just tax payer in KISD then vote for the people on the ballot who have been doing things the same way for years. If you want change then vote for me."

TERRY GEORGE

George, the incumbent facing Henley for Position 2 in next week's election said he has been a school board member for 17 years and believes that with significant changes in the district's adminstration, stability is what the school board needs.

George said with a new superintendent and a board with three members that have been on the board three years or less, the experience he brings to the board at this time is critical. "A lot of people don't know that my background is also in education," said George. "I spent 11 years teaching. I have a master's degree in education and a business degree."

George is the owner and operator of GEO-Nix in Kilgore where he has been in business for over 30 years.

A recent survey by KISD raised issues about morale, security and discipline. George said he was not surprised by the results, saying that this was no surprise. "This is not just happening in Kilgore, this is throughout the teaching profession," he said.

Issues like morale are not a board issue, said George. "The superintendent of schools is tasked with monitoring his campuses and his staff that runs those campuses. The board's job is to hire and evaluate the superintendent."

There are many factors involved in issues such as morale. There are state issues and requirements the legislature puts on teachers and school districts that make these educators' jobs a lot harder, said George.

"As a board, we make policies, approve the budget and hire the superintendent, but our job is not to go out to the campuses and talk with administrators, teachers and students," said George. "There are procedures for any of these areas and it is called a chain of command, the final step in that chain is the board."

George said one area of the survey that does concern him very much is discipline. But discipline is not just a KISD problem, it is statewide issue, he said. "From a board's perspective we need to evaluate if policies are adequate for disciplinary measures and, if not, change them and we need to know if the policies set are being followed by each campus and staff equally and fairly. We also need to look at other school districts and see what problems they are having and if they are doing something better, then we need to change, fresh ideas are always good."

He said campus security may "depends on just how much money we are willing to spend. Even if we lock all of the doors from the outside, the students can still open them and let someone in and the staff cannot monitor all of the exits at the same time," said George. "The high school itself has 42 exit doors."

"I think we are doing a good job with security, but we can always do better and look to improve things," said George.

"Another concern I have based on the survey is the lack of classroom materials the teachers say they have to work with and costs are coming out of their pockets," said George. "If we need anything for curriculum then it needs to be supplied by the school district. There should be no cuts in budget items when it comes to normal curriculum."

George said he operates as a board member under three rules: "number one and most important is what is best for the kids of the KISD district, the other two are employees and taxpayers."

"Our teachers are very good at what they do and need to be supported the best we can, administrators need to tell them when they are doing a good job and incentives like the free lunch program for teachers is just something KISD needs to do for them as long as the budget allows it," said George.

"The survey was a good step by Jody Clements but there are a lot of combinations of factors for all areas of that survey and as a district we now need to improve and do better each day," he concluded.