KISD candidates square off at Lions meeting

By LESTER MURRAY

News2@kilgorenewsherald.com

Only two days before the election, the four candidates for Kilgore school board spoke to members of the Lions Club.

Mark Dickey, incumbent for Place 4, his opponent Dale Henley, and Dale Sistrunk and Larry Rossum, both running for Place 3, all addressed members of the Lions Club and then took questions.

Rossum said he owes the Kilgore school district for his education, which he says gave him the skills to work for SWEPCO. “I want all students to get the best education possible, whether college bound or not,” said Rossum. “I am proud to live in Kilgore and feel this is an opportunity to give back to the community as a school board member.”

Sistrunk talked about his career in the military and at Louisiana Tech University. “I understand education from the bottom to the top,” said Sistrunk. “I have dealt with budgets in the millions of dollars and have planned programs for officer training.”

“I am now retired, with lots of time to study KISD’s budget or any item that comes before the board,” said Sistrunk. “My goals are to improve facilities, support teachers and to make sure tax money is being spent wisely in this school district.”

Dickey said he is aware of problems that need to be addressed, being already an active member on the KISD board. “My daughter has already graduated from KHS and is now at Stephen F. Austin University and my boy is a freshman at KHS,” said Dickey.

“Our current administration has done good things but there is always room for improvement,” said Dickey. “I want to see every student at KISD get the best education possible to make them a productive member of society.”

Henley said he has a different perspective. “As a CPA (certified public accountant), I want to make sure we get the most out of every dollar spent at KISD. I also want to see improvements in KISD’s vocational education. Not all students are going to college, and that should be a choice they can make and still be able to get a good job,” said Henley.

“This is an avenue KISD students should have, so KISD can produce the best quality of education in Kilgore.”

In light of improvements at KHS, candidates were asked about improvements to other campuses.

Rossum said his wife is a teacher at Kilgore Heights Elementary School and she has seen first hand problems with the schools plumbing. “At one time there were 300 students using just one bathroom,” said Rossum. “If we need to look at a bond issue to improve these campuses, then so be it.”

Sistrunk said he agrees with Rossum about the Heights bathrooms. “I’ve visited that campus and seen the bathrooms. I wouldn’t let my children use them.”

This is a sore spot when it comes to what to do about certain campuses, said Dickey. “There is no doubt that in the near future, Heights will need to be replaced.”

Henley said replacing a campus is the last measure, that KISD needs to look at how to maintain their campuses better rather then replace them.

When asked if the candidates would support a bond issue, Rossum  said KISD needs to try another bond issue — a bond election failed here four years ago — but it is important to give all the information to the public first as to why a bond is needed.

Sistrunk said reserve funds come into play when talking about a bond issue. “When the last bond failed, the next year the indoor practice facility was built. Do we need a bond or just scrub the budget?”

Kilgore has always been about providing the best facilities it could for its students, said Dickey. “I support a bond, but it must be looked at closely.”

“I am not in favor of a bond at all,”said Henley. “$20 million is a lot of money for the tax payers to shoulder for the next 20 to 30 years. New schools must also be looked at through student growth and KISD’s student population has not grown that much.”

Bobby Wheeley, Kilgore Lion and assistant superintendent at KISD, said KISD’s student population is up this year, but over the last 30 years the numbers have stayed essentially the same.

Rob Schleier, Kilgore attorney and Kilgore Lion, said Kilgore Schools have a bad report academically. “A good football team does not mean academic quality in its students.”

“I feel we have good teachers,” said Rossum. “I feel there has to be more parental intervention and less burden on the students with the (state) TAKS tests.”

“I am not a supporter of TAKS either,” said Sistrunk. “KISD needs to re-prioritize with academics being number one, more money being spent on teachers. TAKS testing is not good; we have to get back to basics in education.

Dickey said he agrees that more parental involvement is crucial, but as a current board member sees “new curriculum is being implemented, TAKS scores are coming up. Everyone in the community has to embrace a new attitude about academics at KISD.”

“We have to give teachers the tools for academics to become a priority,” said Henley. “We need to send teachers to more conferences to learn new teaching methods. There is no magic bullet to solve this problem.”

Sonny Spradlin, Kilgore College trustee and Kilgore Lion, addressed the candidates by saying he doesn’t understand when the school district got away from the idea of educating a student-athlete; now they are athlete-students. “Spending money wisely is important; a lot of KISD’s expenditures are questionable,” said Spradlin.

The closing question to the candidates was should the TAKS test be done away with.

“I don’t favor the TAKS test at all,” Rossum said.

Sistrunk said the TAKS system is wrong, students should be given end of course exams and be judged on yearly performances and evaluations, not just the TAKS test.

“This is a hard question to answer and not the first time it has been asked. We need to take the emphasis off of TAKS testing,” said Dickey. “The test needs to be tweaked.”

“I believe in the TAKS test simply because no one has come up with anything better,” said Henley. “People coming to Kilgore use these scores to judge the school system. Until the tests are changed on both the local and state levels, this is what we have to stay with.”

The final day for voting will be on Saturday, May 9, at Kilgore City Hall. Hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and at the end of the day, the results will be announced.