By SARA GOODIE – News Writer
Candidates for state superintendent spoke to Clarke County residents about their political platforms and relevance to public schools.
On March 7, less than two weeks before the state primary, eight of the 15 candidates for state superintendent met at a public forum at the Athens Public Library. Sponsored by the Cedar Shoals High School Parent Teacher Organization and Clarke Central High School Parent Teacher and Student Organization, candidates were asked questions from Clarke County residents.
Former Dekalb County public schools teacher and Democratic activist Rita Robinzine was the only Democratic candidate that was not entirely confident in State Common Core Standards, and said that she would make sure the initiative worked if elected as state superintendent. Robinzine pledged to respond to the educational needs of students and teachers.
“I understand teachers’ needs. I understand why kids drop out of school,” Robinzine said. “In our textbooks, George Bush is still president.”
Republican and North Springs Charter High School graduation coach Kira Willis said that Georgia public schools should not overload students and teachers with rules and tests from several different initiatives.
“Every time they change the rules on teachers and schools, the old rules and the tests and the paperwork was still in place, but we had this new initiative, too,” Willis said.“ I had to tell some young people, ‘You’re not (graduating, and it was the) worst day of my life.”
Democrat and teacher at Columbia Middle School Jurita Mays showed passion for implementing rigor in not only middle and high schools, but elementary schools as well.
“We have to decide right now, today, what we want to do about getting our children to the top,” Mays said.
Many candidates believed in equitable access to education. One such person was Democrat and Atlanta public schools teacher Tarnisha Dent, who addressed that recent changes in HOPE Scholarship criteria affected over 100,000 students in Georgia. The changes made it harder for low-income students to receive the financial aid they need.
“Working in a district where a lot of our children fall below the poverty level, I think it was absurd to change the requirements,” Dent said. “Those middle and lower (class) kids, they deserve those opportunities. I think HOPE should be income-based.”
Democrat and Georgia General Assembly representative of District 39 Alisha Thomas Morgan agreed that scholarships and financial aid should be based on a family’s income.
“I think every parent, no matter what they look like, no matter what their ZIP code is, should have the same kind of access. We have to fight and we have to be committed,” Morgan said.
Republican and retired school administrator and former Irwin County High School teacher Richard Woods said that Georgia’s new law allowing Georgians to carry guns into schools and other public facilities requires precautions. He suggests that armed staff members must be properly trained.
“I want to do anything to protect our children and staff members. That being said, this is an issue that is best addressed at the local level,” Woods said.
Democrat and previous school board member and educator Denise Freeman also addressed the subject of guns on school property, but opposed permission of guns at schools.
“What if a student has a desire to cause harm and they take the gun away from the teacher?” Freeman said. “In lieu what just happened in Augusta, the shooting there, it’s really frightening to think that we want our administrators and teachers to bring guns to school.”
Democrat and former Georgia School Boards Association president Valerie Wilson believes that giving excessive public funds to private schools must be controlled. Wilson said that public schools deserve the money and supplies they need.
“I am adamantly opposed to anything that moves the public education away from public education,” Wilson said.
