Voters to elect school board members Tuesday

By Ryan Saxton

Staff Reporter

The Indian River School Board will be filling three seats next week in Districts 4 and 5, in elections on Tuesday, May 13.

Three candidates will contest for a term representing District 4: Harold I. Walters, Christopher A. White, and incumbent board member Dr. Donald G. Hattier. Ballots can be cast by District 4 residents at Indian River High School, located at 29772 Armory Road in Dagsboro, or at Lord Baltimore Elementary School at 120 Atlantic Avenue in Ocean View.

Two seats are up for grabs in District 5, as Sharon L. Brittingham runs against incumbents Reginald L. Helms and Donna M. Mitchell. Voters residing in District 5 can vote for two candidates and should report to Selbyville Middle School at 80 Bethany Road in Selbyville to cast a ballot.

All three seats (one in District 4 and two in District 5) have three-year-terms on the board, starting July 1. Incumbent Nina Lou Bunting was unopposed in her district and will be seated for another three-year term.

Friday, May 9 will be the last day that eligible voters can mail out absentee ballots. Voters must be a bona fide resident of the Indian River School District in the district in which they are voting, a citizen of the United States of America and at least 18 years of age. Proof of identity will be required at the voting.

Affidavits must have been submitted before absentee ballots can be mailed to voters, so those who have not already requested theirs will be unable to vote in this election.

The deadline to vote an absentee ballot in person in the Office of the Department of Elections is May 12 at noon.

In the Coastal Point’s traditional question-and-answer series this week, each of the six candidates for the three available seats in District 4 and 5 weighed in on recent issues in the Indian River School District, including religion settlements and policies, funding and the upcoming current-expense referendum.

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Donald Hattier
District 4

Q. In your opinion, what is the role and purpose of the school board on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the education of the district’s children?

A. Reviewing and helping to decide on textbooks, curriculum, policies such as drugs, dress, advising and guiding the financial decisions, guiding building needs for the rapid expansion that we have in numbers of students over the last several years (over 1,000 since the year 2000), helping to assure traditional values don’t get lost in the myriad of new educational ideas, and acting as a liaison between the public and the schools, the administration and government in general.

Q. What is your position regarding the changes in the district’s religion policy in recent years and months? Should additional changes be implemented? If so, what and why? Specifically, does the board need to change its current policies regarding how the school calendar and policies deal with religious periods throughout the year (i.e. Christmas break changed to Winter Break, Easter-associated items prohibited in schools)?

A. My fellow board members and I worked for many months to get these policies approved. I feel that they give our students more flexibility than they have ever had, and certainly more than many school districts. All adopted policies are in line with existing federal case law on student and teacher rights.

Many Delaware school districts are now looking at the IRSD policies as models for themselves. For instance, a student can write about Jesus in our schools without being called on it and can do artwork with a Christian theme without the teacher being able to yank the picture, as has happened in another state recently (as reported on WND.com) For that matter, if a student independently of the district wants to offer a prayer at graduation, he or she can. The student has a right to free speech that cannot be infringed upon.

I think that while the suit is still active that additional changes are not a wise idea. Besides, after two years of work, these are pretty good as they are.

As to changing the school calendar, we as a board fought to keep the right to call these holidays what they are, Christmas and Easter Break (when it coincides with Easter; otherwise, it is rightly called a Spring Break). Congress breaks for Christmas, as does every major legislature, and the authorization for the Christmas break was one of the first of many federal holidays that have followed. It was mentioned in the 1876 legislation that gave the day off. Our community has celebrated this as Christmas Break since time immemorial. Why does it need to change now? There is no legislation or court case that mandates this.

As to Easter items: Boy, what a snafu. It was never intended that all Easter-related items be eliminated. The e-mail from the superintendent was interpreted by each school somewhat differently and in the public’s eye played out poorly. I understand this. However, when it takes a court case to determine that a school-sponsored Easter egg hunt is not religious but secular (this did happen in another federal district, went to two levels of court) it is understandable that we as board were extremely gun-shy. In the future, Easter and the bunny will be back, as before – at least if I have anything to say about it. We have collected the data and cases needed to withstand scrutiny.

Q. How do you think the board handled the lawsuit and subsequent settlement with the Dobrich and “Doe” families? Should the district have made accommodations or settled the suit sooner or held out? Should the board’s prayer continue to be pursued in the court system? Should it be eliminated or should the practice continue?

A. As you know, this case was separated into two parts, one policies, one prayer before the board. The Dobriches wanted us to sit down with their attorney and write policies, without us having an attorney as well. This was a non-starter. Second, the two main things that they asked for were to stop prayer at graduation, at least that type sponsored by the schools, and to stop preferential treatment for the SMS Bible Club students. Both of these were changed with in three months (which is the time it takes to get policies changed per the operating laws on schools districts) and the Bible Club treatment was stopped within days of coming to the district’s attention. They filed suit months after we made the changes.

As to accommodations, we did as they requested prior to the suit ever happening. Among other demands, the other side wanted was that our religion policies never be changeable. This would have tied the board’s hands and was rejected. This whole issue would require a separate interview to go over completely.

The Indian River School District has opened their board meetings with a prayer to solemnize the proceedings since at least the early 1970’s. More than likely, meetings before then did as well. It simply was not an issue in the earlier days, since the community as a whole supports the idea. I have a graduation booklet from 1936 and a Rev. Veith offered benedictions to the graduating class of Lord Baltimore High School. This was part of the fabric of the community and has been for many generations. Why stop now?

I believe that there is a segment of the population that is trying to eliminate any mention of religion or prayer in our lives in general, and not just the schools. We have all been tolerant of other ideas, but that tolerance is now stripping us in our lives of the very things that our forefathers held dear.

I believe that what the board is doing is constitutional and would be recognized as appropriate by those that actually wrote the document as opposed to those people from today trying to reinterpret or redefine what the Founders meant. Why otherwise would the Founders have hired not one but two chaplains with in days of passing the Constitution and why did they not modify the Northwest Territory act to exclude teaching religion in schools?

That act was originally passed under the Articles of Conservation and specifically called on the schools to teach morality and religion. The first Congress reauthorized the bill without changing the language regarding teaching and schools.

Should the practice continue, yes. Should we defend this in court, yes.

Q. What are your opinions on the issues in the 2008 current-needs referendum set for May 22: operating initiatives, teacher salaries and full-day kindergarten? Should taxpayers have to pay for these items or should the state or school district come up with other ways to pay for them?

A. • Operating initiatives: This is a must-pass for us. Since 2002, the state has eliminated a total of $6 million from the school budget in our district alone. At the same time, salaries and other employment costs have risen dramatically. We have had to change and strip programs for years and with the new cuts ($2.1 million for FY ’08-’09, on top of the current already made cuts, with at least that in ’09-’10 coming), we are going to be hard pressed to have money for programs and even to retain teachers. You can’t keep cutting funding and expect the same good product.

The feds have also cut funding, while at the same time increasing mandates (No Child Left Behind comes to mind). Federal programs have been held at the same levels or cut every year since 2002. Our Hispanic population has increased from 1.7 percent in 1990 to over 19 percent now. We are not being given adequate resources to educate and bring many of those children up to the levels needed. The reality is that the state will not come up with full funding.

• Teacher salaries: Our teachers are the heart of what makes education in the Indian River School District work. We are working hard at this time to just be able to keep the teaching force as it is given the above listed cuts. As you know the state is not giving any raises this year to anybody. We are trying to get a modest 2 percent increase to help with rising costs.

• Full-day kindergarten: All the research that I have seen indicates that full-day kindergarten will make a difference in the most vulnerable children that we have in the district. For those children this could make the difference between success and failure in life. Not all kids will need this, and for those children it ought to be a choice, and not mandatory.

Several of our local elementary schools have pilot programs which have done quite well as a choice, and if part one of this referendum passes, we ought to have the funds to continue those programs if and when the state discontinues their support. The state has tried to push this one off on the local districts financially since the idea first came up.

Having said that, the talk right now is that the state can’t fund their side of the equation and this could be a moot point. We cannot afford it on our own. And even if the referendum question does pass, we would still be short several million dollars.

Should the residents pay for these: Good question. I feel that the state has a responsibility to fully fund their obligations. We are generally responsible for 35 to 40 percent. They really need to step up to the plate to fund us. However the reality is that they can’t. In the meantime, we have children to educate. You have to have the funding from somewhere. This is the only method that we currently have available to ask for support.

Supposedly, the slots money goes to education; I think the promise was that it would supplement the money already given. In actuality it appears that they (the state) simply reduced the state portion by whatever the slots brought in and took that money for other projects, like the Indian River Inlet Bridge or extra road repairs in the northern end of Delaware.

We could have a tax increase on income, which is not good for the economy in general, or we could reappraise every house in Delaware and thereby generate millions as well. That, in particular, is a backdoor method where the public has no choice but simply gets stuck with a higher tax bill. At least with referendums, there is a vote and it is public. That is why I support what we are trying to do with this referendum.

If you or anybody else can come up with other ideas I am willing to listen.

On another note: The IRSD told the public in the 2000 and 2002 referendums we would modernize and rebuild our buildings, essentially all of them. We started with two new high schools for a total of around $70 million, which included the sports field transfer of $2.1 million in surpluses we had accumulated through careful investment (another referendum by the way).

Cape is building one high school for $75 million just five years later. We built two for $70 (million). And, yes, the state shorted us on that project as well. We had enough money in those referendums to refurbish, air-condition, technology update, plumbing change, rewire and just generally fix up virtually every building.

We are now down to three, Philip Showell, John M. Clayton and Frankford. Within three years, these will be finished as well. This was something that was promised the public and the board has delivered. And, yes, the state shorted us there also. This is the largest total refurbishing project in IRSD history, totaling two new buildings, eight older buildings and new roofs on three buildings (which are under-budget at this time).

During that same time, we have some of the highest test scores in the state and have been recognized through out the United States as a good school district. The principal of Frankford, Duncan Smith, was selected several years ago to sit next to Mrs. Bush at the State of the Union address to represent the success in his building and the district in general, quite an honor for a small rural district. Our middle school, SMS is looked at as a model for other middle schools in the state. I could go on and on.

Q. What do you believe you offer as a potential member of the Indian River School Board at this time? What would be your goals and priorities as a board member, if you are elected?

A. I have been on the Finance Committee of the IRSD since 2000. I was on that committee for two years before becoming a board member. I have learned more about school financing than I ever cared to know but had to learn it to make proper decisions. As a board member you can’t just come up with ideas, you have to know how to pay for them and what realities there are.

When I first joined the board curriculums were not aligned through out the district which was true for most districts in the state. I participated in that alignment process to where we are now standardized. We still have three buildings to finish and I have been in on that since the beginning. In the case of Indian River High School I was part of the advisory committee for science in the main design of the building.

I have been working for many years to increase participation in the music and arts programs, since research tells us that those kids in music do better on average than other kids. We need a better program in the northern end to compliment the expanding band at SCHS. The program in the southern end is progressing better than it has in years.

Through the efforts of many people, supplementing the reading programs in our district has become a priority, one that is paying off in better scores and better educated students. I will continue to support and help find funding for them once the state pulls its support as it plans to.

We will be facing more growth in this district in the next three to five years. I have been part of the planning process for the last six years and, as part of a terrific board, have been able to guide and shape where we are now. No one board member can do much without the support of his/her fellow board members, but I have endeavored to work with, educate them and be educated by them in the needs of the district.

Lastly, I am about to graduate my first child from the IRSD. My daughter has decided to become a teacher as a result of her positive experience in this district. I still have three more to go. I feel passionately about public education and its benefits. I want the best for my children and by extension for everybody else’s children as well.

Harold Walters
District 4

Q. In your opinion, what is the role and purpose of the school board on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the education of the district’s children?

A. The role and purpose of the school board on a daily basis is to listen to the residents of the Indian River School District (IRSD) and address any of their concerns with members of the IRSD.

A. It is my understanding the district has made the necessary changes regarding the religion policy. I think the names of the proposed breaks should be universal throughout the State of Delaware public school system.

A. I don’t have all the pertinent information to answer this question. Not having firsthand knowledge of the particulars of the case it would not be fair for me to judge either side.

A. Due to the increase in “give backs” to the state, it is becoming increasingly harder to “make ends meet” in every school district in the state. I believe that everyone should help to pay for these initiatives. This is not limited to the taxpayer, the school district or the state. This should be a shared expense.

Q. What do you believe you offer as a potential member of the Indian River School Board at this time? What would be your goals and priorities as a board member, if you are elected?

A. As a lifelong IRSD resident, a former IRSD employee and an alumni of the IRSD educational system, I believe I have the general knowledge of the community and the school system and will serve District 4 to improve the IRSD. My goals and priorities are to listen to the residents of the IRSD and make their voices heard.

Christopher White
District 4

Q. In your opinion, what is the role and purpose of the school board on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the education of the district’s children?

A. In my opinion, the role and purpose of the school board or any public office is to be a voice for the people and do the right thing for the students of our district. Specifically, to be successful the board must enact worthwhile educational policies, ensure we have the best personnel to lead the district into the future, provide an optimal learning environment that helps each student succeed in their desired goal, be accountable for the decisions and policies we set and be vigilant with the fiscal policies. In summary, we can do the right thing by working together with the educators, parents, students and public to ensure success for every one of our students.

A. I think the recent changes in general do not represent what the public wants and because of this it is a very controversial issue. I feel that everyone has the right to practice their chosen religion and there should not be policies set to discourage one from practicing their religion.

I am disappointed on the decision on how to handle religious periods throughout the school year, however I do understand why it was done. As a public school, we must give every student the opportunity to learn in the most ideal and unbiased setting. Given the current changes, I feel we need to make the best of the situation and we can use this as an opportunity to educate the students on other types of religions and promote the acceptance of all people regardless of their beliefs.

A. This is a difficult question to answer since I am not privy to all of the facts surrounding the case and settlement. Based upon the limited facts that I do have, I would say that the board handled the lawsuit and settlement appropriately. As any public office is a voice of the people, I feel the people of Indian River School District had their voices heard and now it is time to start making progress towards an environment that is conducive towards learning and generating students that are prepared for the great future that lies in front of them.

As far as the current practice of praying before meetings, my understanding is that the board is a legislative body and it is entitled to open meetings with a prayer just as the General Assembly of Delaware does every session.

A. The issues in the referendum come at one of the most inopportune economic times in recent history. I firmly believe all of these are important needs and would expect that the School Board has exhausted all other alternatives prior to coming to the public to fund these initiatives. For the sake of our great underpaid teachers and for the good of the students, I hope the public will come out and support the referendum. In summary, I feel these issues are fundamental to the success of our students and district but in the future I would like to ensure that we explore additional opportunities prior to going to referendum.

Q. What do you believe you offer as a potential member of the Indian River School Board at this time? What would be your goals and priorities as a board member, if you are elected?

A. I believe I can offer change to the Indian River School Board. Change for the better. I feel I can make a difference because I currently have two children in two separate schools in the district, volunteer as a coach, am serving as the commissioner of the South Bethany Planning Commission, and I bring practical corporate experience that will complement the experiences of the current board members.

My first goal as a new board member is to get students and parents more involved in the educational process in order to promote better testing performance as well as higher graduation rates. Next, I would like to get the students more involved in extra-curricular activities, whether it is sports, music, volunteering or clubs.

Another goal I have is to revise the current ethics policy, which dates back to 1961, and hold all board members accountable to the ethics policy. My last goal is to be fiscally responsible. We must be vigilant with the tax payers’ dollars and make sure that every dollar is utilized in the best possible way.

Once elected, I pledge my utmost commitment to the district and I will do everything in my power to ensure the success of the students in the Indian River School District. Thank you for considering me, and I look forward to serving the Indian River School District.

Sharon Brittingham
District 5

Q. In your opinion, what is the role and purpose of the school board on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the education of the district’s children?

A. Board members must remember that schools are owned and operated by the taxpayers. The community expects the children sent to school to learn effectively. Therefore, the community should be kept informed on a regular basis about how money is spent and how effective the education being provided is. It is the responsibility of the entire board to see that the schools are run properly.

School boards can not act in a vacuum. They must be aware of legislative activities of the state and federal government. Legislation has a dramatic financial impact on school districts that have to implement guidelines established by larger government agencies and legislative bodies. The local board must work closely with the state and national school board associations to be sure viewpoints are represented.

Boards should, on an ongoing basis, communicate with the community. The board sets a tone when it consults with interested citizens and representatives of community groups on problems facing the schools. Good ideas and suggestions can be obtained from groups that have interests in educational issues. Consulting people makes them partners in education and helps to build a bridge of goodwill and understanding. In daily contacts with people, the individual board member is a listener and ambassador of the school system.

Board members have excellent opportunities to talk constructively about the needs of the schools, the work of the teachers, and the hopes for the future. The attitudes of a board member affect the attitudes and actions of the employees in the school system. The board member should take an interest in the welfare of staff members and students. The board should recognize the outstanding work of employees and students.

The board sets a better tone when it consults with employees on problems facing schools. Employees like to be consulted. Members of the board should take a day or two a month to visit schools and chat with principals, teachers and other employees. The board should show a real interest in the work being done by employees. While board members must be responsive to complaints from parents, there must be a clearly followed and communicated policy on whom to complain to, and the chain of command to follow.

The separation of responsibility between the school board and the administration must be clearly recognized. It is not the board’s duty to administer the schools. It is the board’s responsibility to see that the schools are run properly and that students are receiving the best education available by developing polices that enable teachers and administrators to carry out their responsibilities on behalf of children.

A. Regardless of how I answer this, I will be offending someone. First, it is important to know that I am a Christian. I pray every day. I celebrate Christmas and Easter and changing the name on a school calendar will not change my beliefs. I believe that the recent “religion” policy, which is available on the district Web site, addresses all of the issues in the lawsuit. The policy is clear and provides examples of what is allowed and what isn’t allowed. The next step is to ensure that all district staff and parents understand the policy.

A. First, I will not be a Monday-morning quarterback as to how the board handled the situation. I believe the board followed what they believed were the “values of their constituents” and the “wisdom of the board lawyer” as they pursued the suit. I am assuming that they did not allow personal beliefs to undermine their ability to make rationale decisions based on case law.

As a prospective board member, I would be doing the school district and the community a serious injustice if I resorted to personal attacks on the board and how they handled a situation of which I was not involved. I do not have access nor did I have access to all of the particulars of the case.

As far as I am concerned, the issue is settled and it is time to move on. I can only thank “God” that the lawsuit has been settled and the district can focus its time and resources on educating our students. I think it is very difficult to be a board member and devote your time to public service when someone is second guessing your motives and actions. Again, I will not second guess the current board.

As far as the board’s right to prayer prior to board meetings, I feel they have to follow their conscience as individuals, as long as no funds come from sources that could be used for students. I believe I heard a current board member say they were going to pursue funding outside the school system to support this suit.

A. I wholeheartedly support the current-needs referendum. We all have been impacted by the current economic situation; however, if we truly believe that “our children are our future,” how can we not put our money where our mouth is?

Operating initiatives will include the restoration of school budgets, a district-wide textbook adoption, middle and high school extra-curricular program upgrades, technology improvements, additional school resource officers and other transportation expenditures. These all impact the quality of our school system, which is one the finest in the state. This, in turn, is reflected in our real estate values.

Whether we like it or not, we must address the salary issue. Indian River’s starting teacher salaries rank eighth out of the nine Sussex County school districts. The lack of a competitive salary scale makes it difficult for the district to recruit and retain qualified staff.

While principal of Frankford Elementary, I personally witnessed the benefits of full-day kindergarten. The demands of No Child Left Behind and Accountability legislation require our students to be better prepared than ever. Full-day kindergarten provides students with accessibility to programs that can close the achievement gap for our at-risk students while providing enrichment and stimulating programs for our average and gifted students, which will enable them to better compete globally.

I also believe that the state must develop a plan that fully funds the school system. Districts are bombarded with state and federal unfunded mandates. Requiring school district personnel to pass referendum to fund their districts creates an unequal funding system that creates inequities across the state. It is also time-consuming and can take the focus away from the district’s purpose of educating students.

It is unfortunate that the state is able to fully fund the prison system, but district employees have to go to the public periodically to beg for additional funds.

Q. What do you believe you offer as a potential member of the Indian River School Board at this time? What would be your goals and priorities as a board member, if you are elected?

A. I bring my passion for ensuring all students receive a quality education that provides them the opportunity to be able to make decisions about their career path. I have been and will continue to be an advocate for all students. I bring a national and state perspective on educational issues. I bring my team building and listening skills. I bring my years of experience in working in two different districts, three different communities, in higher education and in jobs outside education.

I also bring an understanding of all levels of our community and the needs of people who traditionally do not have a voice in our schools. I bring my work ethic and commitment to my community.

My goals and priorities:

• Support the learning and growth of our all of our students.

• Develop vocational education/apprenticeship programs in cooperation with local businesses.

• Develop internship programs in cooperation with various community agencies and local businesses.

• Support quality unique school programs (e.g. environmental, out-door learning, vocational, creative arts, performing arts, agricultural, health care, early childhood).

• Anticipate growth and loss of student enrollment and plan accordingly.

• Support parent organizations at every school.

• Increase parent involvement and shared decision making.

• Build stronger parent-teacher relations.

• Ensure that money reaches the classroom.

• Explore creative methods of funding schools in light of recent budget cuts.

• Ensure equity for schools with the greatest needs.

• Develop policies and procedures which reduce lawsuits and litigation against the district.

• Recruit and retain quality educators.

• Ensure competitive salaries for all employee groups.

• Increase paraprofessionals and other learning support workers in the classrooms.

Reginald Helms
District 5

Q. In your opinion, what is the role and purpose of the school board on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the education of the district’s children?

A. The school board is responsible for setting policy, approving the district budget and approving or not approving recommendations from the administrative staff in terms of staff, curriculum, an terms of staff, curriculum, and program adoption for the education of our students.

A. The Indian River School District Board of Ed is comprised of (10) law-abiding citizens, who take their responsibility very seriously. When presented with the possibility our policies may not be “up-to-date” with current state and federal law, we investigated, formulated, and adopted new policies to bring our district into compliance.

We have been advised by our attorney(s) that we are in compliance with state and federal law. In the Dobrich settlement we stood firm on the issue of “Christmas break” and “Easter break” being placed on our calendars and on our school signs. As one member of the IRSD board of education, I will continue to stand firm on these issues.

A. Contrary to the claims of alleged discrimination, when Mrs. Dobrich approached the board with her concerns, the board addressed her concerns and adopted new policies accordingly. In my opinion, the board acted responsibly and did exactly what a board should do. Perhaps the prompting by outside groups, the possibility of obtaining monetary gain, may have clouded the judgment on their part.

As one board member, my opinion is we should not have settled; but we should have gone to court and let the courts decide the case. As it turns out, the district made a settlement with the Dobrich and Doe families, but we have not settled anything. There are people who are still unsure of what we should and should not do in the district.

[Should the board’s prayer continue to be pursued in the court system?]

Absolutely! I believe in the freedom of religion; not freedom from religion. This is one issue I will stand up for and not waiver.

The practice of beginning our regular meetings with prayer should be continued for a very good reason. Whenever we enter into anything of great importance, we should invoke the wisdom and guidance of Deity. I am not trying to evangelize, or promote any religion; I am simply asking, in my case, for wisdom to make good and sound decisions for our district.

A. We are planning to adopt new curriculum, which in turn would require new textbooks and supplies. At the present time, because of all the givebacks the state requires, the increase in energy costs, we do not have the adequate funds for books and supplies.

In our district, we have some of the best teachers in the state, if not the nation. As well as anyone else, our teachers expect a yearly raise. The district, for the above reasons, does not have the adequate funds for staff raises. Each taxpayer will have to decide what they are willing to support and what they feel is excess.

I voted to allow the public to tell me what they will support. As far as full-day kindergarten is concerned, I am not convinced this is really needed. There are as many opinions as there are stars in the sky on this issue. Once again, the public will decide if this is something they are willing to support.

Since I have been on the board, the state has continually sent down mandates; however they have not always been funded by the state. They expect each district to raise taxes by way of referendum to secure these funds. I personally do not agree with this philosophy. If the state mandates the programs, they should fund it also.

Q. What do you believe you offer as a potential member of the Indian River School Board at this time? What would be your goals and priorities as a board member, if you are elected?

A. As a candidate for the IRSB, I bring to the table 17 years of experience. During my tenure, the IRSD has continued to improve in all areas of education. Our test scores and the many accolades that our students, teachers, and staff have received are indicative of the great things our district has accomplished. I have had the opportunity to serve the IRSD for these past 17 years and I continue to have “a servant’s heart” and the willingness to help our students to be successful in their studies, and to eventually become positive and productive citizens.

The prayer issue, the renovation program and the continued improvement of our test scores are some of the issues I would like to see to fruition. I would like to ask the residents of the 5th district of the IRSD to come out on the 13th of May to vote and if they think I would make a good candidate to continue on the IRSD board of education, I would appreciate their support.

Donna Mitchell
District 5

Q. In your opinion, what is the role and purpose of the school board on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the education of the district’s children?

A. The role of the School Board is to set policies and act as a governing body to guide the district and establish a clear vision for the district’s continuous improvement. The board acts as a liaison between the community that we represent and the administration that we are responsible to oversee. Our purpose is always to ensure that our children receive the best possible education.

A. As chair of the Policy Committee, I can assure you that many long hours went into revising areas of our religion policy. Always taking into consideration the advice of our attorney, we worked to make sure that we were in compliance with the law and also that we preserved our rights under the First Amendment. As far as I am concerned, we do not need to make any further changes.

A. I joined the board after the lawsuit had already been filed and was saddened that the Dobrich and Doe families felt they had to take such action against the district, especially since the board initially acted to address their concerns. I did vote to not accept the first settlement offer because there were so many demands that were unacceptable and would have hindered our ability to function as a school board. Eventually, a settlement concerning the first part of the lawsuit was agreed upon.

In retrospect, I am not so sure it was a good thing, because in my opinion this matter will never be resolved until it goes all the way to the Supreme Court. I say this because we still have teachers and staff who are fearful that anything they say or do could be misconstrued as insensitive to someone of another faith or culture. As for “The Board Prayer,” I stand firm on our right to practice this time-honored tradition. We are an elected body and are afforded the same rights as our senate, congress and Supreme Court.

A. The decision to conduct a referendum was forced upon the board, due to the state’s unfunded mandate for all schools to implement full-day kindergarten beginning September of 2008. This would require additional classroom teachers and instructional supplies. Our district did not have the money to implement this program, so we decided to allow the taxpayers to choose if they wanted to fund it. I personally disagree with non-funded mandates.

Teacher salaries have been an ongoing concern. Indian River ranks very low on the pay scale and we often lose good employees to bordering districts who can pay more.

“Operating Initiatives” is an ongoing expense with many needed items. It would be wonderful if the state would fund these things, but the reality is the state continues to take more each year from us and yet expects more in return. All these initiatives are good and have merit; however, the reality is our district does not have the funds to support them. The referendum will bring these issues directly to the taxpayer, giving them the opportunity to decide which, if any, of these initiatives they are willing to support.

Q. What do you believe you offer as a potential member of the Indian River School Board at this time? What would be your goals and priorities as a board member, if you are elected?

A. Having served on the board for three years has given me valuable experience. During the last two years, I chaired the Policy Committee and attended all sub-committee meetings chaired by other board members, despite the fact that I was not required to be there. I consider it important to hear all dialogue brought to these meetings because I believe it helps me make informed decisions when voting.

For three years, I have also attended the state meetings and workshops in Dover, where I learn about upcoming issues and new programs in our state. For the last two years, I went to the National School Board Conventions in California and Florida where I compared notes and gained valuable insight from board members of other states. The classes and workshops conducted by successful districts enable me to see possibilities for new programs and direction for the future of the Indian River School District.

My goals would include a technical-trades school to replace the county vo-tech that once offered programs to students who were not college-bound. I would also like to see our own Scope Program in the Indian River District, which would allow room to house our discipline problems and get them out of the regular school setting.

Technology is necessary and we have to keep up if our students are to compete in the 21st century. I am a firm believer that public schools should have a strong emphasis on the basic subjects, but offer other things as well, including sports, music, arts, science, history and geography. Physical education has been ignored, resulting in obesity, diabetes and health issues being at an all-time high for young people.

Finally, I hope to see the state testing go by the wayside so our teachers can stop teaching to the test and have more time to work these other subjects back in. Our children need a well-balanced education.

These are some of my visions for the future and I am willing to work hard to help make them happen.

Voters to elect school board members Tuesday

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