Issues

Do all of our students have the same opportunities for excellence no matter where they live?  No matter their starting point in our schools?

Every single teacher, staff member and student in our schools should feel save every minute of every day.  Physical building security should be our #1 Facilities goal.  

Studies show that good discipline leads to less bullying and higher teacher and student satisfaction. However, only 72.9% of our teachers report that the rules for behavior are enforced at their school. That leaves 27.1% who do not believe behavior rules are enforced.

We lose teachers to other schools and retirement over lack of administrative support for discipline.  We lose students to other schools and home schooling.

Many studies also demonstrate a correlation between bullying and mental health issues including anxiety, depression, suicide and suicidal ideation (thoughts or plans) and a decline in school performance.  We must do our best to address the proven root causes of mental health that are within our control. 

We have to do better.

It's no secret that schools throughout our country and state are having trouble recruiting and retaining teachers.  Teachers are retiring in droves, especially after Covid and as a result of poor pay, too many non-teaching responsibilities and lack of administrative support.  And fewer people are going into teaching.

We can't make more people go into to teaching.  But we can keep our teachers and be the district of choice for all teachers if we make it more desirable to teach in our district.

The district’s annual revenue is basically fixed.  As a result, our TOTAL spending is fixed as well.  Without a tax hike this doesn't change, and we can’t spend more than we receive.  The only way to get more resources into the classroom is to eliminate waste.

Currently 59% of the District Five budget is spent on Instructional Services – teacher salaries, benefits and related expenses. 

I am the ONLY Trustee with the financial expertise to ferret out waste and propose better decisions and I have a proven track record of doing so.

The board is in charge of school buildings and the passage of bonds to raise taxes to pay for schools.  Frankly, the current board majority has done a poor job with this, including:

• Passing a bond referendum onto the public that does not increase capacity at Chapin High School, our school most facing overcrowding 
• Failing to address our giant 6th grade school in Irmo (Cross Roads Intermediate) that is fed by 10 elementary schools
• Passing a bond referendum onto the public without addressing how much the associated maintenance expenses will increase or how we will pay for them without a tax increase

What would I do differently?

Only 61.2% of our students meet or exceed SC Ready Reading and Writing standards.  That's not nearly good enough.

Reading is the fundamental skill for all other education.  Studies show that children who cannot read on grade level by the end of third grade are four times less likely to graduate.  

Further, some studies indicate that early reading struggles lead to discipline issues which then lead to problems learning to read, creating a vicious cycle.