Fix the System or Fiddle the Budget?

I would rather fix the system. My last blog was perhaps a bit whimsical in pointing out a concern in the school systems budgeting. In my 23 years of executive leadership as an Air Force officer, I found that laxness in one part of an activity is a good indicator that there are problems throughout. We need our county school system to be as problem free as we can make it. I believe that with my experience as a senior manager and my years as a professional educator in the Technical School system give me the background and the tools needed to help weed out systemic problems and resolve them rather than shying away from them.

What's Up DOC? Taxes?

     I've heard several people express concern about the county school system delaying the decision on a tax roll-up (technically this is not a TAX INCREASE, but we do pay more) until after the election. The reason I was given when I asked was that they were afraid of making a mistake on a millage rate and coming up short like they did last year. Of course, some believe it is an effort to keep incumbents in office.  After all, the system does have contingency funds to cover mistakes and some shortfalls due to budgetary mistakes.
     Do we really need to resort to shenanigans as keepers of the public trust? I never did in 23 years managing systems and budgets in the Air Force much larger than the school system budget, and mine were always ready on time. But perhaps these delays and mistakes in getting a budget are so common place that no one cares, even the news media. After all, the Obama administration hasn't passed a budget in years! This just follows their lead.

What Does the Doctor Mean?

     I keep getting asked the question, "What does the Doctor mean?" or "Doctor of What?" Here is my answer. I am Doctor Paul Godfrey. That Doctor stands for my Doctor of Workforce Education from The University of Georgia. Since I also graduated from The University of Georgia with a mathematics degree several years ago, I am what is known as a Double Dog. (FYI, my daughter Shelli is a Georgia Tech graduate).  I also have three master degrees from other universities, including a master in foundations of education. I taught in the classroom for 15 years, so I know a bit about that subject, too. That knowledge and experience in education is partly why I think I am qualified to ask for your vote in the Republican Party Primary for Post 3 of the Hall County Board of Education, or, as it was termed before 1945, the "school board."

     The other part is my 23 years of experience successfully devising and managing multimillion dollar equipment and systems as an officer in the Air Force. I developed a reputation for cutting costs while fielding cutting edge technology. I saved thousands in costs for special operations in Germany, got NATO to foot a good chunk of the millions for U.S. Cruise Missile command and control in Europe (we forced the Russians to take their nukes out of Europe with that and helped cause communism to crumble), saved millions in costs while providing state-of-the-art command and controls systems in the Persian Gulf (right, wrong, or indifferent, this helped the military do the job in Desert Storm in Iraq), and played a key role in creating and actually turning a profit for the Defense Data Network, the system that led directly to the internet we know today. While my officer fitness reports gave great praise for these and other actions, I just think I did my job.

     Now, I want to do my job for our school system using that same approach. I want the board to sustain a forward looking, yet conservative viewpoint for our school system. As a retired citizen with many years of experience and a proven management track record, I have the knowledge, the skills, and the time to devote to identifying and cutting any wasteful costs in the Hall County School System. As a trained educator and practiced teacher I will apply that knowledge and experience to ensure the educational system is moving in the right direction. You can read everything about me, my background, and the issues I want to address on my Website at www.GoGodfrey.com . Anything you think is missing, just ask. I hope you agree I am the best man for the job.

Should SPLOST be used for any part of annual operating expense of the Hall County School System?

     I oppose any taxation that is not essential and I oppose all taxes that are not fairly distributed. In my view, consumption taxes are among the fairest there are and special purpose local option sales taxes (SPLOST) are consumption taxes. On the other hand, property taxes, especially when they support services for property owners and non-property owners alike, are among the least fair. Of course, even worse is a graduated income tax system, but that is for another day.
     From data available online, of about $342 million in educational SPLOST I, II, & III funds over 15 years for Hall County, about 21% went to upkeep/upgrades for existing schools, including technology and other equipment and furnishings, as well as improvements to extracurricular facilities. That is about $1.4 million per year.
     It was reported at the June 5 Hall County School board that the operating funds for the school board were as much as $25 million, around 8%, less than they were four years ago with a student population 700 more today than then.  The entire SPLOST collection, at about $23 million per year, would be needed to replace this variance each year.
     This means no funds to pay off existing debt, construct permanent classroom space, including new school construction and associated land acquisition, build school additions, complete renovations and repairs to related items such as library books, furniture roofs, HVAC systems, floors and security systems. While finding ways to pay for essential school operations cannot be ignored, neither can the purposes for which the electorate approved the SPLOST.
     With only two-third of those voting approving the SPLOST IV, future SPLOSTs that including operating expenses as an intended purpose are unlikely, regardless of my support. This brings me to the crux of the issue, I absolutely favor identifying and removing wasteful spending in the school system, if any. I also favor determining efficiencies that may reduce costs as well. But after that, we have an obligation to give our children the education they need for life and work. If we could come up with a better method of funding for K through 12 education I would wholeheartedly approve of a state constitutional amendment to make the change. For instance, lottery money contributes to Pre-K now and that certainly makes a differences.

Which of the 17 student pathways would you support putting in Hall County School and why?

The pathways, as they currently stand, are Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; A/V Technology and Communications; Architecture and Construction; Business, Management and Administration; Education and Training; Finance; Government and Public Administration; Health Science; Hospitality and Tourism; Human Services; Information Technology; Manufacturing; Marketing, Sales and Service; Public Safety and Security; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Transportation, Distribution and Logistics; and Energy . I favor supporting all 17 pathways in the Hall County School system.  At their latest meeting, the superintendent of Hall County Schools confirmed the system is moving in the direction of accommodating all pathways.

In point of fact, all 17 require a good deal of knowledge in common, especially in reading, thinking and mathematics skills. These classes in these common items need to be the first focus of our schools in supporting all pathways. Also, we surely don’t want to lock students into a specific pathway they later regret. Where pathways can be grouped into common knowledge areas, like statistics that will be needed in some group of the 17, but not necessarily all, we should provide students the choice of a group path to follow. As the student learns more, they will be better able to choose a narrower path to follow. 

This is similar to the pattern followed by the public colleges in our district. Lanier Technical College offers almost 40 different academic programs, from accounting to welding and joining technology. Lanier Tech’s web site states that all programs begin with the general education core courses that make up their Technical Specialist (General Studies) certificate.  Gainesville State College (GSC) offers almost 900 separate degrees, including those in the popular areas of Biological Sciences; Business Administration; Computer Science; Criminal Justice; Early Childhood Education; Health Profession Fields; Pre-Nursing; and Psychology.  At GSC all of their programs have a core component of English and mathematics, plus several other general education courses pathways.  When they merge with NGCSU there will be little change.

Realistically, getting to the point of full pathway support will not happen overnight for the school system. First, significant help will be needed to properly counsel the students in the system.  At least initially, we would not be able to afford to provide all the classes in all the pathway areas at every school. We may need to designate schools that emphasize certain pathways.  As students in the Hall County system narrow their focus to one of the pathways, they may also be ready for taking classes in a particular pathway at one of the local colleges as part of their secondary education. I would envision the school system continuing  to work closely with the public colleges in Hall County and beyond to both develop the material for coursework and to advise students. This includes joint ventures such as the STEM program now being developed at North Hall High School. But to get to this point, we will need not only a Superintendent and a staff well versed in career education, but also Board of Education members with the background and knowledge of workforce  education.

Everybody Votes

Board of Education Post 3 is basically West Hall County. However, the other morning, while talking to people in North Hall, I had a voter question why I was there since they couldn't vote for me. I tried to explain that Board of Education members in Hall County were elected by everybody in the county, not just the district they represent. The lady then explained to me that I was wrong about that and there was only one at large board member. Well, I accepted that, as I didn't have anything to cite other than what I was told by the elections office. So, I decided to go find out. What I discovered was this:

In 1958 a constitutional amendment provided for the Hall County Board of education be increased to nine members on January 1, 1961 and be elected rather than appointed by the Grand Jury. It also provided for the termination of all board members appointed by the Grand Jury on December 31, 1960. (Ga. L. 1958, Vol. 1, p. 517). It appears that at the time all board members were elected at large. In 1960 a constitutional amendment provided the “The Board of Education of Hall County shall be composed of five members, four of whom shall be elected from their respective districts, as provided for hereinafter, only by the voters of each respective district, and the fifth member shall be elected from the county-at-large by the voters of the entire county.” (Ga. L. 1960, Vol. 1, p. 1199). It further specified district boundaries by collections of militia districts and provided that the board would elect a chairman for a four year term. In 1964 a proposed constitutional amendment provided for staggering of the election of the board members (Ga. L. 1964, Vol. 1, p. 845). By 1972 apparently the voters thought it was time for a change, so a constitutional amendment was passed that said the board would appoint the school superintendent who would serve at the pleasure of the board. But, it also had all the board members elected by the entire school district and not just the ones they came from (HR 585, Ga L. 1972, pp. 1379-1381). That is why everybody in the County, except folks in the Gainesville School District, votes for them today.

There have been a few changes to that set up, but primarily to make sure terms were staggered (Ga. L. 1976, Vol. 1, p. 1910), define boundary changes for the internal districts (Ga. L. 1983, Vol. 2, p. 4553), affirm the constitutional amendments as local law (Ga. L. 1986 Vol. 2, p. 4330), and rearranged the districts based on the census (Ga. L. 1992 Vol. 2, p. 4563), (HB 1730, 2002), and (SB 397, 2012). However, none of these specifically changed the “everybody votes” rule and the next time I am asked what I am doing in North Hall, East Hall, or South Hall asking for votes, I can explain why.

My Beliefs About an American Educational System

         Education is essential to competitiveness both at home and abroad. It provides training for the work force of the future and it ensures the transmission of a set of values we hold in common. We all agree we need to teach the basics of reading and writing. We also are aware that we must improve the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We know, too, that we can't neglect the learning our children need, from acting in plays to playing on ball fields, that are part and parcel of our American culture. But we should not forget that, at the same time, we need to recognize the civic mission of schools.
         Civic education, both in the classroom and through service learning, should be a cornerstone of American public education and future school reform efforts should foster an environment of learning where civic responsibilities are learned and exercised. Our children should not be prevented from learning in this environment by judicial fiat. While teaching other languages is a proper role in education, the English First approach, rather than divisive alternate language programs that limit students' future potential, should be the mainstay of our school system.
         We must encourage the seeking out of private-public partnerships and mentoring. These arrangements can make classroom time more meaningful to students and extend learning beyond school walls. We must actively seek out the specific causes for school drop-outs and work with whatever community entities as necessary to lower that rate. We must ensure we have an active process for identifying at-risk students so that we may help them realize their potential.
        Partnerships between schools and businesses can be especially important in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering,  and math. We must improve secondary education in those fields. On graduation, our students should be prepared in these fields to succeed. Whether going directly into their chosen area of employment or through either purely academically oriented or career oriented colleges and other post-secondary institutions, they should be prepared to progress successfully without the need for remedial courses. Also, in areas where our country relies on foreign talent, we must ensure we give sufficient emphasis in those areas in the high school years so that America’s children can meet America’s challenges.
         We must foster teaching methods with a track record of success in the American cultural setting and avoid experimental schemes or methodology devised for a different cultural base than our American experience. While our children must be given the education to successfully compete with other cultures and systems around the world, they should not be forced to adopt the beliefs and norms of those foreign systems.
         Our school districts must have the authority to recruit, reward, and retain the best and brightest teachers, and our school board should ensure that authority is used. We must hold principals accountable for their schools, but we must protect their authority to select and assign teachers where they are needed and most effective. This includes vouchsafing this authority without regard to collective bargaining agreements. Where qualified teachers are not available through traditional routes, we must support local efforts to create an adjunct teacher corps of experts from higher education, business, and the military to fill in when needed.
        Likewise, we should not turn away from other common sense ideas. For example, parents should be able to decide the learning environment that is best for their child and should have a voice in what that learning environment looks like. Our school system must work with families, not against them. Administrators and teachers alike must see parents are partners with the school system and not opponents of it.  Indeed, we must ensure laws designed to protect family rights and privacy in education are vigorously enforced.  We all have a vested interest in the success of our educational system, and we must honestly consider the ideas of each stakeholder in this success, to include the student, the parents, the school system, and the people in the community in which we all live.