Four vie for two spots on school board

Four candidates are vying for two spots on the Jasper Independent School District Board of Trustees.

Incumbent Carolyn Armitage is seeking re-election to her seat while Kevin Kipp, Melissa Armstrong and Keith Hilderbrandt are seeking election to the seats as well.

In order to give the candidates equal time on issues, The Jasper Newsboy asked the following questions in an effort to introduce the candidates' views on the upcoming board election.

Both JISD and city council elections are being held together. Early voting begins April 30 at Jasper City Hall.

Why are you running for a position on the JISD board?

Carolyn Armitage: After completing my third year of service on the JISD school board, I believe I have the experience and training to be an effective member of the board. Having had three children in JISD for a total of twenty-five years, I have had years of experience volunteering in parent organizations, mentoring, and on various school committees, which provided me with a solid foundation for serving on the board. I have a strong desire to be part of the solution and have witnessed the power of involvement and the changes it can make in a child's life.

Kevin Kipp: I believe this is my opportunity to "do the right thing." I believe that everyone has a civic duty, and I am passionate about serving the youth of our community. Serving on the JISD Board of Trustees is a tremendous opportunity to fulfill my civic duty in an area that I care very deeply about.

Melissa Armstrong: I'm running for school board because this position is key to understanding our children and their families needs. The position can facilitate in assisting them to obtain from the school district the resources that will increase the chances of our children being successful. In addition to having two children in the school district, I believe it is important to be involved on as many levels as one can.

Keith Hilderbrand: I'm seeking a position on the Board of Trustees because I am a resident of this school district and have had for sometime a real passion for ensuring the quality of business and the conduct of the business in the district. More importantly, I'm running for a position because I have two children of my own and I want to do what I can to make their school system the best that it could possibly be.

What are some issues you would like to accomplish?

Carolyn Armitage: I would like to see more parental involvement in the schools. I think parents should be empowered to be partners in education. I would like to see our discipline strengthened but with fair and equal treatment of all students. In addition to providing a challenging curriculum to prepare college bound students, I would like to see JISD strengthen the vocational curriculum which would assist students who do not plan to attend college to find employment after high school. I would also like to see JISD provide the best possible technology and classroom equipment for our staff and students.

Kevin Kipp: Educators are in their profession because they want to make a difference in the lives of children and youth. Obviously teachers do not teach for economic reasons. That being said, JISD needs to attract and retain the elite educators by offering economic packages that are the best for equivalent schools and communities. As with any business, retention of quality employees is essential to the health and success of the business.

On a personal note, I would love to see the athletic program return to dominance. Successful extracurricular programs raise school morale, make the learning environment more effective, attract quality educators, build selfesteem, and generally improve the school environment. I believe athletics, band, one-act play, choir, school clubs and the like, teach leadership and time management skills that are valuable whether the next level is higher education or the workforce.

Melissa Armstrong: As a social worker and at one time an at-risk counselor I have been involved with children with behavior problems, which may not allow them to function in a classroom setting. I believe that the community of Jasper should assist and provide those children and their families with resources that will provide appropriate individualized interventions. These interventions will allow the children and their families the support they need to be able to participate in public schools with their peer groups.

Keith Hilderbrand: Anyone could prepare an almost endless list of issues but my focal point would be the attention and the fairness that is given to all the school children. We expect our students, our children, to be responsible and accountable but we should expect no less from faculty and or administration.

What are your feelings on TAKS tests? Should it be revamped?

Carolyn Armitage: Absolutely it should be revamped! Teachers need to be allowed to teach students thinking skills, not just teaching to a test. There is currently a bill which has passed the Texas Senate and is being considered in the House which would replace the TAKS tests at the high school level with end-of-course tests which makes more sense than TAKS. However, parents must realize that the federal government requires testing accountability and we will continue to have some sort of state mandated tests.

Kevin Kipp: TAKS testing was implemented with good intentions; however, I believe exit level, course specific, testing would be more beneficial to the student in the long run.

Melissa Armstrong: The TAKS test is a very important component to our children's educational plan. I believe that this test does help educators fully understand and identify areas of concern. However, I would like to ensure parents that the school district is not only teaching their children how to pass the TAKS, but also providing them with the quality education that allows them to be more competitive with peers in other school districts and particularly where college is concerned.

Keith Hilderbrand: I think it's important to understand that the TAKS test is a statelevel issue and not a local matter. Having said that, I believe people invite fear and intimidation when they hear "tests," especially a standardized test that should be used for nothing more than a measuring stick. If we would allow teachers to teach, tests such as the TAKS test would not be an issue because the students would know all they needed to know in order to perform in a satisfactory manner. TAKS tests certainly shouldn't be used to measure a teacher's or a district's performance, though they should be evaluated by some performance measure, simply because people have naturally differing learning abilities just as two athletes will have differing abilities. In my learning years we had similar tests by which to measure a student's level of learning. The emphasis wasn't placed on the test but rather on daily learning.

What was the biggest challenge after Hurricane Rita - what would you do differently?

Carolyn Armitage: In my opinion, the biggest challenge was addressing the loss of instructional time. Since the days missed after the storm exceeded allowed waiver days for bad weather, JISD received the state's permission to add 15 minutes a day to the schedule. This option was the best under the circumstances to keep from further decimating the school schedule and disrupting families plans by extending school into June or going on Saturdays.

In order to prevent additional hardships to their employees, JISD made arrangements for staff to continue to be paid during the time missed after the storm. Information was made available as soon as decisions could reasonably be made. The district has since implemented additional disaster preparedness measures, especially in the area of communication. Given the catastrophic nature of this event, I would have to give the district high marks for the way it was handled.

Kevin Kipp: Actually, attending school board meetings immediately after Rita is what initiated my interest in serving on the JISD Board of Trustees. I was extremely impressed with the way the administration, staff and board handled the post-Rita period. There were some very difficult decisions to make and the district was very thorough in their thought process and made decisions with the students' best interests in mind.

Melissa Armstrong: I'm not sure that I would do anything differently. However, the majority of children that evacuated have returned. I believe that the community of Jasper is continuing to move forward with a plan to enhance participation and unity among the people.

Keith Hilderbrand: I believe the greatest challenges post- Rita would have been ensuring the integrity of all the physical plants and buildings within the district. You can never fully-plan, or prepare for, a natural disaster but you should be able to ensure that you have adequate funding to conduct business as normal and to assure the safety of the students and teachers.

School funding is a constant issue. What is your opinion on the current state of school funding?

Carolyn Armitage: Although the Texas Legislature passed legislation which was structured to reduce local property taxes, the state funding of Texas schools is still woefully inadequate and inequitable. As long as the state of Texas continues to require school districts to comply with unfunded mandates, many school districts, especially rural ones, will be financially challenged to provide the quality education their students deserve. Less affluent school districts struggle to pay teachers a competitive salary. Also, the addition of a 65% rule which requires school districts to budget that percentage of their funds to instruction sounds reasonable, but in reality is a hardship to rural school districts with high fuel costs from long bus routes and other expenses beyond their control. Thanks to prior fiscal responsibility, JISD is in sound financial shape, but I expect school funding to continue to be a major issue.

Kevin Kipp: School funding is an extremely difficult issue to fully understand for the layperson. Many years ago the state of Texas promised a percentage of Texas Lottery sales would be designated for public schools. Representative Wayne Christian explained to me a few weeks ago that this has not been the case due to moral and ethical questions concerning the lottery and gambling. I say, "Show me the money."

Melissa Armstrong: Of course the district could always use more funding for various reasons. Our teachers play a large part in our children's future and have a major role in ensuring their success. The teachers worth is far beyond what we could ever pay monetarily, but perhaps there needs to be an incentive for the hard work they do.

Keith Hilderbrand: There is not school district in the nation that is exempt from funding issues. Texas certainly has its issues and Jasper ISD shares a seat in that same boat. There is no simple answer without creating a tremendous pushback from someone or some group. Again, many of the problems and solutions surrounding the funding issue would need to be addressed at the state level. On the local level, what is being realized is that home and property values are being increased at alarming rates. Extra-curricular activities might need to find ways to be self-supporting, corporate sponsorships and partnerships might be an answer. Regardless, this is a serious issue and one that needs a great deal of attention.

Why should people vote for you?

Carolyn Armitage: I believe I should be re-elected to the JISD school board because I have the time, experience, and commitment necessary to be a contributing board member. I have faithfully attended meetings and training events in order to be knowledgeable about school board service. If re-elected to the board, I pledge to continue to work in the best interest of the students.

Kevin Kipp: I am a graduate of this school system. I have two children, a niece and a nephew in this school system. I have a very personal interest in the educational quality that our children receive in the Jasper Independent School District.

I have 24 years experience managing a large business with multiple locations and many employees. I understand the importance of demanding employee effort, acknowledging that effort, and compensating achievement and excellence. Volunteer service is not new to me. I have a great deal of experience serving the community, from civic and church boards of directors to cleaning the bathrooms at the ballpark. I can think of no better use of my time and effort than to improve the educational experience of the youth of our community.

Melissa Armstrong: I not only want what's best for my children, but other children as well. The environment that we provide for our children should be one, which understands differences, embraces change for the betterment of our community, and one that is open- minded. Acommunity working together to promote good citizens and leaders will make Jasper, Texas the place to raise children and have a family.

Keith Hilderbrand: I would ask anyone to vote for me if they want fairness, if they want a loud voice, if they want someone with the passion to work for every student across the Jasper ISD landscape.