The Herald Bulletin
May 03, 2008 07:26 pm
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Editor’s note: The Herald Bulletin is endorsing candidates in contested races for local school boards. Endorsements are based on candidates’ stated positions on issues and interviews the editorial board conducted with candidates. Voters are urged to consider the endorsements, along with everything else they know about the candidates, when deciding whom to vote for Tuesday.
For the Anderson School Board, we endorse the following candidates:
Irma Hampton Stewart (Central District): Stewart’s legal training and 12 years of experience on the board (1992-2004) give her an important skill set for a school board member. She understands the issues and will take the time to do the research to help find the right solutions for Anderson Community Schools. Stewart, an attorney in private practice for 31 years, can be a bit of a contrarian and is an independent thinker — both qualities that this board sorely needs.
Teddy Pancol Bohnenkamp, the incumbent, has made a good school board member, and running in another district would almost certainly be the best choice. An Anderson High graduate, she has a genuine concern for the plight of Anderson schools — where a daughter teaches and five grandchildren attend. She also demonstrates a sound understanding of the issues faced by the schools
The motivation of the third candidate, Scott Bell, seems to be primarily the school uniform issue, over which he sued ACS last year. He works two jobs and has not demonstrated that he would have time to devote to meeting the board’s challenges.
Tony Swinford (East District): Swinford believes in strict discipline and would bring a good mixture of blue-collar and management experience to the board. An industrial consultant and landscape supervisor, he has never held elected office before and might find that it’s more difficult than he imagines to force parental involvement. But his passion and determination to make the schools a better place for teachers and students would stir the pot.
Keith Millikan, the incumbent, always says exactly what he thinks, which is generally a good thing but can be intimidating to parents. As a lifelong educator and 16-year board member, he is too close to the problems that have plagued ACS — low graduation rates, test scores and discipline — to see the range of possibilities for positive change.
Tom Morgan (South District): Morgan is the best in a five-person field characterized by candidates who have good intentions and show promise as public servants but generally lack the leadership savvy and depth of knowledge about education that are the hallmarks of effective board members. What sets Morgan, a self-employed software designer, apart is his unflinching refusal to believe that ACS is doomed to underachieve by socioeconomic factors.
Incumbent Wally Fitch defines the school board’s responsibilities too narrowly to make a difference in the direction of ACS. Challenger Tim Long has developed a deep understanding of the issues by consistently attending school board meetings over the years but is long on philosophy and short on practical solutions. Fellow challengers Lynne Barclay (mother of three and owner of a child-care business) and Tom Sullivan (retired educator) could be valuable volunteers for ACS if not elected.
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Endorsement schedule
Saturday: Alexandria and Elwood
Today: Anderson
Monday: Frankton-Lapel and South Madison
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