The Magee Courier/ Simpson County News hosted a political forum on October 24 for candidates vying for the position of board members of the Simpson County School District (SCSD).
The purpose was to give the public an opportunity to hear each candidate’s qualifications and goals as a member of the school board.
Held at Co-Lin’s Simpson Center, the event was sparsely attended, but as of Monday, livestream coverage had drawn 2,376 viewers and is still available at The Magee Courier Facebook page.
Only districts 3 and 4 board positions are up for grabs on the November 5 ballot. For continuity, SCSD board members hold staggered six-year terms with three members— District 1’s Lillie Hardy, District 2’s Ralph Walker, and District 5’s Stacy Herrin—remaining in office until they come up for re-election later.
District 4 member Stanley Bulger chose not to run for re-election. Terra Mallette will run in his place unopposed. Mallette addressed the audience before the forum began. She said she is running because she cares about kids and doesn’t agree with some of the things going on in the schools, adding that she wants more accountability and transparency from students, teachers and the school board.
District 3, the only contested race, drew four candidates. Danny Cowart is the incumbent, having already served most of a six-year term on the board. He is being challenged by Thomas Ray Floyd, Brianne Kelly and Ronnell McDaniel. After each candidate’s opening remarks the group was asked six questions pertaining to how they hope to function on the board if elected.
Answers varied on the question “What do you believe is your most important role as a school board member?” McDaniel said that accountability needed to be established. Floyd said he wanted to “see that our children get a quality education at a reasonable cost.” Cowart said he will work to make sure that the board continues to hire school superinten- dents based on their qualifications, sets the goals on which a superintendent is to be evaluated, and provides educational facilities that match these goals. Kelly said that her goals are that the board will “Listen to teachers, parents and students— the school doesn’t run without them,” and she wants to make schools better than they are.
In question 2, candidates were asked to understand that the SCSD is the largest “business” in the county and that it deals with complex issues like budgets, policies, legalities, personnel, compliance with law and long-range planning. They were to list the qualifications that would make them assets to the board.
Floyd said that he was qualified based on knowing most of the people in the county and having managed construction projects, dealt with facilities and managed employees. Cowart cited his master’s degree in educational administration, his ability to l consolidated high school for the last three years.
The candidates were then asked their opinion of the one greatest problem of the SCSD that they planned to concentrate on solving if elected. Kelly said she is concerned about the number of students and teachers the system is losing. “What good does a new school do if we’re losing students and teachers?” she asked. McDaniel said that his goal will be education and placing emphasis on the people who facilitate that education. Cowart said that his biggest concerns are stability of goals on the board and consolidation. We need to study it,” he said. “Lack of options causes us to lose students.” Floyd’s greatest concern, he said, is the lack of discipline in the schools and doing something about lowering of standards and students not attending school.
In 2021, the school board voted 5-0 to combine Magee and Mendenhall High schools into one consolidated school. The candidates were asked whether or not they supported the board’s decision and why.
McDaniel said that he strongly supports consolidation, adding that it brings money to the county. Floyd, however, expressed “adamant opposition” to consolidation, saying that everybody knows he opposes the plan and that he had never seen any concrete data that consolidation improves education. He vowed to continue to oppose the plan if elected. “The kids who are leaving our district are going over to smaller schools that keep kids closer to family, not to larger schools,” he asserted.
Cowart disagreed, saying that he supports creating one high school because data does show that consolidation solves many problems that “seemed insurmountable” in the county, especially the aging and inadequate facilities. Kelly agreed with Floyd. She said she does not support consolidation because of the number of students the district is losing. “Throwing more money at something has never solved a problem,” she said. “Show me the data.” Several in the audience applauded her statement.
Each candidate was asked how he or she would deal with requests from constituents who might ask for their intercession in an issue such as discipline, course requirements or personnel, especially since the state and federal governments set many of the laws on those issues, and local boards cannot change those rules.
Kelly said, “I’m going to listen to the public, not just to District 3. I will do the absolute best I can.” Cowart responded that it would depend on what was requested. He said that anyone with a problem must (by law) first take it to the administration of the individual school and work from there, then contact the school board if they get no relief. He emphasized that board members are legally prohibited from going onto campuses and intervening in specific cases.
“I have made my phone number and email available and will listen with kindness and sensitivity,” Floyd said. “I’m going to advocate that we restore the public comments item to the board’s meeting agenda.” He said he wants to change the board’s meeting time from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so that more working people can attend. McDaniel said that he would be open to anything any citizen would want to present to the board.
The candidates from districts 3 and 4 will be on the ballot in those districts for the General Election on Tuesday, November 5. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m Because this is a presidential election year, a larger turnout than usual is expected.
