Running for Office

By Bob Cornelius

The most compelling reason for my candidacy

We must create strategies that support early childhood development and insure that no child is allowed to fall behind. The key to successful school/student achievement is appropriate policies that support a variety of learning environments. The focus of change should be to accelerate teaching those students that are falling behind and not limit/restrict those students/teachers that are providing effective instructional programs. Research indicates that strong site management/Principals have significant impact of student achievement. Additional staff development is a must.

The Board of Education needs someone who knows something about school finance and resource allocation (budgeting and someone who is familiar with what it takes to have high performing schools that produce high-level student achievement. Efforts must be made to increase research and development regarding learning theory and learning techniques that will help the teacher in the classroom. Efforts must be made to return support for libraries, nurses, counseling, and other programs that are essential to providing support to the classroom. It is essential to focus on the needs of the students and student achievement.

It is critical that the County Board of Education support increased resources, resolve special education funding, assist school districts, and start rethinking how we spend our education dollars. We should interact at the state and federal level to change education policy.