The three candidates for the District 1 seat on the Board of Education faced the audience for Thursday's forum, held at St. Alban's. (David Boraks photo)

The three candidates for the District 1 seat on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education met for a second forum in Davidson Thursday night, answering questions about how to keep public schools in Davidson competitive, the importance of middle school sports, and how to prevent re-segregation.

The three candidates – Robin Bradford, Rhonda Lennon and Gail Summerskill – are vying for the seat currently held by Larry Gauvreau, who is not seeking reelection.  District 1 represents the northern part of the county, including Davidson.

The three school board candidates. From left are: Gail Summerskill, Robin Bradford and Rhonda Lennon.

Thursday’s debate, held at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, featured the candidates staking out familiar ground: Rhonda Lennon stressed her track record in getting new schools built in north Mecklenburg County, Robin Bradford called for fair and equal opportunities for all CMS students, and Gail Summerskill cited her background in education and her interest in using new technologies to encourage “21st century learning skills.”

KEEPING PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPETITIVE

In a question about keeping public schools in Davidson competitive with all the strong charter and private options to choose from, the candidates revealed different takes on how to slice up the CMS budget pie.

Ms. Lennon said individual schools could be more competitive if budget dollars followed students to their particular schools instead of going into a central fund.

“Focus tax dollars on individual students,” she said.

Dr. Summerskill said such a mechanism would create “a nightmare” due to the fluid movement of students within the CMS system.  Instead, she recommended giving principals more curriculum autonomy when their school is performing well.

Ms. Bradford also favored tracking money with students, but said getting qualified teachers is the key to keeping schools competitive.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS

Middle school sports were on the chopping block in the spring, when CMS faced a budget crisis.  The three District 1 candidates were asked Thursday how they would respond to such a crisis.

“I would never advocate cutting middle school sports,” said Dr. Summerskill, who said sports helped her own children.  She recommended outsourcing such budget items as food services and busing services as a better way to save money.

Ms. Bradford responded that such programs could not be outsourced if they are federally funded.  She sought instead to resist merit raises to administrators.

“I would not terminate teachers or cut sports,” Ms. Bradford said.

Ms. Lennon said she valued middle school sports, but said they do not always offer enough opportunities and said the district should consider intramural leagues.  Budget cutting, meanwhile, could best be achieved through consolidating services, Ms. Lennon said.

ENCOURAGING DIVERSITY

As in the previous week’s forum, the three candidates differed in how they would approach school boundary decisions.  These approaches came up in questions from the audience about how to prevent inequities within CMS , as well as prevent re-segregation by race and socio-economic status at schools in the northern part of the county.

For Ms. Lennon, school assignment is a simple matter.  She said students should attend the school closest to their homes whenever possible.

“Children do best when their parents are involved; parents can get involved when the school is local,” Ms. Lennon said.

“If you are a parent who is active in your child’s life, regardless of what school that child goes to, you’re going to be active,” Ms. Bradford countered. “It’s not because the school is in your neighborhood, it’s because you’re part of that child’s life.”

Dr. Summerskill said drawing student boundaries is a complicated process that cannot be limited to drawing a circle around a school building on a map. “If it was a simple thing to do proximity, we wouldn’t be having all the fights we’re having,” she said.

Both Ms. Bradford and Dr. Summerskill said school boundaries need to be drawn according to a variety of factors, one being encouraging diversity.

“If you have a neighborhood school, you create a bubble,” said Ms. Bradford.  “You have to have a community school; you have give choice.  We have to make sure that we have diversity.”

She cited her own experience in schools in New York, where she sometimes found herself to be one of the few African-American students in a school.  “I’m a product of a community that believed in diversity and made it work,” Ms. Bradford said.

Dr. Summerskill also cited her own experience growing up as an example of the benefits of diverse school experiences, saying that she attended school in Africa and also a junior high “that was 85 percent Chinese.”  She stressed that students today need to be able to participate and succeed in “the global community.”

“It’s a disservice to your children to put them in a safe haven because then when they get out into college they don’t know how interact,” she said.

Ms. Lennon said that churches and other community groups can be involved in addressing achievement gaps at particular schools and that if a neighborhood school ends up with a high concentration of poverty, that school should also get extra funding and resources to help students.

AUDIO AND PAST COVERAGE

To listen to an audio replay of the three candidates at the Oct. 22 St. Alban’s forum, click here.

For our past coverage of the school board race, click on:

• School Board candidates talk boundaries, walking to school (Oct. 16)
• Meet the candidates for CMS School Board (Oct. 14)