Kevin Roden – 04.26.10

It is with great regret that we haven’t yet covered the Denton ISD School Board election.  In many ways, the future of education in our town is tremendously more important than any issue dealt with in other political arenas.  Regardless of what choice you make among the many educational options in town – whether you choose public schools for your family or not, the necessity for public schools remain.  As Mortimer Adler maintained in his educational breakthrough book, The Paideia Proposal, “For the proper working of our political institutions, for the efficiency of our industries, for the vitality of our culture, and for the ultimate good of our citizens as individuals, and especially our future citizens – our children – we must succeed.”

And there is no other time when the important question of LOCAL public education is more pressing.  Public education has come under fire from all fronts – from parents and politicians alike.  This has led to a situation where detached, hubristic, and generally ignorant national leaders have been given the reigns to dictate what has always been a local right and responsibility.  Local educational experts, comprised of administrators and experienced teachers who have earned their stripes through years in the trenches of the classrooms, are increasingly being lectured to by politicians (who are typically lawyers and businessmen by trade) who have no idea what they are talking about.  The guy sitting in coach class who didn’t like the way his Diet Coke was served to him by the flight attendant has decided he’s best suited to fly the plane.  And we, those sitting in the cabin, watch it happen and cheer him on.  With budget problems looming, there’s never been a more opportune time for the folks in the US Department of Education to nationalize education through the offering of much-needed financial incentives.  Will the local experts deny this short-term gain in hopes of retaining control over the education of our children?  This is perhaps one of the most important long-term issues to watch.

We will continue to cover educational issues in Denton.  And for anyone interested in pursuing the question of education further, the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture is sponsoring the 2010 Education Forum on the topic of What Makes a Good Education? this week – click here for more info and join me and my wife. But for now, here’s a primer designed to get you schooled on the local school board election that began today with early voting…

DENTON ISD SCHOOL BOARD BASICS
The Denton School Board is made up of 7 members serving 3 year terms.  Each member is at-large, meaning they are all voted by the entire constituency of the Denton ISD area and serve as representatives for the entire area.  Elections are staggered so that there are no more than three seats up for re-election in any election cycle.  Go here to see the current make-up of the Denton ISD School Board, complete with bios of each of the 7 trustees.

THIS ELECTION
This year, Places 3, 4, and 5 are up for election.  The Place 4 seat, held by incumbent Mia Price, has no contestant, so Price gets to keep her seat.

Place 3 sees a race between incumbent Glenna Harris (see here website here) and Sheryl English, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Place 1 seat last May.

Incumbent Charles Stafford seeks to keep his Place 5 seat from the challenge of Calvin Evans, who previously served on the Board from 1995-2004.

EDUCATE YOURSELF
In addition to seeing some of their own campaign websites (linked above), check out these helpful links to find out more information about these candidates and their positions…

– Denton RC article on the Place 5 race between Stafford and Evans

– Denton RC coverage of the March 26 NAACP School Board Candidates Forum

– Denton RC coverage of the April 22 Kiwana’s Candidate Forum

– Denton RC article on the Place 3 race between Harris and English

– League of Women Voters of Denton Voter’s Guide (includes both School Board and City Council Candidates)

FOR INFORMATION ON VOTING TIMES AND PLACES, CLICK HERE