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City, school candidates present views
His opponent is Chuck Borders, who on one hand is a veteran of school and city panels, but was defeated in his last bid for a term as a trustee. Garlough and Borders faced off in Candidates' Night, a voter education forum for candidates in contested island races, on Thursday, April 24, at the Port Aransas City Council chambers. The event, sponsored by the South Jetty, was attended by an audience of about 35 and televised live on Charter Cable channel 20. Both Garlough and Borders said they support the idea of drug testing for students. PAISD Superintendent Billy Wiggins has presented trustees with a plan to create a voluntary drug testing program for students and to reinvigorate other efforts to deter illegal drug use among pupils. Trustees are expected to vote on the proposal within the next few months.
Garlough said he will look for ways to free up more money in the school district's budget for instruction. Borders said clever use of bond money will be a key to helping finance the materials and instruction needed at PAISD. Both candidates said they believe the state-mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) serves school districts relatively well as a way to make sure that students and schools are performing well. Asked what changes he might make if elected, Borders said individual trustees "should not and probably cannot" make changes, but school boards must work together to create change.
Garlough last year was appointed to fill Place 4 until the May election. It was left vacant when Bob Smith resigned. Borders held the Place 5 spot on the school board last year and ran for re-election but narrowly was defeated by challenger Rita Reed. Trustees' terms are three years. Like other candidates at the forum, Garlough and Borders drew questions drawn up by the South Jetty and then had 30 minutes to formulate threeminute responses to the questions they drew. They were allowed two minutes to make impromptu responses to their opponents' prepared responses. The candidates were allowed five minutes to make opening statements before the questioning and five minutes to make closing statements as the forum concluded. Opening statements Garlough Garlough said he and his wife have two children enrolled at H.G. Olsen Elementary School. "We moved to the island right after we were married … because we wanted the small-town experience, have the kids in a smaller school, where they are somebody," Garlough said. "I believe that is a very important feature in a child's education - knowing they are somebody when they go through the system." Garlough said he has run his own contracting business for the past 14 years and was in retail before that. He said got a degree in marine engineering at Texas A&M University at Galveston and that two of his classmates were from Port Aransas High School. "Those two kids excelled," Garlough said. "I think one of the reasons they excelled is they had a spirit of can-do. They looked at the work. They sat there and reasoned it out. Thermodynamics, heat transfer; you name the subject, and they were not afraid to tackle it. They sat there and worked at it until they finally did it. I studied with those guys and finally picked up on their spirit, that can-do, self-motivated (spirit)." It's important that students learn how to teach themselves, Garlough said. It's an ability that will serve them well when they're out of school, he said. "I have noticed that … my sixyear old comes home from school, and my seven-year-old -- they pick up their homework, they look at it, and it's not: 'Oh no, I've got to do homework!' It's a positive attitude. I've got to do this, and boom-boomboom, I'm through. It comes from the teachers teaching that. They teach the children self-confidence. They teach the kids we can do it. I believe that comes from having very dedicated teachers here." Garlough said he was "overwhelmed" when he was appointed to the school board and realized the kind of work that was involved in being a trustee. He said PAISD Superintendent Billy Wiggins simplified things when he explained that the objective is simply to serve students well. "That answered a lot of questions in my mind," Garlough said. "Different situations come up, finance and everything else. It's work for the kids. And that is what I'm here for. When my children graduate, I want them to be the best-equipped children to go out in the world and have a positive attitude. They go to college, they go to trade school, whatever, they have that individual spirit to achieve." Garlough said observing other school systems has made him realize what a good job PAISD teachers and administrators do. "I would just like to keep the spirit going, because nothing is standing still in this world," Garlough said. "Everything changes. I would like to be part of that change, keeping the system going." Borders A permanent resident of Port Aransas for more than 27 years, Borders noted that he has had three children enrolled in PAISD and that he has served on many boards and commissions including the Port Aransas City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, Charter Review Board, District-Wide Education Improvement Council and the PAHS Site Base Committee. He said he has years of experience working with young people through schools, soccer and Boy Scouts. Borders said his school board experience would help him handle school finance, academics, teacher development, and "the social challenges of the current day and age." "A trustee must be the advocate for all grade levels … not just the campus where their children currently are registered," he said. "A trustee must be able to meld the needs of the child, the campus and the district with the community that is made up not only of parents but singles, grandparents, seniors and others whose only interest in school issues is the amount of their tax levy." Actions of the school board have consequences within the greater community just as community actions affect the school district, Borders said. "You need a school board member who has been on both sides." Academic achievement at PAISD has been strong the past five years due to good leadership and dedication of employees, Borders said. But, because PAISD is a property-rich school district and has to send away a lot of tax revenue as a result, trustees face challenges on how to make district income go as far as possible. "The citizens need someone on the school board that has the background, knowledge, and confidence to make those hard decisions," Borders said "And I believe that I am that person." Trustees must continue to demand excellence from administrators and that administrators demand excellence from teachers and staff. "The school board responsibilities are to ensure that the proper people are hired at the senior level and that we provide the funds necessary to carry out our goals of having an exceptional district and three exceptional campuses," Borders said. The school board has discussed creating a voluntary drug-testing program at PAISD as part of a broader anti-drug effort, but no official vote has been held. Where do you stand on the issue? Garlough (prepared): "A voluntary testing program, I am for. I think it sends out a positive message to students that we want to get the drugs off our campus," Garlough said "… But there's going to be ways they are going to get around it. They're smart guys." Court opinions indicate that drug testing in schools passes legal muster, he said. Students temporarily should be prevented from engaging in school sports, driving on campus and other activities, but there should be no "permanent" penalties for testing positive, Garlough said. They should have to go to counseling to learn what danger they're in, he said. Borders (impromptu): "I personally feel we should do drug testing," Borders said. "I'm just not sure as to whether or not it should be voluntary, mandatory or a combination." Some students, Borders said, might fail a drug test not for taking drugs but from secondary marijuana smoke. "How would you feel if you tested positive for marijuana because your house was full of smoke the night before, and all you were trying to do was trying to study for a test?" he said. "Leadership must have a moral compass and that applies to homes and parents as well as schools," Borders said. "If we cannot change the home environment, then the only environment left is the school." Schools need to find ways to make drug testing a reward so everyone wants to be tested, Borders said. Trustee Because PAISD is a propertyrich school district, state Robin Hood laws require that the district share its wealth with poorer districts. Consequently, PAISD doesn't have as much money as it would like to have to spend on educating Port Aransas students. As a school board member, what could you do to make PAISD's money go as far as possible? Garlough (prepared): "The schools right now also have some long-term debt, like $9.2 million, and if you look at what it takes to service that debt annually right now, we're at $570,000 to service that debt," Garlough said. "… Through good management of the district, they've been conservative in their budget estimates. Before I came here, they built up some money in their reserve account. I was thinking that if we took some of that money and (paid) off some of the schools' long-term debt, we paid off, say, $1 million or $1.5 million, that frees up another $70,000, or $80,000 to be put in for instructional purposes into the school." Garlough said long-term contracts on utilities is another possible method for savings that could be applied toward instruction. Borders (impromptu): Good use of bonds could help provide the kind of additional money PAISD needs, Borders said. "Every dime we pay on bonds … is not subject to being taken away from us," Borders said. "If we could finance the whole school with a bond, we'd keep all our money. So, I will tell you that clever use or successful use of our bonding capability will allow us to keep more money in Port Aransas, keep the tax rate the same and allow us to provide more services to our students instead of less." Speaking of Robin Hood, do you think local school boards should play a significant role in changing the way schools are financed and, if so, what is a better way to pay for educating Texas students that does not "rob from the rich to give to the poor" yet provides an equal education for all? Garlough (impromptu): "The appraisal system … is not fair for … us as homeowners," Garlough said. "… A 2,000-square-foot house (in Port Aransas) might be worth $500,000, where over at Driscoll, it's worth only $150,000. But, yet, we have to pay that tax rate. "One way, since everything is mandated so much by the state is, maybe the state (could) create a system where it is based not so much on appraisal value but, say, square footage, and what that property generates in revenue," Garlough said. "… The state mandates so many things, but yet we have very little control, because the state comes in on the appraisals and reviews our county appraiser every year or every other year, and we have to be within 5 percent of what the county appraiser and the state's appraisers' estimates are, or we get penalized," Garlough said. "And we have to go to court to get our money back. To try to provide equalization across the state is a very difficult question." Borders (impromptu): "The emphasis on school finance has still got to come from the state," Borders said. "The solution is to come up with something other than a property taxbased system. How you're going to do that in the state of Texas, I have no idea. "But the problem clearly lies in the state Legislature and the politics of the state Legislature, and it's going to be very difficult to make a change," Borders said. "But should school board and school board members advocate a change? Absolutely. Is there an unfair advantage in some school districts? And should we share some money? I can't argue against that." But Borders said he sees unfairness in how some money ends up being spent. "When I go to a (Texas Association of School Boards) convention, and I see a superintendent from a school in West Texas that has less students than we do, and they have four assistant superintendents, and they're all making $70,000 a year, and the guy says, 'Thanks for Robin Hood,' there is something wrong with the system," Borders said. "That money should go to kids." Some people believe the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) testing is a good tool to make sure schools are getting the basics across to as many students as possible, and that schools should be held accountable if they don't. Others believe that the state-mandated testing forces teachers to "teach to the TAKS," making the learning environment too narrow. Where do you stand? Borders (prepared): "Whether you like it or not, the changes in Texas that have been made over the past several years have improved our schools," Borders said. "The children in Texas consistently score in the top ten percent of the top five states in all categories in all levels. So, something happened. … What I think is important is, if you understand the process, you can see how it works." Trustees simply need to hold school administrators accountable for ensuring that teachers see to it that children learn what they're supposed to learn, Borders said. If that happens, children will pass the TAKS, and schools will be successful. "Do we stress over it? Yes," Borders said. "Is it working? Yes." Garlough (impromptu): Garlough said he believes TAKS works - partly because children need to get used to taking big tests that determine their abilities. They'll be taking similar tests if they enter the military or civil service, for example, he said. Benchmarking tests are done throughout the school year to see how ready students are for the TAKS, and those tests are valuable tools to see specifically where students might need help, Garlough said. TAKS also "gives you a way to look across the state see how you're doing," Garlough said. "I think out of the, what is it, third to eleventh grade they're testing, we have only one grade that is slightly below the state average. The rest of the students are above the state average by anywhere from five to nearly 19 or 22 percent above the state average." What would you change about PAISD to make it a better school district? Borders (prepared): "The district goals of the Port Aransas Independent School District, which are developed each year by the school board, lay out the ground work that the board wants the school district to move toward," Borders said. "Individuals should not and probably cannot make those changes." Borders said the school board and superintendent must act as a team. "So, how do you make this team of eight move forward? You as an individual have to be a team player," Borders said. Individual trustees should offer ideas to the rest of the board for how to change goals or meet district goals, he said. "The thing I offer to this team of eight is my leadership my preparedness, my practicality, my insight, my desire and my motivation," Borders said. Garlough (impromptu): Garlough said he wouldn't push for major changes but would like to see more parent input at school board meetings. He said he also would like more input from teachers on what will educate kids better. "Is it more computers?" Garlough said. "Is it more real-time experience? The vocational process? The gifted and talented classes where they can move and not just be taught limited to what the TAKS test is?" What makes you the best candidate for Place 2? Borders (prepared): Borders said he is the best candidate because of his experience as a financial manager; because his occupation has gotten him used to personnel issues; and because he understands the complex government and legal jargon that school board members must read. "And finally, you need a team player and a board player, and I currently sit on or am an advisor on over 15 boards in the Port Aransas area," Borders said. "I have lots of board experience and lots of experience trying to find consensus out of board members when sometimes there isn't any." Garlough (impromptu): Garlough said he is the best candidate largely because he has a vested interest in Port Aransas schools, having two children and many friends' children enrolled here. Garlough said his business experience also has prepared him. "I have been in business for myself for 20 years," he said. "I do hiring and firing, and I realize that is one of the main issues that makes a school district good, is the personnel you put in place." Closing statements Borders Borders started his closing argument by listing some things that are not the responsibilities of trustees. He said they shouldn't "unilaterally comment publicly on school issues; hire or fire teachers; direct principals; change curriculum; approve lunch schedules or school parties; excuse absences; and change grades." Trustees are responsible for hiring the superintendent and establishing the district budget, Borders said. Trustees also keep campuses safe, serve as advocates for children and implement state-mandated policies. They also provide leadership and demonstrate good character. "The trustees of Port Aransas ISD must lead by example and provide the moral compass that our community - including and especially our children - can look up to and not down on," Borders said. "In my life, I have not only demonstrated great capacity and ability, but also the character and integrity to be successful." Garlough Garlough said PAISD has been well-run, financially, especially compared to other school districts. "I think that's one of my prime concerns. It's financial management of the district, keeping it solvent; keeping it growing in the financial sense," Garlough said. He said he's also concerned about student population because Port Aransas is growing, but student population is stagnant. "I'm afraid (student population) is going to decrease as we become more of a retirement area," Garlough said. "I don't know exactly how we can overcome this. I don't want to see the school district consolidated into another district - say, Flour Bluff or Corpus Christi or Aransas Pass." Garlough said he was proud to be appointed to the board and would be a good choice if elected. "I think I have the best interest of the kids at heart," he said. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO WWW.PORTASOUTHJETTY.COM |
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