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The three people running for a single Cape Henlopen school board seat agree on a lot of things.
They agree that the district should not pursue a swimming pool, more minority teachers and administrators should be hired and discipline should be enforced equally.
They differ on the reasons they are running and what they say they can offer the district, its students and parents.
School Board Area A incumbent Noble Prettyman, a Milton native, faces a challenge from Gregory Fuller Sr. of Lincoln and Milton native Larry Schrock for the five-year term representing the Milton area.
Sunshine Circle Club held a forum Monday, April 28, at which the three explained their reasons for seeking the seat and discussed with the audience their responses to a set of questions.
Schrock, a 1979 Cape Henopen High School graduate, is a construction project manager with the Office of Management and Budget. He said his construction experience will be beneficial to the school board as it assembles a Facilities Task Force to decide what to do with the Ninth Grade Campus once the new high school is complete.
Schrock said Milton needs full-time representation on the school board and that with two grandchildren, he has a vested interest in education in the community.
Fuller said his background working with at-risk children will make him a valuable asset on the school board. Behavioral problems need to be looked at as early as possible, Fuller said. “The term ‘at-risk’ is so prevalent these days. Are we addressing that?” Fuller asked.
Prettyman said he has brought “quite a bit” to the school board, including a sidewalk at H.O. Brittingham Elementary School at no cost to the community or school. He said teachers must be given what they need to close the achievement gap so that all of the district’s schools rank as superior under the state school testing program.
Prettyman also said it is important the district put money into reserves because it remains to be seen how much it will cost to operate the new high school.
All three candidates said it is imperative the district do all it can to preserve teaching jobs. Prettyman said he spent time in Dover lobbying legislators to find a way to keep teaching jobs in the face of a state funding shortfall.
Fuller, who called himself a union man, said fighting for teachers is something that must be done.
Schock agreed. “The main purpose of this and any other district is to teach children. Teachers teach children. If we lose teachers, who will teach our children?” asked Schrock, who said in times of financial uncertainty the board must look to trim the excess wherever possible and spend wisely – such as skipping new sports uniforms in favor of buying new books.
The candidates all said more minority teachers will benefit children in the district. Prettyman said the district has to recruit minority teachers by going where they are and emphasizing that there is plenty to do in the Cape area. Fuller agreed, suggesting community members visit historically black colleges to find minority teachers and offer them incentives to come to teach at Cape.
Schrock said the district could tap into its own resource – students – to find future minority teachers by coaching them to go to college for teaching degrees. He said other states offer deals such as paying off a percentage of student loans in exchange for a contracted term of teaching.
The candidates agreed that the school district should do more to encourage minority teachers to stay on – first, said Fuller and Schrock, by finding out why minority teachers would leave the district. Prettyman suggested mentoring.
When an audience member said the district has a practice of putting young teachers in classrooms with special needs children and no mentors to make it look like the teachers aren’t performing to par, the three candidates were adamant that any such practice must be ended immediately.
“It’s got to stop, it’s gone on too long,” said Prettyman. In response to a question from the audience, the candidates said discipline policies should be enforced equally and consistently.
Pretttyman said Cape has a tendency to discriminate against children whose parents speak up on their behalf.
“If I have anything to do with it, it will happen equally across the board,” Fuller said.
“I don’t take to discrimination at all,” said Schrock. Any changes to policy that need to be made to ensure there is no future discrimination, as Prettyman suggested, should be made right away, said Schrock.
The candidates wrapped up their discussion assuring the audience of about 20 that they would be fully accessible to the community and to parents with concerns.
Contact Leah Hoenen at leah@capegazette.com
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