TROUP SCHOOL BOARD RACE
Hank Gilbert

To the citizens of Troup ISD,

Saturday, May 12, you have the opportunity to make some very important changes in your school system. You can choose to stay on the current path, or to modify that path and improve the future. Many things have changed in the past year or two, much of which don't reflect positive change.

While the addition of new buildings was much needed, the district still lacks enough certified teachers to fill the classrooms. We still need more qualified, certified teachers. I propose that we increase the local stipend enough to encourage highly qualified teachers to come to Troup. With that, I propose that we increase the wages of all of our auxiliary personnel as well. Both measures will insure that our children are surrounded by the best possible influences at all times of the day.

In order to attract those additional qualified teachers, we must first do some housecleaning. We must have more discipline in our schools. In my opinion, there is no reason that a school as small as Troup should have a police officer on duty during school hours. I taught in a 3A school, in a much rougher town, that didn't require a police officer on duty. We have two very capable principals at the high school that should be able to handle any problems that arise. That's what we pay them to do; to enforce the rules of the district and to insure a good learning environment for our children. Far too many of our students are committing crimes and displaying disrespect to others, both a direct result of a failed discipline policy. This has to change!

Based on percentages, a large portion of our graduates go directly into the workforce upon graduation. As a responsible district, we need to expand our vocational course offerings to better prepare our youth for employment. One of the major costs to employers is training employees. By expanding our vocational programs, we are providing our graduates with the opportunity to enter into the job market with a saleable skill that will demand more starting pay.

A key to continuing education (college) is money. With deregulated tuition, less and less students are able to attend. However, there are literally thousands of college scholarships that go unapplied for every year, simply because most people don't know that they exist. I would like to see Troup ISD hire a full-time financial aid counselor to assist and work with the present high school counselor. The sole job of this person should be to research all of the available scholarship opportunities out there, and to match our students with these opportunities. This could result in a far larger majority of our graduates attending universities and /or technical colleges.

It's time for Troup ISD to follow the lead of Houston ISD by saying "no" to the TAKS test. Far too much time, money and emphasis is being placed on this burdensome test. Our teachers are forced to "teach to the test" rather than teaching our children the things that they need to be learning. We have practically taught the common sense out of an entire generation of kids due to this test. We need to say "no" to the TAKS and "yes" to year-end course exams that will test our children on what they have learned for that year.

Good schools come about by good leadership. For the past several years, schools have been changing the way they do business. This comes largely in part due to the merging of the TASB (Texas Association of School Boards) and the TASA (Texas Association of School Administrators). In the past, school boards, in large part, ran the schools. Today, through the TASA, schools are run mainly by the school superintendent. Personally, I feel that this is very wrong. Members of a school board are people of the community that have a vested interest in the school district. Superintendents, of today's standards, are constantly searching for that better job. More money equates to a higher pension when the time comes. Most, unless they are home-grown, never intend to stay anywhere very long. That is why you need a very strong, independent school board that will constantly protect the interests of the community and its' children. We can't afford to have board members that are mere "yes" men for the superintendent. Too many times, this can spell disaster, and in our case, has been proven more than once.

Your vote this Saturday is a very important one. If you feel that everything is okay at Troup ISD, vote to re-elect my opponent. If you believe that we need some or all of the changes that I've outlined, vote with me to get them done. We all want our children to have more opportunities and a better chance than we did. Here's your chance to help make that happen!

Vote - Hank Gilbert for Place 6, Troup I.S.D. Board