Posted 2:32 am Friday, September 14, 2007
TISD Board Hopefuls Sized Up
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
The Tyler Independent School District Board of Trustees got to know the six candidates for the vacant District 4 seat on the school board a little better Thursday during individual interviews.
The District 4 position became vacant in June after Kristen Baldwin resigned because she moved out of the single-member district she represented for more than five years.
The board decided to appoint a person to the seat to fill the unexpired term through May rather than leave it empty or have a special election.
The board will not make a decision about who to appoint to the position until its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday. At that meeting, the chosen candidate will likely be sworn in and take office.
The six people who have applied to complete the unexpired term include: Dale Blackstone, Vernita Frost, John D. Johnson III, Charles Parmley, Tanya Redic and Cody Savell.
Trustees gave candidates an opportunity to talk about themselves and how their experiences will help meet key trustee responsibilities that were outlined to the candidates in a letter.
The board also asked candidates the same seven questions, which the candidates had not seen before, as well as asked some unscripted follow-up questions.
The meeting, which was conducted in open session, lasted about four hours.
The candidates were asked a range of questions, including whether they would have time to commit to the board and the 30 to 40 meetings a year it typically has, what their impression is of how TISD is governed by the board, why it is important to them to serve on the board, what they perceive as strengths and weaknesses of the board, what issues they would like to see addressed if chosen and how they view the relationship between the superintendent and the board.
Board President Brad Spradlin said after the meeting, he felt the interviews went well and was pleased with the candidates’ responses.
“This is going to be a very hard decision,” Spradlin said. “Every one of them brings strengths that would make them good board members. The decision is going to be very difficult.”
Candidate Interviews
Blackstone, 57, owns Blackstone Landscaping in Tyler. In 2002, he was the lone candidate for the District 4 seat but was not able to accept the position because his daughter-in-law had just taken a job to teach at TISD, and that prohibited him from taking the seat.
During the interview Thursday, Blackstone told trustees the “main focus in my life has been kids.”
Blackstone has three children and four grandchildren. He said he comes from a family of teachers and teaches, with his wife, a class at church and serves in many capacities involving children.
When asked why it is important to him to serve on the board, he said, “Tyler has given my family a lot — a whole lot. And I want to give back.
“… I think I have leadership abilities in areas you might need it,” he said. “I think I have a love for kids. I just want to do what I can for the kids.”
Blackstone said the biggest strength of the district is the community and cited as a weakness the “not getting the words out there that the public can hear in a manner that is positive enough.”
He said there is always room for improvement, but he has been impressed with what has happened the last few years in TISD, particularly in regard to the new schools built. He said he wants to “do what I can do to make it go further.”
He said he wants to see more growth in the district with more new schools and possibly a new middle school.
Ms. Frost, 48, is a compliance specialist with a company that monitors a program for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to ensure multi-family properties follow the guidelines of HUD. Ms. Frost, who has also worked in other fields including as a personal trust officer at a bank, said she always volunteers where her children attend school.
During her interview, she said she is an advocate for children and teachers, adding she has met “some of the most awesome teachers” at John Tyler High School, where her two daughters attend school.
“The teachers are our greatest asset,” she said. “It’s so important that we do whatever we need to do to make sure that our teachers have whatever they need in that classroom.”
She said TISD has made great strides, pointing to certain programs and the new buildings.
“You are allowing and giving our students and our teachers some beautiful places to work,” she said.
The strength of the district is “our teachers,” she said.
“I have run into some absolutely incredible teachers,” she said. “They have made sure that I know, and that my daughters know, that they are there to do a service.
They’re there to teach, and that’s what they are going to do no matter what.”
She also noted the “incredible leadership” at John Tyler.
If there is a weakness, she pointed to a language or income barrier that “could get in the way of some things that could happen in the classroom.”
Johnson, 37, is an investigator with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, assigned to CPS services in Smith County. He also is an associate minister at Powell Chapel Baptist Church in Winona.
Before becoming a CPS investigator, he spent the past 11 years employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
“You all have seen me come before the board in good times and bad times,” Johnson said Thursday. “But … I’ve always had a respect for the board and a willingness to serve. I believe in the direction the board is going.”
When asked why it was important to him to serve on the board, he explained how he went by the new Ramey Elementary School.
“I looked at it and said this is one of the most progressive … times in our school district,” he said. “I see contributions being made by you all sitting on the board. … That’s the thing that really touches me — to have an opportunity to impact the district in that way, to leave a legacy.”
Johnson said what appeals to him about the school board is that he sees uniform growth and rebirth throughout the district, “not one part of the district prospering more than another.”
“I think we have great vision at TISD,” he said. “I think we have an opportunity to really do something and be something special.”
An issue of concern for Johnson is school safety. He also said he would like to see emphasis put on the performance of at-risk students and see a strong effort for the students dealing with a language barrier.
Parmley, 63, is a retired teacher who taught for 38 years, 24 in TISD. Parmley was an agriculture science teacher at John Tyler High School for 20 years and also taught at Robert E. Lee.
Parmley has also worked in private business and serves on various boards, including the board for the Smith County Farm Bureau and Smith County Junior Livestock Show.
He emphasized he is an advocate for students and public education.
“I’m a product of public education. It will work,” he said. “My heart and soul is with young people. That’s why some of the organizations I serve on serve youth.”
He said that there is enough money to fund the district but is concerned that teachers do not really see enough of that, noting that he is a strong advocate for teachers.
“We need to give them all the tools and resources we can,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of hiring the “very best people we can get” from teachers to bus drivers.
When asked about his impression of the board, he gave it a grade of a “low B.”
He said he sometimes wonders if the board fully understands the ramifications of what they do and also said he is disappointed the district cannot retain superintendents.
“I don’t like our CEOs chasing the dollar,” he said.
When asked to examine strengths and weaknesses, he noted teachers, the support of the community, the move to address facility needs and keeping a low tax rate as strengths. In the area of weaknesses, he noted test scores.
Ms. Redic, 34, is a managing broker for Harold Carter Realtors in Tyler, but also has a background in social work.
She has two children at TISD. She also serves on several organizations, including the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors and chamber of commerce.
“I’m most passionate about being an advocate for all students, especially the disadvantaged,” Ms. Redic told trustees Thursday. “I’m passionate about the students who have a learning disability. I’m also passionate about my child who has a visual impairment. I know I can be an advocate for all students.”
Often, the disadvantaged students or those who do not have a traditional family home life are the ones sometimes overlooked, she said, and that’s why she wants to be a voice for them.
When asked about the job of the board governing TISD, she praised the board and said she is impressed with the recent bond program and the new schools.
“That is something definitely needed in the school district,” she said. “I know you all are headed in the right direction.”
As far as strengths and weaknesses, Ms. Redic noted the district’s size and that students seem to excel and move on to higher education as strengths. A weakness, she said, is that some campuses have been rated unacceptable by the state.
When asked, she said she would be comfortable in evaluating the superintendent’s performance as board members must do.
“If the district fails, he fails and we fail,” she said.
Savell, 47, is in pharmaceutical sales. Savell has also worked in education, serving as a coach and math teacher at high schools in the Dallas area. He is also involved in teaching at his church.
Like the others, Savell’s life also centers around children.
“As far as kids go … kids are my passion,” he said. “I look at this as a position to try to do anything possible to improve the lives of kids.”
It is important for him to be on the board, “to be an advocate not only for the kids but for the district as a whole,” he said.
He views the current board in a positive light and said he is “extremely pleased with Tyler ISD,” noting the good from the bond program that helped build new schools.
“I want to be part of what I see as a winning team,” he said.
When asked about strengths and weaknesses, he noted as a strength that TISD is “not afraid to put in place new programs.”
But the father of two children, one in college and one a freshman at Robert E. Lee, said a weakness in the district is in the math curriculum.
“Somewhere we’ve failed miserably in the math area,” he said.
Savell, as did others, praised the new TISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid, who did not participate in the interviews.
“Y’all have hired a diamond,” he said.
The candidate said he viewed serving on the school board, “not as a position of power but as a position of servitude.”
All the candidates were asked follow-up questions, including one from Trustee Gene Shull about whether they would run for the school board seat in May to serve the full three-year term. All six indicated that they either would “strongly consider it” as Ms. Frost said, or definitely did intend to seek the full term in the May election.
All candidates also said they believed their outside duties in the community, work or at home should not interfere with the duties they would have with the TISD board and that they could manage the time commitment.
Staff Writer
The Tyler Independent School District Board of Trustees got to know the six candidates for the vacant District 4 seat on the school board a little better Thursday during individual interviews.
The District 4 position became vacant in June after Kristen Baldwin resigned because she moved out of the single-member district she represented for more than five years.
The board decided to appoint a person to the seat to fill the unexpired term through May rather than leave it empty or have a special election.
The board will not make a decision about who to appoint to the position until its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday. At that meeting, the chosen candidate will likely be sworn in and take office.
The six people who have applied to complete the unexpired term include: Dale Blackstone, Vernita Frost, John D. Johnson III, Charles Parmley, Tanya Redic and Cody Savell.
Trustees gave candidates an opportunity to talk about themselves and how their experiences will help meet key trustee responsibilities that were outlined to the candidates in a letter.
The board also asked candidates the same seven questions, which the candidates had not seen before, as well as asked some unscripted follow-up questions.
The meeting, which was conducted in open session, lasted about four hours.
The candidates were asked a range of questions, including whether they would have time to commit to the board and the 30 to 40 meetings a year it typically has, what their impression is of how TISD is governed by the board, why it is important to them to serve on the board, what they perceive as strengths and weaknesses of the board, what issues they would like to see addressed if chosen and how they view the relationship between the superintendent and the board.
Board President Brad Spradlin said after the meeting, he felt the interviews went well and was pleased with the candidates’ responses.
“This is going to be a very hard decision,” Spradlin said. “Every one of them brings strengths that would make them good board members. The decision is going to be very difficult.”
Candidate Interviews
Blackstone, 57, owns Blackstone Landscaping in Tyler. In 2002, he was the lone candidate for the District 4 seat but was not able to accept the position because his daughter-in-law had just taken a job to teach at TISD, and that prohibited him from taking the seat.
During the interview Thursday, Blackstone told trustees the “main focus in my life has been kids.”
Blackstone has three children and four grandchildren. He said he comes from a family of teachers and teaches, with his wife, a class at church and serves in many capacities involving children.
When asked why it is important to him to serve on the board, he said, “Tyler has given my family a lot — a whole lot. And I want to give back.
“… I think I have leadership abilities in areas you might need it,” he said. “I think I have a love for kids. I just want to do what I can for the kids.”
Blackstone said the biggest strength of the district is the community and cited as a weakness the “not getting the words out there that the public can hear in a manner that is positive enough.”
He said there is always room for improvement, but he has been impressed with what has happened the last few years in TISD, particularly in regard to the new schools built. He said he wants to “do what I can do to make it go further.”
He said he wants to see more growth in the district with more new schools and possibly a new middle school.
Ms. Frost, 48, is a compliance specialist with a company that monitors a program for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to ensure multi-family properties follow the guidelines of HUD. Ms. Frost, who has also worked in other fields including as a personal trust officer at a bank, said she always volunteers where her children attend school.
During her interview, she said she is an advocate for children and teachers, adding she has met “some of the most awesome teachers” at John Tyler High School, where her two daughters attend school.
“The teachers are our greatest asset,” she said. “It’s so important that we do whatever we need to do to make sure that our teachers have whatever they need in that classroom.”
She said TISD has made great strides, pointing to certain programs and the new buildings.
“You are allowing and giving our students and our teachers some beautiful places to work,” she said.
The strength of the district is “our teachers,” she said.
“I have run into some absolutely incredible teachers,” she said. “They have made sure that I know, and that my daughters know, that they are there to do a service.
They’re there to teach, and that’s what they are going to do no matter what.”
She also noted the “incredible leadership” at John Tyler.
If there is a weakness, she pointed to a language or income barrier that “could get in the way of some things that could happen in the classroom.”
Johnson, 37, is an investigator with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, assigned to CPS services in Smith County. He also is an associate minister at Powell Chapel Baptist Church in Winona.
Before becoming a CPS investigator, he spent the past 11 years employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
“You all have seen me come before the board in good times and bad times,” Johnson said Thursday. “But … I’ve always had a respect for the board and a willingness to serve. I believe in the direction the board is going.”
When asked why it was important to him to serve on the board, he explained how he went by the new Ramey Elementary School.
“I looked at it and said this is one of the most progressive … times in our school district,” he said. “I see contributions being made by you all sitting on the board. … That’s the thing that really touches me — to have an opportunity to impact the district in that way, to leave a legacy.”
Johnson said what appeals to him about the school board is that he sees uniform growth and rebirth throughout the district, “not one part of the district prospering more than another.”
“I think we have great vision at TISD,” he said. “I think we have an opportunity to really do something and be something special.”
An issue of concern for Johnson is school safety. He also said he would like to see emphasis put on the performance of at-risk students and see a strong effort for the students dealing with a language barrier.
Parmley, 63, is a retired teacher who taught for 38 years, 24 in TISD. Parmley was an agriculture science teacher at John Tyler High School for 20 years and also taught at Robert E. Lee.
Parmley has also worked in private business and serves on various boards, including the board for the Smith County Farm Bureau and Smith County Junior Livestock Show.
He emphasized he is an advocate for students and public education.
“I’m a product of public education. It will work,” he said. “My heart and soul is with young people. That’s why some of the organizations I serve on serve youth.”
He said that there is enough money to fund the district but is concerned that teachers do not really see enough of that, noting that he is a strong advocate for teachers.
“We need to give them all the tools and resources we can,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of hiring the “very best people we can get” from teachers to bus drivers.
When asked about his impression of the board, he gave it a grade of a “low B.”
He said he sometimes wonders if the board fully understands the ramifications of what they do and also said he is disappointed the district cannot retain superintendents.
“I don’t like our CEOs chasing the dollar,” he said.
When asked to examine strengths and weaknesses, he noted teachers, the support of the community, the move to address facility needs and keeping a low tax rate as strengths. In the area of weaknesses, he noted test scores.
Ms. Redic, 34, is a managing broker for Harold Carter Realtors in Tyler, but also has a background in social work.
She has two children at TISD. She also serves on several organizations, including the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors and chamber of commerce.
“I’m most passionate about being an advocate for all students, especially the disadvantaged,” Ms. Redic told trustees Thursday. “I’m passionate about the students who have a learning disability. I’m also passionate about my child who has a visual impairment. I know I can be an advocate for all students.”
Often, the disadvantaged students or those who do not have a traditional family home life are the ones sometimes overlooked, she said, and that’s why she wants to be a voice for them.
When asked about the job of the board governing TISD, she praised the board and said she is impressed with the recent bond program and the new schools.
“That is something definitely needed in the school district,” she said. “I know you all are headed in the right direction.”
As far as strengths and weaknesses, Ms. Redic noted the district’s size and that students seem to excel and move on to higher education as strengths. A weakness, she said, is that some campuses have been rated unacceptable by the state.
When asked, she said she would be comfortable in evaluating the superintendent’s performance as board members must do.
“If the district fails, he fails and we fail,” she said.
Savell, 47, is in pharmaceutical sales. Savell has also worked in education, serving as a coach and math teacher at high schools in the Dallas area. He is also involved in teaching at his church.
Like the others, Savell’s life also centers around children.
“As far as kids go … kids are my passion,” he said. “I look at this as a position to try to do anything possible to improve the lives of kids.”
It is important for him to be on the board, “to be an advocate not only for the kids but for the district as a whole,” he said.
He views the current board in a positive light and said he is “extremely pleased with Tyler ISD,” noting the good from the bond program that helped build new schools.
“I want to be part of what I see as a winning team,” he said.
When asked about strengths and weaknesses, he noted as a strength that TISD is “not afraid to put in place new programs.”
But the father of two children, one in college and one a freshman at Robert E. Lee, said a weakness in the district is in the math curriculum.
“Somewhere we’ve failed miserably in the math area,” he said.
Savell, as did others, praised the new TISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid, who did not participate in the interviews.
“Y’all have hired a diamond,” he said.
The candidate said he viewed serving on the school board, “not as a position of power but as a position of servitude.”
All the candidates were asked follow-up questions, including one from Trustee Gene Shull about whether they would run for the school board seat in May to serve the full three-year term. All six indicated that they either would “strongly consider it” as Ms. Frost said, or definitely did intend to seek the full term in the May election.
All candidates also said they believed their outside duties in the community, work or at home should not interfere with the duties they would have with the TISD board and that they could manage the time commitment.
