Forsyth County Association of Educators
Forsyth County Association of Educators Press Release
Forsyth County Association of Educators Announces

Educators Recommend

This year's School Board race is very important. The FCAE Political Action Committee surveyed all candidates followed by personal interviews with 17 candidates and recommends the following to voters:

Forsyth County School Board Seats At-Large (3 seats available)

Robert Barr

Donny C. Lambeth*

Jeannie A. Metcalf*

Forsyth County School Board Seats District 1 (2 seats available)

Geneva Brown

(No other candidates in District 1 received the FCAE endorsement)

Forsyth County School Board Seats District 2 (4 seats available)

A.L. "Buddy" Collins*

Donald Dunn

Marilyn A. Parker

Jim Toole

*Denotes recipient of the FCAE-NCAE Friend of Education Award

(Collins in 2008, Metcalf in 2009, and Lambeth in 2010)

President's Comments on Endorsements
FCAE President Tripp Jeffers welcomes the delegates
"We believe that these endorsed candidates would be the most effective advocates for public education, as well as for our students and employees. We have for years had an effective relationship with our School Board and want to continue that. Three years ago we established a Friend of Education Award to reward the most effective education advocates in Forsyth County and since that time, three incumbents, Buddy Collins, Jeannie Metcalf, and Donny Lambeth, have received the award. In April, FCAE afforded those three a coveted endorsement for the primary election, a recognition that we believe improved their showing in the primary results."

"This month, we sent a 16-question survey on educational issues to the remaining candidates and invited them to come talk to us. All but one candidate requested a personal interview involving 9 additional questions. Based on their responses, the committee of teachers and support personnel endorsed 5 incumbents and three challengers. We were looking, above all, for intelligent, compassionate champions of public education who would provide an independent but reasonable voice on the School Board."
(The questions for the written survey as well as the oral interview are printed below)

"This will be a very strong School Board if all of these recommendations are elected. Our employees will be volunteering at the polls to make sure they are successful in this election."

Tripp Jeffers
President, Forsyth County Association of Educators
About Forsyth County Association of Educators
FCAE is an member-based professional organization formally representing 3400 employees and informally representing the interests of all employees. FCAE is a local affiliate of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) and the National Education Association (NEA).

Forsyth County Association of Educators

2010 School Board Questionnaire for Endorsement (questionnaire was mailed and emailed to all candidates)

  1. What prompted you to seek election to the Board of Education? (Challengers) What prompted you to seek re-election to the Board of Education? (Incumbents)

  1. What experiences and/or qualifications do you have that will make you a good school board member? (Challengers) Please list your most important accomplishments while serving on the Board of Education. (Incumbents)

  1. Do you have any major disagreements with the present Board of Education? If so, please comment. (Challengers) What disappointments have you experienced while serving on the Board? (Incumbents)

  1. What are the strengths of Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools? What are its weaknesses?

  1. How would you assess the job performance of Superintendent Donald Martin?

  1. What do you believe the School Board should do to make certain that we attract and retain high quality teachers, administrators, and support personnel?

  1. Have you read the results of the working conditions survey for Forsyth County certified educators in 2010 at the following web site: http://twc.learnnc.org/reports/ ? If yes, what concerns, issues or questions did the survey results raise in your assessment?

  1. FCAE represents 3400 teachers, administrators, and support personnel. If elected, will you recognize FCAE as a spokesperson for school employees? How accessible will you be to FCAE? Would you consult with FCAE leadership in the analysis of current policy as well as on any major policy changes in WSFCS? Explain

  1. What would you say are the most reliable sources for you as an educational leader when forming your positions on educational policies? (which journals, websites, newspapers, magazines, books, organizations, think tanks, non-profits etc.)

  1. Do you support the concept of merit pay, or performance pay, based on student test scores, especially as it has manifested itself in school districts across the country? Similarly, do you support the concept of differentiated pay for different subjects taught such as that implemented under "Mission Possible" in Guilford County?

  1. How do you assess the current focus on standards, testing, and accountability as defined by No Child Left Behind Act?

  1. Our employees feel as though morale is at an all-time low and that decision making has become more "top down." What do you propose to do to improve morale and do you support involvement of teachers and other school employees in site-based decision making process?

  1. What is your opinion of Race To The Top (RTTT), School Improvement Grants, I3, and other competitive grants sponsored by the current US Department of Education?

  1. What do you think about the privatization of school services such as custodians, school services, etc?

  1. The student population of WSFC Schools is growing while our dollars for our budget decrease. What do you propose to address this dilemma?

  1. Do you or have you had children in our public schools? If yes, when and what has been your experience as a parent with our school system?

Forsyth County Association of Educators

2010 School Board INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (asked of all candidates in a timed 20 minute interview)

  1. We would like for you to take this opportunity to tell us a little about yourself and why you chose to run for election to the School Board as well as your qualifications for the position? Tell us what inspires you? What person do you lift up as an example or inspiration to follow in public service (may be famous, historical, personal, etc.)

  1. If elected, what would be your top THREE priorities and why?

  1. What are your opinions about unions/employee organizations in general and about educator unions/organizations specifically?

  1. The economy has obviously made it difficult to provide salary increases to our hard-working employees, and that combined with other policy changes, including those that require more and more time, more duties, and more "accountability," has its impact on employee morale? With that in mind, what do you plan to do to attract and retain high quality personnel over the next several years?

  1. Do believe that the high school schedule needs to be changed once more after all schools in the system went to the unified schedule last year, and do you think it is fair to ask our high school teachers (and possibly middle school teachers) to give up 50% of their planning time and work 20% harder every day as a back-door budget cut?

  1. The decision to bring in the private company Budd Group to provide custodial services, while saving money, has raised serious concerns among our employees. Our custodians feel like they are undervalued and being replaced, other classified employees feel like it will happen to them next, and certified employees raise questions about the quality of the work of these non-school employees. How would you respond to these concerns?

  1. Are you supporting any other candidates for election to the School Board and if so, why?

  1. How would you assess the viability of your candidacy? How likely are you to get elected? Tell us a little about your campaign activity, campaign structure, fundraising, etc. And if endorsed, do you accept money from PACs?

  1. What else would you like to share with us today or do you have any questions for us?