Editor’s Note: COVID-19 and the sometimes-ridiculous gathering limits imposed by Governor Roy Cooper has limited the ability of citizens and voters to get to know the candidates for elected offices. Also, the usual slate of Forums, like the one School Board forum scheduled at Cleveland Community College for this coming Tuesday evening will not allow the public to participate or to ATTEND. I believe that is a waste, bad planning and limits each candidate to around a total of eight minutes each. I said in a previous article that such a Forum is a “bust.” One of the CCC School Board forum Moderators, Andy Dedmon, suggested that I have my own forum and make my own rules. So, that is exactly what I am doing here.
HERE is my plan.
• This forum will be online and conducted on this website.
• This forum is open to all candidates and all citizens and voters.
• This forum will last from NOW until Election Day-November 3, 2020
• Candidates that did not have time to adequately answer the questions at the CCC Forum are welcome to make their complete response on this forum.
• Any citizen and voter will be requested to provide the questions they would like to ask the candidates to me at raw@shelby.net or to provide a comment to this article with their questions or answers included
• All candidates will have the opportunity to answer that question in as great a detail as they see fit. Note, my website is NOT Facebook so it will take a period of time to post the questions and receive the answers.
• I will monitor every school board candidates campaign page for interesting statements, opinions, facts and statements and add those to this forum as a clearing house of information for all to see.
• I will fact check any item that is fact checkable. The public is asked to also provide fact checking information.
• I will monitor candidate political advertising, billboard, yard signs, handouts, TV commercials, etc. and fact check. The public is asked to also provide their information.
• Any candidate that refuses to participate will be identified for all to see.
• There are no rules except that no profane language or words will be published as is.
• We reserve the right to improve our format for the convenience of por readers. Candidates the public and our moderators. Mostly ME.
This article is where our 2020 Election School Board Candidates Forum Starts.
We start with Candidate Samantha Davis and her campaign Facebook Page. Samantha is First in alphabetical order so that is a good place to start as any.
But First, in my personal conversations with Samantha Davis, I have asked her several questions and this is just a part of what we discussed.
Why you are running for the school board?
I have a passion for children. As a parent of school aged children, I am concerned about failed schools, bullying of children, sexual exploitation of children, safety and the poor educational record that CCS has, but refuses to talk about. I believe the School Board needs new blood that is not afraid to tackle problems and resolve them.
What is your motivation?
When I see or hear about a problem of any kind, it is my first instinct to figure out the cause of the problem and to fix the problem. Whatever that problem may be.
What is your “vision” as a potential new school board member?
I have this deep understanding that children are at school more waking hours than they are at home. Therefore, what the children learn at school, as well as their character traits are mostly shaped by their educational experience at school. Every leader, every follower, every teacher, every policeman, every judge and every lawyer, every citizen in Cleveland County was once a student in school. If those students continue in life making bad decisions, our school board has failed them. If a former student commits a crime, our educational system has failed them. If students are successful in life, our school board and educational system has succeeded for them. My vision is that every child in school at every level is taught right from wrong, how to cope and solve problems for themselves, how to think for themselves, have good moral fiber that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Then we have succeeded as a school board. But that success has to include discovery of character issues at an early age and make the appropriate accommodation for that particular child. We have to understand that those who act out or bully other children at school are actually crying out for help. We have to discover the problems and make the accommodations as early in a child’s life as possible. And encourage every child to do the best that their ability will allow them to do.
Now, looking at Samantha Davis’s Facebook campaign page, I find that Samantha Davis has provided more insight into her motivation and vision. Starting way back!