Ellington

Early voting for the Hamilton County General Election runs July 13-28. In addition to voting on Hamilton County mayor, assessor of property and General Sessions Court judge, East Hamilton residents will select who will represent District 7 on the School Board.

Incumbent Linda Mosley is not running for re-election. The following is a short summary of the two candidates vying to replace her. Both candidates will be present at a candidate forum at Tyner Community Center, 6900 Ty Hi Drive.

Name: Donna Horn

What are your qualifications for representing District 7 on the Hamilton County School Board? I am a recently retired teacher with 20 years’ experience in Hamilton County and I am aware of the current issues surrounding education in Hamilton County. I always stayed involved in the system and in my school, whether it be representing my faculty through HCEA or writing grants to attain more diverse programs for my students.

If elected what are your goals for your term and how do you plan on implementing them? I have several goals in no particular order as they are all important as my focus is on the “well-rounded” child. I will push for the following: more funding to provide additional minutes of physical activity for children, acquiring more funding for the arts, creation of grant writing teams for technology and other needs, continuation of Character education program with a greater focus on fighting bullying in our schools, working with the community to develop dialogue and better communication with media and the parents in our district, and maintaining quality leadership and supervision within our schools while giving more support to our teachers.

What do you see as a major school-related need in District 7? Currently I think that with the rezoning issue and parents feeling that they had no say in the decision to rezone has adversely affected the board/parent relationship. I would like to try to mend that divide and be available to parents as a sounding board for them and make them feel like their voices count.

What made you decide to run? I am passionate about quality education, and you can’t take the teacher out of a teacher. I want our schools to be recognized for providing the highest quality education to all of the students in the county. I would like to see more Hamilton County schools be nationally recognized for their achievements.

Name: Ralph Miller

What are your qualifications for representing District 7 on the Hamilton County School Board? I value children, and my community and my career is evidence of that. I have 40 years of experience in education, both public and private.

If elected what are your goals for your term and how do you plan on implementing them? I will work cooperatively with the other members of the board to supervise, direct and evaluate the superintendent, who is employed by the board. I will use my experience as an educator to explain and advise board members who are not familiar with school operations. I will work tirelessly to articulate the needs of District 7 and balance those needs with the needs of all of the students of Hamilton County within the budget we are given. I will work cooperatively with the county mayor and commissioners to articulate the needs of District 7 and the county as a whole. I will do my best to make the commissioners and the community aware of the need for the best school system we can provide for our citizens.

What do you see as a major school-related need in District 7? The major school-related need for District 7 is additional school buildings. District 7, the largest Hamilton County district in population, has no standalone middle school. Our students have to share a building with East Hamilton High School or be transported to another district. This has caused serious overcrowding and a very controversial rezoning issue. I also favor a new and improved facility for CSLA which would allow for a K-12 program.

What made you decide to run? First, people asked me to consider running, given my experience. Second, I saw money being wasted on national searches for superintendents from lists of people either unhappy in their jobs or being fired. Finally, I wanted local control for local schools.