The Newton Board of Mayor and Aldermen will decide who they will appoint to the Newton Municipal School District Board of Trustees at its meeting on Feb. 15 after five persons have applied for the vacant position.
The five candidates were Katrina Tingle, Lillian Curry, Delores Blaylock, James Peters and Alice Dawkins-Hopson.
Dawkins-Hopson, who is currently on the board and has already served three terms, said she believes she is the most qualified to be reappointed to the position after listing her awards and honors she received from the Mississippi Association of School Boards.
“While serving on the board, I do believe I have always made the best decisions regarding our children,” Dawkins-Hopson said. “As a board member, it has been rewarding, challenging as well as education. I have seen the district make strides as we improve education and learning experiences for our children. We’ve come a long way, and we have a long way to go. But I do believe we are headed in the right direction.”
Tingle has recently had students come through the school district. And she has seen challenges that Newton graduates will face. She also wants to work to encourage local graduates to come back home and invest in the community.
“You could set up something involving the chamber, the city, some of the realtors and get some of those students who are graduating. Somebody that is looking to invest in the community,” Tingle said. “I think there are ways we can retain our people here.”
Curry said she is invested in the school district because she’s had five children and 14 grandchildren come through the school district. She thinks the district needs to hire and retain local natives in the school district and to have the community working together for the good of the community.
“We go through school teacher after school teacher, and we bypass those students that are from here,” Curry said. “It takes the entire whole working together. And that’s what I want to bring to the table.”
Blaylock said she thinks the school district needs to be listening to the community and the parents much more than they are. That’s the only way to get everyone on the same page.
“It takes everybody community on one accord for one common cause, and that’s for the betterment of our students,” Blaylock said. “I believe in the three Rs, revisit what you already have in place… If you find areas that aren’t working, then you revamp it and revise it. You have to revisit, revamp and revise. You’ve got to put boots on the ground.”
Peters said he understands what the school board has to do because of his background in education.
“I have that knowledge,” Peters said. “Things need to be changed in Newton. And I have that knowledge and leadership. It’s not our job to manage the day-to-day operations, but we have to put the right people in place.”
The board will approve its appointment to the board at the Feb. 15 meeting. However, board member Temeka Drummond cannot vote on the issue since she is employed by the district.
