Published: April 26, 2008 08:17 pm            

Six candidates running for three seats on NA-FC School Board

With a little more than a week left until the May 6 New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools board election, six people remain vying for three positions.

One, Rebecca Gardenour, who is the incumbent, is running for re-election unopposed for District 4.

Two people, Michael Dankovich and Neal Smith, who is the incumbent, are fighting for the District 3 seat. Three people, Patricia Badger-Byrd, who is the incumbent, Ron Keller and Paul Love are running for the At-Large seat.

Keller said one of the issues facing the board is fiscal responsibility.

“I just don’t like the way the school board just gives out the taxpayers money like it’s going out of style,” Keller said. “You have people just saying ‘This is what we need,’ and you have a school board that says, ‘That sounds good to us, so yeah,’ and they don’t even question it.

“No one is being held accountable for what we’re getting.”

Love also said school finance is the most important issue facing the board.

“School finance is very complicated and has become increasingly difficult to manage since 2001 when the combination of 9/11, reassessment, and a downturn in the economy made dollars more scarce. This is probably the biggest problem we face,” Love said in his question and answer survey. “I have worked in school finance for the last eight years (at Clarksville Community Schools), so I feel I know what needs to be done.”

With the property tax reform, changes are on the way for how schools get their funds. Now, the state will be in charge of funding schools, which reports have said may cause a shortfall in money for many corporations. Smith said that is one of the reasons it is so hard to settle on a contract for teachers.

“We know teachers are the heart of a good education and they are our priority, but our teachers are paid really, really well,” Smith said. “Indiana is in the top 10 percent in the nation and Floyd County is in the top 20 percent in Indiana with teacher salaries.

“With an uncertain financial future, it’s difficult to give the (teachers’) association what they want without being financially irresponsible.”

However, he said he does hope to save funds elsewhere.

“We think there are some administrative functions that can be consolidated and I think there’s ways for cross reductions in the way we use technology,” he added.

Another issue facing the board is the graduation rate, which was 61.4 percent at New Albany High School and 90.2 percent at Floyd Central High School.

“We are still losing too many students,” Dankovich said in his question and answer survey. “Intervention early on when a student is in academic trouble is the key to decreasing the dropout rate. Attendance, academic performance and standardized testing should indicate which students need help.”

“I think if we can find some new ways to work on community and parent involvement that will help,” Badger-Byrd said, mentioning having more mentors for the students. “There are just so many things that can be done, it’s having the money to implement them. That’s where we’re struggling now.”

Floyd County residents, regardless of which district they live in, will be able to pick a candidate for each of the three races during the May 6 election.



EDITOR’S NOTE: All candidates in the contested races were contacted via phone for comment on this story. However, not all were able to be reached, so quotes from their question and answer surveys were used.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.