Eight candidates for Yadkin County Board of Education and five for the County Board of Commissioners introduced themselves and answered questions during a forum hosted by the Yadkin County Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
Chamber Executive Director Bobby Todd said the chamber has been hosting local candidate forums during election years for going on 28 years. As part of the forum candidates were answered pre-selected questions from the Chamber as well as questions from audience members. The forum was also live-streamed on the Yadkin Chamber Facebook page. (The videos are still available for viewing on the page.)
School Board candidates Sharon Abercrombie, Sarah Boles, Barry Cole, Kenny Gooden, Doug McCraw, Tommie Paul, Cody Spicer and incumbent Sharon Yale, all spoke of the importance of team work and working cohesively as a board.
Among the questions candidates were asked was what was their position on improving education in Yadkin County and how they felt about preparing youth for roles in the global economy.
Boles said she thought there were some “fantastic things already in place in this county.”
Speaking of Starmount High School she said, “Our CTE (career, technical education) program is out of this world.” She said she thought a focus on trade types of jobs was important.
“For the academic side we need to keep raising the bar,” she said. Hiring good teachers and keeping the was also vital she said.
Cole said, “every student in the school should be afforded the opportunity. . .how can we get an appropriate education to every single student. . .regardless of their desires, their hopes and their capabilities so that when they leave they really are standing apart in the college environment or if they go straight into the workplace. . .”
Gooden said taking care of the great teachers and administrations was important. He also spoke about the importance of the CTE programs.
“Carpenters, electricians, plumbers and bricklayers make an excellent living today and those students need as much attention as those who are in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” he said.
“We need to make sure our teachers have the resources they need,” he added.
McCraw said he, too, was very supportive of trade classes. He called those classes “fun” and said “children in general, if it’s not fun for them they don’t learn.” He also said other activities like Future Farmers of America and 4H were important. He said STEM classes were also important and that offering both paths was important.
“One thing we as teachers, board members, educators must do is accept each child that comes in that door, comes in with special talents, and comes in with special opportunities, special strengths. We take each one of those and guide them as they reach their potential,” said candidate Tommie Paul. She mentioned the Yadkin Success Academy which graduated 12 seniors last school year.
“They were having some issues, but that school, that administration gave them the opportunity and the strength that they needed to become productive citizens of Yadkin County,” she said. She also spoke on the Early College program.
Candidate Cody Spicer said, “we have phenomenal teachers, it is important and imperative that we keep them, that we support them.”
“I do think that STEM education is important. I think it’s important that we have our teachers working cross curriculum,” he said.
“I agree it’s important that we recognize every child’s educational journey is different. We have to meet kids where they are and provide opportunities to grow them,” said Yale.
County Commissioner candidates Kevin Austin, James Kent, David Moxley, Jay Martin and Tim Parks, began their portion of the forum with answering why they were seeking a seat on the board and their vision for the county.
“The reason I am seeking re-election is because I’ve worked pretty hard over the last few years to turn Yadkin County around,” said incumbent Kevin Austin. “Our county had lost a lot of population, we’d seen kids leaving our county. I wanted to do some things that would turn that around and thankfully we are starting to see some growth in Yadkin County. I am super excited about that and I want to keep us on a course that will meet the needs as Yadkin County grows.”
“We some major pieces of our budget they we are responsible for. . .and one of the biggest is social services. . . these are the families in our county with the greatest needs and they deserve the assistance that they need to help them get through tough times in life and for their children to get through the tough times of life,” he said.
Candidate James Kent said, “what I’d like to do is continue the work that the current and past county boards have done and that is being a strong and responsible stalwart for people’s money in the form of the taxes that they pay.”
Development of businesses along Interstate 77 and Hwy 421 is something he said he would like to see.
Jay Martin said, “I believe Yadkin County could do a little better as far as growth.”
He said, “we seem to do well training people and then they leave. We got a figure out a way to retain those people. We’ve got to learn to grow our youth and keep our youth here. We’ve got to learn to attract our youth, give them things here to do. That’s my goal for Yadkin County.”
David Moxley, an incumbent on the board, said, “Commissioners are responsible for taxpayers money. We try to do all that we can with their money without being a burden on the taxes they are paying. We think we’ve done a pretty good job on that because we have been able to lower the tax rate 11 cents.”
He said that even with lowered tax rates the county has been able to build buildings and invest in the county park and memorial park.
Tim Parks said, “this position would allow me to serve the citizens of Yadkin County.”
“As a County Commissioner I want to see structured growth but also want to make sure we protect our rural area.”
The entire forum can be viewed on the Yadkin Chamber Facebook page.
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