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| Knoxville School Board Candidates Meet the Public -- DOWNLOAD AUDIO HERE |
Five candidates who would be new to the Knoxville School Board if elected in April, along with two incumbents, all say they'll work toward bringing change to the board.
Seven of the nine candidates vying for three open seats who will be on the ballot April seventh were part of a form at Knoxville's Jensen Gym Tuesday night. One, incumbent Fred Neubert, was out of the country -- while another, Randy Johnson -- will still appear on the ballot but is asking voters not to select him since he is now moving out of District-202 for a job.
The candidates fielded questions about budgets, building expansions, consolidation, wind power, and others. But they also were asked if they thought the district's administrators were doing their jobs.
Darcy Thorp, who's currently filling an unexpired term on the board, says while most can agree building principals are doing good jobs, that's where the praise stops.
"I'm not happy with the current administration and (I'm) trying to figure out ways to better it with the remainder of the contract that we have."
Retired Knoxville High School Principal Pat Callahan says he also feels strongly about the building principals, but that doesn't mean change is needed.
"Overall, though, as we look at an administrative direction, I think though that we do need a change and now is the time for that."
Several candidates went so far as to question whether or not District-202 had too many administrators and if that money should instead be spent on more teachers.
You can download Tuesday night's forum in its entirety by CLICKING HERE (mp3 format, approximately 2 hours in length).
The current Knoxville School Board meets Wednesday night at 7:00 in the Knoxville High School Cafeteria.
(Knoxville School Board candidates taking part in Tuesday night's debate are, from left to right: Robert Bogard, Patrick Callahan, Barbara Lester, Jennifer Nichols, Chad Kirgan, Darcy Thorp, and John Putnam.)
(A group of people watched Tuesday night's debate in Jensen Gym in Knoxville. WGIL News Story and Photos by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 03 17 09 by Newsroom |
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