Pitt County Board of Education                  District 6

Your current job and title:

I am currently the Pitt County School board member for District 6. I am also the pastor of Freedom Baptist Church in Ayden, located on Snow Hill Street.

Your highest level of education:

Master’s Degree in Administration and an Ed.S. in Educational Administration and Supervision

If you're elected or re-elected, what will be your top priority? Why?

To continue to build a successful school system for students and support the teachers and staff in implementing programs to improve Reading and Math growth. Students need good reading and math skills to be successful in all other subject areas. Both reading and math are important for today’s job markets. If students are not able to read on grade level, whether they are college bound or learning a trade, these two subjects will impact their performance. Not being on grade level and not making growth in these two subjects can also have an impact on students’ classroom behaviors, can create low self-esteem, and can affect students’ mental health. Not being at grade level can also cause some students to give up on their education altogether and cause them to drop out of school. Our school system needs to analyze test schools to see if the instructional programs we have in place are effective in achieving growth in Reading and Math.

If you're elected or re-elected, how will you involve your constituents in the process of making decisions?

I feel that my constituents are vital in being part of the decision-making process in Pitt County Schools. In my three previous terms as a school boardmember, I have strived to have an open line of communication with my constituents. My constituents have access to my personal phone number, webpage, and are able to text message me. Many times, I have met with individuals or groups at neutral locations to discuss school related topics of their concern. I have also encouraged concerned groups, as well as individuals, to speak at board meetings during public expression times. A new idea I am planning for my next term, is to offer to have meet and greet sessions with constituents, including interested students, where they can voice their concerns or share ideas about their educational experiences. I hope to have one session per grading period.

Why should voters choose you for the position you're running for?

I have been a career educator in the Pitt County School System with experience as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, 9-12 Director, and Associate Superintendent of Pitt CountySchools. I have strived to serve mycommunity, students, staff, and families of Pitt County Schools through a conservative voice on our school board. I have always fought to make sure the parents and teachers of the county have a voice, and I’ve done my best to support and implement their ideas. I have always tried to keep our classrooms safe. This includes ensuring physical and instructional safety. I have focused on ensuring curriculum content is relevant and supports instruction while aligning with the values and beliefs shared by my constituents. I strive to put programs in place that have a proven track record, rather than ideas that have no basis or merit in supporting learning in the classroom. I have worked hard to make Pitt County Schools a system where students are challenged and acknowledged for their successes.

Which three things about you do you most want voters to know?

First, I am concerned about our teacher burnout and staff turnover. The schoolsystem puts so much effort into onboarding, training and growing great teachers only to have them leave the profession. We should listen to teachers’ concerns with the intent of making adjustments which address their concerns when deemed appropriate. I know there are teachers in our county that have such a high workload that they cannot be effective with instructional strategies. When the school environment is better for our teachers and staff, then our turnover rate will be lower. I have recently brought up at our board meetings the topic of reducing programs in our schools that are not effective. I believe getting rid of ineffective programs will lighten the load on teachers so they can be more effective. We also need to keep increasing teacher supplements each year until our teachers receive a 10% supplement. Keeping effective teachers in our system will benefit the students greatly.

Secondly, I believe that our county needs to conduct an annual review of our 15-year plan to handle growth in our schools. We have certain areas of the county where space constraints due to high population growth must be addressed in a proactive way. Many of our schools can have extra classrooms added that will take care of growth, but it requires planning and intentionality. We, as a board, must do all we can to meet the diverse needs of schools without redistricting. Many parents are living where they want their children to attend school, and we have a responsibility to ensure they have access to the schools they choose. It is neighborhood schools that our families cherish.

Finally, I strive to serve my community. I am the pastor at Freedom Baptist Church in Ayden located on Snow Hill Street. Through the church, we have given so many supplies to families who need school supplies. We have given bookbags, paper, pens, markers, calculators as well as other supplies. During a recent event, we had 175 participants from the community either receiving or helping distribute supplies. We have several activities during the school year to help the students in our community.

Is there anything else about you that you wish to tell voters?

I am very proud of my family. I am married to Karen Forbes, and we have two children, Thompson Forbes and Caroline Burroughs. Both are married and work in the medical field. Thompson is a professor in the School of Nursing at ECU and Caroline is a charge nurse at Wake Med in Raleigh. Karen and I have four grandchildren, two of which currently attend Pitt County Schools.

I am also proud of my past leadership record as an administrator in Pitt County Schools. As principal at Pactolus, Chicod, Farmville Central High School and South Central High School, I led staff and students from schools of lower state test scores to schools of high performing test scores. I feel that my management techniques also helped improve discipline at all the schools at which I was principal.