Richard Altice

Independent candidate

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Hampden District and Prince Edward and how do you intend to address it?

The continuing rise of taxes is the single most impelling challenge in the county.

My district is primarily rural with many family farms that were disproportionately negatively impacted by the recent tax increase because it is based on the acreage; that is their source of production. Since all county employees and appointed or elected representatives are employees of the people of the county, they are accountable to the people. In the interest of transparency, I favor having line item budgets and checkbooks of all county boards put online.

There needs to be an increase of industry to broaden the tax base.

What steps should the school division take to increase student Standard of Learning test scores and become fully accredited?

I think the obsession with SOL testing and “teaching to the test” is the wrong approach.

I would take a more indirect approach that I feel impacts not just the SOL problem but the problem of shrinking enrollments as well.

I have seen some privately-conducted exit interviews of parents whose children left [the] schools that blame the system-wide problems of lax discipline and bullying for their departure almost 100 percent of the time.

When students are harassed and when classrooms are disrupted by unruly students the learning process suffers and test scores reflect this.

How would you describe the relationship between the Town of Farmville and the county? How could it be strengthened?

In the past the county and the town were like two rams duking it out over territory, with no compromise between the two. Faces have changed as have attitudes with a much improved atmosphere and level of cooperation.

Improvement in communication has already begun and will lead to more coordination and cooperation in the future as more open dialog between the two continues.

Should school board members be elected by the voters or appointed by the board of supervisors?

I have heard arguments on both sides, with no side having a preponderance of leverage.

I don’t think the present school board pays enough attention to the people of the county, but not enough people of the county attend the school board meetings either. I favor elected board members as they know that it was the people who elected them that they and are accountable to.

In my observations at the school board meetings, it appears the board members follow the lead of the superintendent and are not responsive to the ideas or requests of the citizens.

With the current appointed school board system, what is the ideal level of involvement supervisors should have in school-related affairs?

There is state mandate that a board of supervisors has no authority over a school board.

The [supervisors] appoint the board members for those counties that do so and they approve the [school] budget, that’s it. Approval of the school board budget should not be a “rubberstamp” action but should involve careful consideration of priorities and cost/benefit analysis of how the taxpayers money will be spent to give children the best education.

If I am elected, I will demand a return to the budgetary involvement that should precede approval. That would constitute “ideal involvement” for me.

Odessa Pride

Democratic candidate

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Hampden District and Prince Edward and how do you intend to address it?

The biggest challenge facing Hampden District and Prince Edward County is making public education stronger.

A place that has a strong educational system produces competent citizens for its workforce. A competent workforce attracts economic development.

You can’t expect to bring economic development and prosperity to an area that cannot educate a capable workforce.

What steps should the school division take to increase student Standard of Learning test scores and become fully accredited?

Members of the board of supervisors do not have an active role in the school division’s operations; that is the role of the superintendent and school board members.

Teachers cannot raise test scores alone.

Competent administrators in central office and at the building levels must maintain active roles in all schools’ initiatives to increase Standard of Learning test scores; school board members must also be actively engaged.

Benchmark assessments must be completed at the end of grading periods, evaluating and reporting data in clear, concise terms.

How would you describe the relationship between the Town of Farmville and the county? How could it be strengthened?

I feel the relationship between the Town of Farmville and the county is good. Three members of the board of supervisors are with the town structure. A feeling of community needs to continue to exist, noting that we all contribute to the positive welfare of Prince Edward.

Open meetings about education, economic development, and other areas of concern might be feasible.

The citizens of the county help make the town of Farmville as prosperous as it is today. Our community is only as strong as is our commitment to positively drive the future of Prince Edward.

Should school board members be elected by the voters or appointed by the board of supervisors?

My feelings are mixed on this question. Being elected or appointed is not a perfect solution. Elected school board members would be chosen by their constituents and hopefully well represented.

School board members appointed by the supervisors could result in a feeling of obligation to the supervisors who have appointed them. In either scenario, the person in the school board position must be knowledgeable, well-informed and not indebted to any one person or cause.

It’s all about children, their futures and holding the right people accountable.

With the current appointed school board system, what is the ideal level of involvement supervisors should have in school-related affairs?

A system in which supervisors appoint school board members is somewhat flawed because it could result in less independent thought, discussion and action. The role of the board of supervisors is to govern the county, not to micro-manage the school system. Both boards have their own province. However, the school’s budget comprises a major portion of the county’s budget.

Therefore, members of the board need to spend time researching and visiting the schools to see and better understand what is taking place.

This would allow them to make more informed decisions about the budget. Effective communication should exist.