Incumbent Board of Education member Kim Cochran squares off with challenger Patsy Jordan on Monday.
Photo special to the Tribune by Michael A. Beck
Photo special to the Tribune by Michael A. Beck
Incumbent Kim Cochran, elected in 2008, and her opponent, Patsy Jordan, a former district teacher who retired in 2010, mostly agreed on their tactics for handling issues facing the district except for one — the statewide constitutional charter school amendment that will be on the November ballot.
Cochran, who was redistricted from Post 7 into the redrawn District 2 by new reapportionment maps, said she supports House Resolution 1162 that allows for a state agency to approve and fund local charter schools without the approval of local school boards. She contended the amendment would not take away local funds.
“My stand, personally, is that I support charter schools,” Cochran said. “I support parent choice and I believe that the issue (of funding) … has been revised. No local funds go in to a state-approved charter school.”
Cochran said charter schools provide another avenue toward reaching the goal of giving the most effective education for each student. She said the claim that the money would come from state funding could be said about any state expenditure.
“While I understand and feel the frustration of unfunded mandates and feel the austerity cuts, I feel it’s quite a leap of faith to suddenly say that money right there that they’ve allotted obviously came from public schools,” Cochran said. “We do have incredible schools… but I think it’s dangerous to stand back and say there’s no room for improvement because we’ve done it all.”
Jordan said she was not opposed to school choice, but could not support any measure that took money away from the school district.
“The public education system … is already in a financial hardship as we stand now,” Jordan said. “I am definitely not for pulling funds from public schools.”
Jordan lauded the schools already in Cherokee County, including the six new Cherokee Academies that will begin in the fall, and the capability of the well-qualified teachers throughout the district.
“There’s just no reason, no fix for the school system,” Jordan said. “We have a great school system.”
As for strained relations with the local legislative delegation, both candidates said they would work toward building communication.
Cochran admitted the relationship between the board and members of the local delegation is strained and will require more understanding from all parties.
“We need to work to find common ground,” Cochran said. “I think the immediate starting point for that is not to cast blame, but understand the difficulties facing not only Cherokee County, but the state,” Cochran said.
Jordan said she felt the impact of the weakened relations at the classroom level prior to her retirement as number of students in the class increased, and that she would work on communication with state lawmakers.
“The most important thing is that if everybody works together, there will be a difference made,” Jordan said.
Both candidates also advocated for more vocational training opportunities within the district, as they saw it as one of the biggest challenges the district faces aside from funding. Cochran said she has spent her last four years as a board member working on that very issue.
“The technical degree was discontinued in the state of Georgia,” Cochran said. “Not every job requires college. It’s nonsense to require post-secondary education for something that we could be providing some training for, if not to replace … then at the very least to supplement it.”
Jordan said she would like to see more work training as well, as she was given an opportunity in high school to work at the former Citizen’s Bank in Ball Ground, where she realized banking was not her calling and moved on to become a teacher.
With eight furlough days facing district staff next year because of lack of state and local funding, the candidates both said a focus on funding and managing the budget should be a top priority.
Jordan said she had four furlough days her last year as a teacher and was in favor of them because they prevent layoffs. The school board has so far avoided layoffs despite the $26.5 million Quality Basic Education funding shortfall anticipated for next year.
“Now (furlough days) have doubled and it’s difficult for the school board to do anything,” Jordan said. “But furlough days are temporary; when you lay people off you are looking at a whole different ballgame.”
Cochran said furlough days are the softest way to take a financial hit and said she has, in the past, suggested the district work with ideas such as pay-to-play sports and looking at extracurriculars to lessen funding gaps.
“These things add to educational value but are not our main job,” Cochran said. “I’m open to whatever methods will lessen the impact of these furlough days for teachers and reduce the impact of high classroom size.”
What does have merit is that I know what it takes to make sure children are educated. I have one child that is a a MD and another that is a Phd. I obviously know something.
The property is owned by 3 people 2 of which are under the exemption age(I think dad passed). No school taxes are paid. Obviously they found a loophole. They do not have to take that exemption, yet they do which takes money away from the school district for which she got paid and wants to recieve payment again.
This in no way means that Cochran is our saving grace, as I disagreed with her vote for the Charter School. She reiterated that she supports HR 1162 because 'it won't touch local funds,' yet she voted in favor of the Charter last year when it WOULD receive local funds. Her statement and actions conflicted one another on that topic. I may be writing my own name in come election time, but did want to share my concerns with Cochran's opponent in this race as she will certainly be touted as the district's best candidate.
She finds majority rule ridiculous and dangerous yet she turned around a year later to campaign for that very same majority rule so that she could get elected.
No worries in this election because Kim will not be getting the majority vote in this election.
I also see in a few posts that people say Cochran's been a "puppet" to the legislators. If so, I bet Chip and crew weren't too happy with her votes on the SPLOST or renewing Dr. P.'s contract twice. That is one independent-minded puppet! As far as I can tell, the person who said she agrees with someone on everything is Jordan, and that's with every decision Dr. P has ever put before the school board. She also doesn't see that anything can or should improve with our schools. Who's the puppet?
You are really reaching down in the bottom of the barrel to try and make this an election issue. You should at least get your facts straight before you make public statements.
I think the other point made above is that if Jordan lives on her mother's property (and hers and her sister's, according to you) and there is an exemption because of her mother's age, then Jordan's not paying school taxes because the property is exempt. The research isn't wrong. You just don't seem to like it. If Jordan isn't 62 to qualify for the senior exemption herself, which I don't think she is, it's a loop hole, just like it says above. They don't have to take the exemption. I do think that it's an issue in an election. I don't want someone who isn't affected by school taxes to be one of seven votes on those same taxes for everyone else.
So my question is why not? What exemption does Patsy get. Or is this a loophole they discovered as to not pay this additional tax. If Patsy is paying school taxes please show me where to find that information and I will state I was wrong. I post my name because I believe my points are valid and I stand behind them.
I think it is extremely important as it goes to character and honesty.
I think this is a very important issue as it ties into the school budget. It also shows us the character of the candidate. All I want to know is why is Patsy Jordan not paying school taxes?
The Cochran family has no room to talk when it comes to tax exemptions, they certainly take advantage of everyone they can get and I have no problem with that.
Mrs Jordan never said she attended any board meetings. Her exact words I believe were I have never attended any board meetings. I think she also says that she pays taxes but when you look her up she is living on her mothers land and her mother is of the age in Cherokee County that she doesn't pay school taxes. She does seem like a kind hearted person who truely wants what is best for the children of Cherokee County, but lets face it she was not prepared. Also, when asked about Charter School support she said she wouldn't approve them as they take money from CCSD. She had just heard that the bill says no money comes from the county for Charter the money will come from the State. She was unable to form her own thoughts on anything that was asked. She just agreed with Kim Cochran. We do not want someone on the board that is going to be a puppet or a pawn. We want someone who will have their own opinion and be able to fight for their own opinion and stand up to everyone else on the board. She knew she was going to be running for BOE, she is retired so I would think she would have more time on her hands to be able to attend. I work full time and a single parent and even I have been to BOE meetings. She should have been prepared.
Patsy has seen multiple aspects of a school district firsthand over 35 years and will be an excellent board member that will support ALL students in Cherokee County.
Patsy Jordan has NEVER been to a school board meeting, she reads about them in the paper.
When asked what 3 decisions would you disagree with that the school board has made? Her answer was that she agreed with everything,
We need someone with an individual opinion and innovative ideas to continue to improve our school district. We need someone who will bring something to the table and not just "agree" with what Dr P has says. That is the entire purpose of having a board.
This debate was taped and will hopefully be available for public viewing. Once you watch it, there is only one choice.
I get your point about getting to know the candidates. But no one could have watched the debate and listened to Jordan's answers (or non-answers) and not know already that there is just no comparison. And yes, I do think that since Jordan threw her hat in the ring she should be prepared to discuss her opinions. Obviously you disagree with Cochran at least some of the time, but that wasn't just a poor performance by Jordan. She didn't just flub an answer. She didn't seem to have a clue what to say for most of the questions because she isn't ready for the job, which is why she just followed Cochran's lead through most of the debate. I would love to know if I agree with her perspective, so I did a little more research and looked at her website. As far as I can tell, she didn't really have one to offer. Not a single idea on anything in CCSD except that she liked teaching and kids (which I'm pretty sure all the Board members do). I don't always have to agree with someone in public office. But I do want someone who can get the job done and lead. Unfortunately Jordan is so unprepared and unsuited for the Board that she's already shown she can't. In my opinion, Cochran already has and showed on Monday she's ready to keep doing it.
Patsy does seem like a nice person. However she was not able to answer the questions when asked. If this was a position she really wanted she would have been at meetings. I have NEVER seen her at a meeting in the last 2 years. I feel sorry for her as it is obvious she is being used as a political pawn so that there is only one opinion on the board. Pasty offered no solutions in the debate, Kim did. Patsy believes that everything the board has done is correct; without attending a meeting that would be difficult to answer as she has not heard the all the options. Patsy does not appear to be a problem solver to anyone other than Dr. P and Janet Read (if she is elected).