Mental health, teacher retention and communication are some of the issues on the minds of the candidates vying for a place on the Fulton Public Schools Board of Education.
Joe Davis, Connie Epperson, Todd Gray and Emily Omohundro gathered Monday evening at Fulton High School to answer questions from the Fulton Community Teachers Association at a public forum.
"When you devote your career for 30 years to something that you find is very rewarding and special, it's hard to walk away knowing that there are things that I see could be improved upon but also a lot of things that we're doing that are going really well that I would like for our district to move forward with," Epperson said, explaining her motivation for running.
Each of the four candidates, who are competing for only three spots on the school board, have experience either on the board or in Fulton Public Schools.
"I got involved in the school district because I'm the type of personality that wants to be involved and that (I don't) expect other people to do things for myself," Gray said. "I think it's like the district's heading in the right direction. We did have a lot of turmoil terrible whenever I first got on the board six years ago, and I feel like (now) we are going the right way."
Incumbents Gray and Omohundro currently serve on the board, while newcomers Davis and Epperson have both served as teachers and administrators in the district.
"We've done a good job so far, making plans and I'd like to make sure that I'm there to continue those for the future of the district and just to honor the work that we've already done," Omohundro said.
The questions, submitted by FCTA members, focused on the candidate's goals for the districts, as well as how they would help teachers.
"Growing up in our community, I think a lot of my favorite memories happened when I would sit in Fulton Public Schools," Davis said. "I think I'd be a strong advocate for our teachers and students and administrators because I've been all those things."
The issue of mental health came up repeatedly during the forum - Davis said providing support would be a strong focus of his if he is elected.
"I'd like to echo some of Joe's sentiments there," Omohundro said. "I think that when we talk about what schools are doing for kids and families in our community, the list is endless. And one thing that I think that we could do better, and that all public schools can do better, is to create the integration of the resources that are within a community in order to most effectively address those needs - whether that's a mental health need, whether that's a food need, whether families need help sign up for social services. I think that when we meet those basic needs of children, they learn better - we know that."
At one point, the candidates were asked whether they'd rather hire a new classroom teacher, mental health resource staff member or a school resource officer. Epperson, Omohundro and Gray all chose a staff member to help with mental health support.
Omohundro noted someone to help with mental health issues would benefit not only a child having a crisis but also every other child in the class.
"If you can address the mental health aspects of a lot of what's going on in schools, I think that you would have less need for a school resource officer and possibly even a classroom teacher, given that our class sizes are impacted a bit by the students we have within those classrooms," Epperson said.
Though Davis also repeatedly emphasized the importance of mental health, with this question he chose the classroom teacher.
"When you have a full classroom it makes your job increasingly difficult, which is one of the great things about Prop S - is going to give us more classroom space to alleviate some of the challenges that our teachers are facing," Davis said.
As a teacher educator at William Woods University, Davis frequently brought up teacher recruitment, noting the benefits of grow-your-own programs to encourage students to pursue a career in education and return to the district to teach. Epperson was often in agreement, drawing on her own experience as an educator.
Davis discussed his desire to see more education on digital citizenship.
"If I go home and ask my kindergartner what it looks like to be safe on the playground, I have a feeling he could tell me what that looks like," Davis said. "But if I asked a lot of our students what it looks like to be safe online, I'm not sure that they would be able to give me those answers."
Omohundro noted the importance of having a positive presence on social media and making sure parents understand conflict resolution.
"If you are a teacher in a school district and you are advocating and you are having difficult conversations and you're participating in discipline and you're doing all these things, chances are someone's going to complain about you on Facebook," Omohundro said.
Epperson agreed, emphasizing the importance of trusting and supporting staff members.
"I do believe that it's important to make sure the staff members know that they are trusted and believed in and that ultimately, the decisions they're making are not always easy ones, but they are ones that are critical," Epperson said.
Gray compared the decision-making role of a teacher, who has to react quickly in the classroom to his own experience as a firefighter. Looking to the future, Gray supports a districtwide preschool and new methods for reaching students with non-traditional learning styles.
"School is changing, education is changing," Gray said. "I think sitting in a classroom and with a book in front of you or a computer in front of you, is something that will probably be going away for a lot of students. We have students in this district that they're not going to go to college and, you know, they learn a different way. We need to make sure that we're giving every student here opportunity to learn and grow."