Two candidates are seeking the position of District 2 representative on the Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees. They are incumbent Zelmarine Murphy, 68, and Alonzo Stevens, 60.

Leading up to Tuesday’s general election, they were asked to respond to six questions dealing with the issues facing the board.

Please state what you believe are qualifications that will help you be or continue to be an effective school board member:

Murphy: I believe my qualifications to serve as a knowledgeable board member are my advanced degrees and certification in administration. The fact that I have attended: state (48), regional (10) and national (12) school board trainings allow me to have a working knowledge and hands-on experience of policies and procedures of the Mississippi curriculum and federal programs and the approval of fiscal budgets coming to the district from various grants and local, state and federal agencies. As a taxpayer, parent, grandparent, a former educator (43 years) and school board member (24 years), I bring hands-on experience.

Stevens: I’m a 38-year educator with 30 years of experience in the VWSD. I have worked for 10 different superintendents. I have experience at the elementary, junior high, senior high and collegiate level. I know the importance of having an education, having received two masters degrees, in athletic administration and biology. I recently retired from the VWSD and have first-hand knowledge of what is happening in the classroom. I am a people person and I am connected with this community. I love Vicksburg and the people in it and will work hard to keep our school system strong.

Are there any specific problems or shortcoming you hope to address? If so, please describe them. If not, please explain what you think are the biggest challenges faced by the district?

Murphy: The shortcomings that I see as great challenges are limited resources, and schools are asked to be accountable while being asked to do more with less resources. For example:

• Transition to Common Core State Standards requires teacher training and much parental involvement and increases the rigor for students.

• State funding for pre-K programs

• Career- and college-readiness require schools to offer career pathways at the junior and high school levels. These mandates are delivered with no extra funds.

I am someone who has seen the past first-hand and can better offer solutions that will support these endeavors and our board’s vision.

Stevens: I would like to see the board and the superintendent work at keeping the public aware of how our tax dollars are being used. There is a need for better communication with our parents, continuing to keep them in the process of educating their children. The biggest challenge facing our district is our children not performing at the level that I know they can. We cannot be content with a C-level school system. Our children deserve better than that, and as taxpayers we deserve better than that. If our children cannot compete what will become of our community?

Improving student discipline has been discussed by trustees and the superintendent. Do you believe administrative control of discipline in the district is lacking? If so, what would you do to correct it?

Murphy: Administrative control of discipline is addressed as mandated by state and federal guidelines.

Positive Behavioral Intervention Support is a program used by the district to teach rules, rewarding students for following them, that has been implemented in our schools funded through our healthy schools grant. We have increased security by adding school resources officers at secondary and Grove Street schools. Grove Street has improved by adding a permanent social worker and a behavioral interventionist. An Accelerated Program for Transition has been implemented to address at-risk students.

I believe these efforts will bring positive changes along with parental involvement. Discipline does not occur overnight.

Stevens: Unfortunately, there is room for improvement concerning discipline. I would suggest to the board and the superintendent that an invitation be extended to the previous administrations to sit down and get their input on discipline. There is a wealth of knowledge in this community: James Wilson, Jim Stirgus, Robert Pickett, Donald Oakes, Agnes Lyles and James Price, to name just a few. This type of forum could produce a great working discipline plan that, along with the parents and teachers, could prove very successful. This panel would be cost-effective and should generate community involvement.

As a means to get more parents and the rest of the community involved in district policymaking, would you be in favor of allowing public comments at board of trustees meetings without the currently required agenda preregistration? Why or why not?

Murphy: Yes, the community should be able to make comments at meetings; however, it should be at stipulated times with the appropriate guidelines in place. Parental and community involvement is always welcomed with the concerns of testing, dropouts, daily attendance, district achievement growth, student behavior and safety.

It does take a village to raise a child. Positive feedback can be expressed, which helps the board address the issues of concern.

Stevens: I like the current format. The board should inform the community on the proper procedure to voice concerns. Many times, issues arise and the time for them to be placed on the agenda has passed. Parents feel the issues should be discussed now, not waiting 30-plus days before they can address their concerns. I would suggest that the parent write to the board and the board respond to the concerns. I would like to have town hall meetings once a month at different schools within the district where issues could be discussed and generate more community involvement.

What are your thoughts about consolidating the district’s secondary schools? What are the issues you would weigh as a school board member if presented with a proposal for consolidation?

Murphy: Without deep extensive study of the “pros and cons,” I cannot make a wise decision at this time. There are many factors to be considered:

• The cost of building a new secondary school

• Floating a bond to pay for the new school

• Size of the school

• Where to build the school

• Transportation of students

These are just few of the many questions needed to be answered by the feasibility study.

Stevens: We have a long way to go before we can seriously talk about consolidation. The first issue should be getting our school district to A status. Clinton’s schools are ranked third in the state. They are next door; network with them, see what they are doing rather than using funds and traveling cross-country to get ideas. Discipline is an issue consolidation will not solve. In fact, it can make it worse if not handled properly. This brings to mind the Natchez and Greenville school systems who struggled with consolidation. Would it be cost-effective? Would it increase or decrease employment?

With Common Core State Standards slated for implementation in 2014, what are the areas in which the district should focus to prepare students for the more rigorous standards? What do you propose to help the district better prepare for the transition from the old Mississippi Frameworks to Common Core?

Murphy: To meet the state’s mandate to implement Common Core State Standards, parental and community engagement, teacher training and aligning teacher resources to meet the rigor of these standards is imperative. Since these standards include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order thinking skills, it is a must that everyone working together as one unit. We must continue holding meetings with parents and stakeholders to explain the Common Core State Standards (and their relationship to existing state standards), the components of the next generation assessments and the impact they will have on existing curriculum and instruction.

As a Board Member, I will continue to support the administration in planning, goal-setting, and implementation of these standards.

Stevens: One misconception is the Common Core is new and innovative. It’s the integration of all academic disciplines. Emphasis is placed on reading and writing across the board. We must train teachers on how to increase their instruction, inform parents on how to assist their children and demand excellence from all those involved in educating our youth. Relying on data to make decisions, collaboration among schools has to happen. We have some implementation of different academic methods at some schools. Until we learn we’re a school district, and not a district of schools, we will continue to perform at a C level.