At the close of March, we initiated contact with all Paulding County candidates, extending an invitation for them to address common questions posed by the community. Enclosed are their unaltered responses to these inquiries, providing insight into their respective stances. While not all candidates opted to participate, we believe that understanding their viewpoints is pivotal in making informed decisions as constituents.
Shannon Price’s QUESTIONS
- Tell us a little bit about yourself.
- What inspired you to run for the position of School Board Member, At Large, in Paulding County?
- What do you believe are the most significant challenges currently facing the education system in Paulding County?
- How do you plan to address issues of student achievement and academic performance across all schools in Paulding County?
- What strategies do you propose to enhance teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development in Paulding County?
- What is your stance on school safety and security measures, and how do you plan to ensure a safe learning environment for students and staff?
- How would you address concerns related to student mental health and well-being within Paulding County schools?
- How do you plan to engage with parents, guardians, and the broader community to gather feedback and address their concerns effectively?
- What measures would you propose to improve special education services and support for students with disabilities in Paulding County?
- Can you outline your strategy for reducing dropout rates and increasing graduation rates in Paulding County schools?
- How do you plan to leverage technology and innovation to enhance teaching and learning experiences in Paulding County schools?
- What steps would you take to ensure transparency and accountability in school board decision-making processes?
- How would you advocate for the needs of students from low-income families or marginalized communities in Paulding County?
- What is your vision for the future of education in Paulding County, and what specific goals do you hope to achieve if elected?
- How do you plan to address overcrowding issues and manage student enrollment growth in Paulding County schools?
- What is your stance on standardized testing, and how do you plan to ensure a balanced approach to assessment and accountability?
- How would you address concerns related to bullying, harassment, and discrimination in schools, and ensure a positive school climate for all students?
- Can you outline your approach to promoting parental involvement and engagement in their children’s education?
- What measures would you propose to address the shortage of qualified educators and support staff in Paulding County schools?
- How do you plan to advocate for increased state funding for education and address budgetary challenges facing Paulding County schools?
- Can you share your thoughts on the role of arts education and extracurricular activities in promoting student engagement and success?
- What initiatives would you propose to support students’ college and career readiness in Paulding County schools?
- Lastly, what closing thoughts or insights would you like to share with voters in Paulding County regarding your candidacy for School Board Member, At Large?
Shannon Price’s ANSWERS
1 and 2. Hi, my name is Shannon Price, I have lived in Paulding County my whole life.
I graduated in 1983 from PCHS. My daddy worked in maintenance and retired after 28
years of service, repairing and patching these schools my whole life. I worked for the
County for almost 10 years until I was hurt and went on Workmans Comp, sad, sad
times, I don’t wish that on anyone. You really find out who you work for and with. I can
tell you now, I worked with some of the best people ever and some of the worst! I have
seen so much in this county that needs to be fixed for the children, parents, staff and
Community, we deserve better! It starts at the top and goes down from there. We are
only as good as our foundation. Things cannot and will not get better until we bring back
respect to our God, Flag, Family and Teachers. No respect and no discipline with no
consequences leads to chaos and children running wild. I teach Pre-K at West Ridge
Church the thoughts of my sweet littles starting school right now is terrifying. With
bullying, drugs, the buses, our curriculum that is a mess, and overcrowded classrooms,
this is why I am running for school board.
I’m going to try and address all of your questions in the following paragraphs. Many
things go together and are encompassed as such. If a couple of things are done
properly a lot of things should start to fall into place.
3 and 9. We need to have enough schools to house the children in our Community, not
always be playing catch up. If we have some schools that are overbuilt to actually
handle the 15,000 new homes that are being built what a great concept, instead of
being behind the eight ball, we are in front, what a novel idea. We need manageable
class sizes (not manipulated class sizes). We should have Special Needs in every
school with the equipment they need to flourish, not send them to schools that cannot
handle them. When someone is hurt due to this ridiculousness, who will take the
blame??? There is no need for our Special Needs children to be on the bus for an hour.
Every child should feel wanted, needed and learn everyday. Not just stuck somewhere
because they have nowhere to go, we should have our SN grouped better for safety
reasons and also for conducive learning. Parents should be involved as well as the
teachers to make sure all needs are being met, if not work together to find innovative
ways to help our SN children thrive.
4 and 5. In regard to student achievement: this could be handled so much better. We
have so many incredible programs that never get recognized for their work and it’s such
a shame. Our Robotic Team has been to Nationals a couple of times, but that has
never been mentioned, to me this is incredible news! The fact that we lost an incredible
teacher to Cobb due to this is also extremely heartbreaking. I’m sure if you ask what
happened it would be different answers. The fact is she is now in Cobb and their
Robotics Team is thriving. We have lost some incredible teachers to Cobb for pay, this
should not be happening. Our pay scale is so out of date people can barely survive
unless you are at the main office. There are so many people there who should not be
there that do the same thing and are trying to get there salaries up for retirement it is
ridiculous and wrong. We do not need a person over the Nurses, at all the schools who
is a RN that answers to a person with ZERO background in the medical field, who then
answers to the Superintendent, maybe, there might be another person who knows?
Same way with the lunchroom. You have workers, lunchroom managers, they have
school managers, they have a manager, she has the Director, she has the same guy
that is over nurses over her, he also knows nothing about food, I spoke to him about
children not eating before I went in front of the BOE with all of the information. He told
me that he didn’t understand any of what I was discussing, he would have to look into it.
Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t COVID hit shortly after and our kids ate for free so I took
it as a victory! So I would love to cut out some of the people at the main office and be
more efficient. I think we have not done right by building; the same builder continues to
build over and over again from Douglasville. Do we not have anyone in Paulding that
could build our schools? Can we not have manageable class sizes so our teachers can
teach, leave on time and not be exhausted because they have 35 kids instead of 20.
Can our teachers have what they need to teach, with all the supplies instead of 1 ream
of paper a year, np planning period because they have to go teach another class
because there are no subs, maybe let them have a lunch break. Maybe let them have
their summer instead of requiring classes all summer. Yes provided them, not mandate
them. So many things can be done for teacher retention.
- Every child and person learn differently. Let the teachers figure it out and teach! It’s
not a 1 size fits all! I am a hands-on learner, my friend is an auditory learner, some
people are visual learners. I can’t sit still, I have ADHD! Sitting still for me is torture.
Some teachers expect kids to sit still and be good for 30 and 45 minutes, that’s not
possible for everyone. If you know your going to loose a child within 15 min, figure
something out, work with the parent, some parents do want to be involved. We have
been shut out for so long some have given up. The economy is so hard, everyone is
doing there best to keep up.
I believe if we dealt with discipline issues the same way across the board things would
be better. If your child assaults someone you must spend time at home and you the
parent will be inconvenienced. Not having consequences and giving out candy in the
office is the opposite of a consequence and undermines the teachers terribly. Now
everyone wants to get in trouble and go to the office to get candy, positive
reinforcement! nice j.o.b.!
So, back to how to handle bullying, graduation rates, parent involvement, mental health
and a teacher knowing what the kids needs are, comes down to: IMO
13 17 18 19.
-class size
-admin support
-parent participation
-tools teachers need for success
-20 max kids per classroom
-supplies they do not have to buy
-BOE
-Superintendent
-Principal
-AP
-Secretary
-Clerk
-Teacher
-Para
-Student
Of course you would have as many AP’s and support staff as your school needs to run
efficiently.
This is how I see our schools being successful. When you have too many layers
between the Superintendent and what’s going on in the School System how can things
run properly? Our BOE and Superintendent need to be visiting the schools to find out
how things are? Good, bad or ugly and fixing them. When you have math curriculum
that no one can do, even the teachers, you should say….hmmm, maybe we have a
problem? How can we fix it and talk to your teachers that know how to fix it instead of
people who are not and have not been in classrooms for years. We have incredible
teachers, if they got a chance to be teachers instead of information gatherers, we would
have 3 rd grade readers, children that could do math and a much higher graduation rate.
If we made children act responsibly as well as parents, things would change. You
cannot have a system with no consequences! I think that Parent teacher conferences
should be earlier in the year. I believe if class sizes were maxed out at 20 teachers
could keep up with grades daily instead of getting behind because they have so many
students, an ungodly work load, a family and life. If parents and teachers had more of a
person connection maybe when someone’s child was having a bad day they would
know why and be able to help instead of just saying they are a behavioral issue and
they get left behind. School can be such a great place! We as adults have to ensure
that. Bullying is instilled or comes from home from parents or big brothers or sisters, it’s
our jobs to stop it and teach them better. It is our job to make sure they can read and
write and add and subtract. We are failing. Our children deserve better!
I know that I still need to address security issues and funding and transparency and all I
can say is I am an open book. I probably say to much sometimes. What I can tell you is
I am not stupid, I am not a liar, if I make a mistake or misspeak, I am usually the first
person to say I didn’t have that quite right or let me start again. I will do my best to
always be available, return or actually answer your calls. Respond to emails so you
have a written response, transparency. I will be truthful, you may not like what I say but,
I will not lie.
Thank you all for your time, please reach out if you have additional questions, if you
would like to see changes, please vote for me on May 21 st . Thank you, Shannon Price
for Paulding County School Board at Large, Price is Right
For further insight into Shannon Price’s platform and initiatives, please visit her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557729310950 or email her at Shannonprice0501@gmail.com
