East Ridge News Online posed a series of questions to Hamilton County District 8 School Board candidates Larry Grohn and Katie Perkins. What follows is the two candidates’ verbatim responses to the inquiries. Click here to see the school board candidates debate sponsored by Chattanooga 2.0, The Chattanooga Times Free Press and News Channel 3.
Larry Grohn
Tell the voters about your background: What do you do for a living? Where did you go to college?
I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and lived there for 38 years. Carol and I met and married in 1986. I had been a single parent of two boys for 10 years.
I worked for Sears, Roebuck as a divisional sales manager and left Sears in 1985 to return to college full-time and completed forty-four semester hours in one year. Carol was an Army nurse and was transferred to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where I completed my undergraduate degree in History (Univ. of Texas-San Antonio (1987). I enrolled at Kansas University in 1987 completing an MS Education (Curriculum and Instruction-1990) along with forty-seven semester hours in biology and earth and space science. I attended several colleges while earning continuing education credits and earned a National Teacher of Economic Certification.
Colleges Attended: Sam Antonio College, University of Houston, Univ. of Texas, San Antonio, Kansas University, Cameron University, University of Colorado – Denver, University of Colorado – Colorado Springs.
Courses taught in my teaching career _
Middle School: Life Science, Math, History, Geography (7-8 grades)
High School: Introduction to Physics, Introduction to Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, American History, World History, AP American, AP World, Civics, Psychology.
Why should voters cast their ballots for you in this race?
I participated in education for 22 years. Because of Carol’s Army career, I taught in the classroom for 18 years at six schools in three states (Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado).
After retiring and moving to Chattanooga, I served on the board of the Tennessee Chess Association for three years.
I served on the Chattanooga City Council for four years (2013-2017).
I ran for Mayor of Chattanooga in 2017.
I have a unique depth and breadth of knowledge and experience.
If elected, what do you want to accomplish on the school board?
- Working with others on the school board, consider revision of curriculum: Language Arts (English), Math and Science
The return to strict and high expectation for academics to the schools instead of ideology.
The refocus of our schools on the primary mission – to inculcate students with the education and experiences needed to be able to achieve their life goals, and be law-abiding and productive citizens in society.
The district has spent over $2 billion in the last five years. Approximately 40 percent of all K-12 students can read and do math and science at grade level. Being “equal or slightly better than” the abysmal State of Tennessee scores is unacceptable.
- The return of discipline to the classroom and schools.
The District Student Code of Behavior is not being followed. It has been replaced, without school board intervention, by “Equitable Discipline” (Restorative Justice).
The district’s central administration is not following the District Policy Handbook regarding parental and community involvement in curriculum and supplemental materials selection.
- To make the Hamilton County School’s leadership accountable for its failure to the community to educate our greatest treasure and assets – our children.
Address and correct the lack of transparency and use of statistical spin to gloss over the extremely lower academic scores in most of our inner-city urban core schools.
What is the most important issue facing education in Hamilton County?
Literacy in English, Math and Sciences.
Discipline to promote a safe and learning-friendly environment in every classroom.
Would you be in favor of shutting some schools down to shoulder the financial burden of deferred maintenance in others?
The district has twenty-seven schools built before 1998. The maintenance budget has been $3 million for several years.
On the night the school board approved the $456 million budget, it learned the district was getting an additional $7.5 million from the State (sales tax monies). They debated for 30-45 minutes about getting more funds into the maintenance budget. The board did not make any addition to the fund.
There has been a failure of leadership from the central administration and, the school board itself.
Katie Perkins
Tell the voters about your background: What do you do for a living? Where did you go to college?
My name is Katie Perkins. I am running for school board in district 8. I am a mother of three and a life-long Hamilton County resident who was raised by a kindergarten teacher. I have always been a volunteer in my community. I am extremely active in the children’s ministry at my church, Christ United Methodist. I coach volleyball and basketball at the YMCA and volunteer at my children’s schools. I also participate in local food drives and numerous other events. I have a bachelor’s degree from UTC and a master’s in fine art. I’m a former pre-school teacher and substitute teacher who enjoys taking walks with my dog and my family.
Why should voters cast their ballots for you in this race?
I was raised knowing the power and value of education. Everything I have done in my life has encompassed my passion for education. Service on the school board is the right decision for me and my voters because we need more parents engaged and involved in our schools. I want to be the voice of the parents and teachers in our community. I’ve witnessed firsthand parents and teachers who feel overwhelmed and overworked. These people need a school board member who represents and engages them in the school system, not someone who further divides our community.
If elected, what do you want to accomplish on the school board?
One of the greatest obligations of elected officials is to listen to what the people of the community want. My goal is to hear them, understand them and see that needs are carried out. I have heard from teachers and administrators that more counselors and mental health supports are needed. I hope to get more excellent teachers and aides into the buildings. I hope to improve facilities and make sure that our schools are safe for those we care about.
What’s the most important issue facing education in Hamilton County?
The most important issue right now is that the education system is loosing teachers. The national teacher shortage is a crisis. We do not want to get to the point where we are just hiring a body to put in the classroom. The job needs to be competitive. We need to make sure that we are supporting our teachers and treating them like the professionals that they are. We cannot afford to loose our quality teachers so we need to give them all the support they need so they can do their job well.
Would you be in favor of shutting some schools down to shoulder the financial burden of deferred maintenance in others?
Deferred maintenance is a huge issue in Hamilton county schools. Unfortunately in many cases a Band-Aid is used to temporarily resolve a large maintenance problem. The problem gets worse because it was not repaired properly and then this leads to more expensive problems. Shutting some schools down would be complicated but after investigating and considering all possible options I am willing to listen to viewpoints about how we could accomplish this in order to reach the goal of safe infrastructure throughout all of Hamilton county schools.
