Questions proffered by a local Cobb County newspaper

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Dear Candidates:

Below you will find a series of questions we would like you to answer. We intend to publish your answers verbatim as much as possible, though we reserve the right to edit lengthy answers for space. To that end, please limit each answer to 150 words. Please email your answers to News Editor Kim Isaza, newseditor@mdjonline.com no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9. Thank you!

1. Do you favor extending Superintendent Fred Sanderson’s contract past its expiration date of June 30, 2011?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Not without him going though the proper re-application and re-qualification process and conducting a national search to determine if he is the best person available for the job.

2. If the top job is open, do you think we need a national search or try to find a candidate closer to home?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes. A national search of the entire qualified candidate pool should be conducted to make sure we have the best person available in the position. I would not restrict the search geographically either way, to say I was going to hire local or hire national. We need the best qualified person in this job.

3. Do you favor school starting the first week in August? Mid August? Or after Labor Day?

BILL BORDEN SAID: First, any decision that is made needs to be done well in advance. Families make plans sometimes a year in advance and for a board to make a decision that affects so many people without proper and timely notice is arrogant. Having been raised on a farm, I have thought that the school calendar which allows for longer summers which was originally based on our agrarian society, provided time for family vacations, provided the ability for teachers to supplement their income with part-time jobs or to increase their education with advanced degrees acquired during the summer, was a good thing. However, studies show that a lengthy summer also allows for degradation in the education that was already provided and that the student’s retention of learned knowledge over those summer breaks is low. The psychological effect of the lengthy breaks is also evidenced in teacher and student opinions such as missing their friends, missing the social network that the education provides as well as the teachers appear to favor more evenly spaced time off. With this taken into consideration, I believe a mid-August start date would be the most appropriate for CCSD. We definitely need to have a meeting of the minds of all the local school systems to coordinate calendars as they’ve done in the past. This would allow students, parents and employers that have to deal with multiple school systems to coordinate work schedules and vacation time.

4. Do you think the strategic plan sets a high enough bar academically for our schools?

BILL BORDEN SAID: It puts in place accountability measures so that we can measure data. It is more of a road map than a destination.

5. Do you think the Cobb system is improving, holding steady, or declining in terms of student achievement?

BILL BORDEN SAID: I believe student achievement is declining based on morale issues. A student must feel good about the education they are receiving. Our students should not be worried about their teachers, their programs and their basic education. We have some of the best teachers in the country. The emotional well being of those teachers must be cared for by administration and the Board must set policies to demand that.

6. Do you think the school board and superintendent have lost the trust and confidence of a lot of citizens? If so, what would you do to restore that trust?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes. The Board lacks cohesiveness and a single voice to put policies in place that will keep the teachers teaching and off the emotional roller coaster that they have been on recently. Teachers are the foundation of our education system and that foundation needs to be unshakable. My background is one of negotiating deals to a win-win conclusion on a daily basis and I intend to bring a consensus to the Board that reflects our teachers’ and constituents’ ideas. My proven servant leadership skills and my background of business, legal, financial and classroom experience will benefit the Board. With the friendships I have developed in the Cobb County business community and with other elected local and state officials, I will be able to build a model of mutual governance that has been lacking with the current Board.

7. Do you think the school board and superintendent have lost the trust and confidence of a lot teachers? If so, what would you do to restore that trust and confidence?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes. Teachers need enhanced job security. Our School Board has not always been debt free. Present Board’s aversion to debt, which has caused the recent RIFs and almost immediate rehirings, has demonstrated a lack of loyalty to the teachers by the administration and Board. We must reconfirm to the teachers our commitment as a community to educate our children and provide our teachers with a stable work environment. I, for one, do not want the person educating my child to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from and I am committed to using my accumulated knowledge to make sure the Board accomplishes this.

8. Do you favor allowing more than 2 or 3 minutes per person for public comment at board meetings?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Public comments should be enhanced through the use of community meetings so that Board members are intimately familiar with what their constituents feel. Public comments at the Board meeting should be categorized by topics presently on the Agenda with an equal amount of time allotted for each topic and that time further divided amongst the speakers wishing to address that topic.

9. Does the Board agenda need to be restructured to devote more time to academic issues?

BILL BORDEN SAID: There needs to be a balance. There needs to be fiscal responsibility to be sure we spend our assets wisely but we also need to address issues that affect student performance.

10. What would you do as a board member if you found out that the superintendent and his staff were withholding important information from the board?

BILL BORDEN SAID: I would call for their heads on a platter.

11. School boards, under Georgia law, are supposed to set policy. Do you believe the current school board does a good job of setting policy? If not, how or what would you change?

BILL BORDEN SAID: More detailed policies need to be set and administration must be held accountable to those policies. I feel that a better job can be done making sure that the superintendent follows those detailed policies more closely and is held accountable for any failure to do so.

12. The Superintendent has proposed cutting $123 million in the fiscal 2011 budget. If you had presented the budget, how would it have differed from the superintendent’s?

BILL BORDEN SAID: I would look at areas such as transportation. We get 6 million from the state but spend 43 million. There may be some deficiencies we can look into in transportation as well as other areas.

13. Do you favor tax increases or budget cuts to balance the budget in years to come?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Both. There are many budget cuts in a 5400 line item budget that could be made once it is examined in detail. The budget must be prioritized with those services that directly affect the children’s education, health, safety and welfare taking priority. We need innovative ideas for alternative income streams which will help balance the budget. These should include utilization of the present infrastructure as well as public-private partnerships which I have proven most recently do work in education scenarios. As a last resort, I would raise the taxes and I feel most concerned citizens, once they understand all of the implications, would not begrudge our community the many benefits that increase would bring.

14. Should school bus service be further curtailed, and if so, how?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Curtailing the school bus service will not be necessary if we treat the transportation department as an alternative revenue source. Free and safe transportation for students to their schools is essential. Through my many contacts with local government, we will strive to coordinate safe and efficient routes for our children’s commute. Utilization of the national Safe Routes Program will further enhance and contribute to the system’s ability to deliver our children to their school safely.

15. Do you favor bidding out the school system’s contract for legal services? If so, by what date?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Bidding, no. Cheapest is not always best. However the Board should request proposals and curriculum vitae’s yearly from those firms interested in serving the Cobb School System and review them for the most qualified attorneys to represent the system.

16. Several school board members have been criticized for “flip flopping” on campaign promises. Is it acceptable to disavow a campaign promise, and if so, why?

BILL BORDEN SAID: While it is unacceptable to break a promise, one should not promise anything without understanding all of the ramifications or base a promise on a changing environment. However, it is perfectly acceptable for any human being to have a change of opinion when presented with new facts. One should vote for a candidate based on the candidates’ ethics, intelligence, beliefs and past achievements knowing that the candidate will vote the same way as you the voter would vote when presented with the same set of facts. I, for one, would not elect a candidate who did not maintain an open mind to new ideas, new viewpoints, new methods and new solutions to any situation.

17. Do you favor eliminating vacation rollover days for central office staff and certain other employees?

BILL BORDEN SAID: No, I do not favor the complete elimination of the vacation rollover days. A limitation must be put in place to level the playing field between teachers, administration and staff without the drastic losses of personnel to systems with better benefit structures which would cause a reduction in the quality of education within our system. There are many factors that need to be considered, such as other systems offering higher incentive packages, the present budget crunch and job losses.

18. Do you think CCSD should, in the future, apply for federal Race To The Top funds if they are available? Explain why or why not.

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes with a caveat. All funds come with not only strings attached but ropes! Before any funds are applied for, the teachers, parents and pertinent organizations should be polled and their opinions considered. We need to be sure that with major decisions such as this, everyone has a seat at the table.
19. Do you favor raising taxes to the 20-mill max?


BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes, if necessary to achieve a quality education. As a property owner I understand that this would cause me to pay more taxes but the benefits far outweigh any detriment.

20. Do you think Cobb will need a SPLOST 4, and if so, for what specific projects?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes, however I hope that before a SPLOST 4 vote becomes necessary, we are able to come together to present a concise point of view to our state legislators to insist that they pass the ability to utilize a fractional SPLOST. That would allow us to designate a portion of the SPLOST to be restricted for classroom educational use. As a member of both Cobb County and School Board SPLOST Citizen Oversight committees, my position has demonstrated to me the attributes and liabilities of SPLOST funding. SPLOST allows us to tax transient visitors to our community, an otherwise untaxable population, however it is an unreliable revenue stream in a down economy and must be used with caution.

21. Would you vote to return to the A, B, C type report card for primary grades, or do you prefer the Standards Based Report Card?

BILL BORDEN SAID: No. The 3-2-1 report card provokes conversation and encourages dialog so that the parents and teachers can address student needs. Let’s look at evaluating the card in a year or two.

22. Does the school system need a new headquarters building, as one incumbent has repeatedly suggested?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Not necessarily a new building but one further away from Glover Street. I would not vote to spend any money on a move at this time.