Two vying for North Lawrence Community Schools board district 5 seat in general election
In this year's general election, two candidates are seeking election to the district five seat on the North Lawrence Community Schools board: incumbent candidate Kamal Girgis and Barbara Miller.
The Times-Mail recently reached out to both candidates asking them both the same five questions about their candidacies and how they plan to approach key issues should they eventually be elected to the NLCS board.
Answers were limited to 100 words, to ensure all answers could be included in the publication’s limited print space.
According to Gateway, the 2021 salary for this NLCS board seat was $4,077.00
In recent years NLCS has taken steps to reduce operations costs, with the stated intention being to reduce spending in that area to ultimately increase pay for teachers and staff. If elected, what plans do you have to continue on this path towards increased wages?
Girgis: The last contract negotiation was just one more step to improving our teacher and staff wages to more competitive rates, although their value is immeasurable. I would like to continue to reduce operation costs and take advantage of the savings to continue wage increases. More so, I hope to offer improved curriculum and extracurricular activities for our students giving families more reasons to join NLCS schools and further bolster funding.
Miller: The superintendent and the school board must be fiscally conservative with the money that the taxpayers have trusted the board with to run our school corporation. Teacher and staff pay/work conditions is a top priority along with student retention. To have a great staff you have to pay competitive wages. To have parents who choose to send their children to NLCS, they need confidence in that we have a great staff and management. NLCS teachers should earn at least a comparable wage to other school systems.
Some candidates have expressed their intentions of attempting to remove superintendent Ty Mungle from his position and replacing him if elected. Is this something you support? Why or why not?
Girgis: All leaders are required to make challenging recommendations regularly. The superintendent of schools is no different. Upon his arrival, difficult decisions had to be made with the approval of the board. Many community members were unaware of the financial challenges within our school system yet with these difficult decisions came the ability for NLCS to give its teachers and staff their largest raise in over a decade. Dr Mungle has supported wage increases, the expansion of the Career Center and facilitated development of the Early Learning Center among many other accolades. For these and other reasons I support his efforts.
Miller: Things have not went well since the previous board elected to fire Mr Conner who’s contract had to be bought out and bring in Ty Mungle as interim superintendent. We lost valuable resources since that day as in schools, teachers, staff, students and money. We started a downhill slide with that vote that has to be corrected. I do not feel Mr Mungle is the correct fit for NLCS and therefore we need to find a superintendent that has the best intentions for our school system and has the goals and values that our community looks for in a leader.
Many feel as though a divide currently exists between the community and NLCS. What are your plans to held mend trust between NLCS, the board and residents of Lawrence County?
Girgis: With past decisions made, there has been a divide created between members in the community and the board/administration of NLCS. I hope to be a better communicator with our constituents regarding the decisions that are being made. Many administrative decisions made in executive session that involve personnel cannot be shared in public. I will work to create a better atmosphere in the board room with mutual respect to allow dialogue that is not confrontational and accusational but rather informative in addressing the questions at hand.
Miller: There is a divide otherwise we wouldn’t have 2 new charter schools and a mass exodus of students, teaches and staff. The community has to feel the board is working for them not doing the bidding of the superintendent. The school board voted to shut off communication between them and the community just prior to announcing school closings. This should have been an open dialogue between all before voting took place. We need open communications between the board, teachers, staff, parents and community. The board needs to state what they want to do AND why, take feedback and then vote.
Enrollment is important for school districts and the funding they receive. With the recent openings of Lawrence County Independent Schools and Springville Community Academy, NLCS has had many students and families exit the school system in favor of attending local charter schools. If elected, what would you do to help bring students back to NLCS and increase enrollment?
Girgis: My plan is to offer the best educational experience our students can receive. By expanding our curriculum (earlier foreign language courses) and extracurricular opportunities (such as Green Thumbs and Robotics), I want to provide a better option for students to come back to. We strive to make all students successful in whatever endeavor they pursue and plan to give them the tools to do so. Our ever-expanding career center gives opportunities that cannot be found anywhere else in our community providing skills that aid students in obtaining gainful employment.
Miller: As a school board we need to bring NLCS back to life as a premier school system. If NLCS is a strong and stable school system that parents want to send their children to, I think that we might earn many of the students back that we have lost. We need to do what is best for the kids first. Work from the bottom up not the top down. Currently what the superintendent wants is coming first which has thrown NLCS into a tailspin. I wish LCIS and SCA the best as that competition will make us as NLCS better.
Why do you feel as though you are the best candidate for this position? What makes you stand out from others in the race?
Girgis: I have been a member of this community for over 20 years and have benefited from my NLCS education. In these past 4 years I have shown that I can make the difficult decisions needed and have been open and honest in doing so. I have gained the experience in school finance and understand the future goals and needs of NLCS. I am wholeheartedly committed to the students and staff of NLCS and I will continue to give this community my very best. I would appreciate your vote on November 8.
Miller: Most of us running would all be great candidates for the position. We are all running because we care for the students and teachers. I feel that smaller classrooms and smaller schools are what is best for our students. And even smaller classes in K-3 so students get a great start to their education so all kids enter 4-6 with a solid reading, writing and math foundation. It’s not always about what additional classes beyond the basics are offered. It’s about creating environments that our students can excel in. Students who have a connection to their school feel they belong.
Bios
Girgis
Age: 56
Education: Bedford North Lawrence High School, Indiana University School of Medicine
Occupational Experience: Physician of Internal Medicine, Chief of Medicine at IU Health Bedford
Family: Married to Shawna Girgis, father of Vonya, Ramzi and Zahra.
Community Involvement: Incumbent school board member
Miller
Age: 63
Education: Bedford North Lawrence High School
Occupational Experience: Owner of Citiloo Power, Office Administrator at Edward Jones, previously worked at General Motors for 25 years, former Oolitic Middle School Assistant Athletic Director, worked for parents at North End Video and Broadview Video.
Family: Married to Lenny Miller, mother of Tyson (Cameron), Kacee (Brendan) Bonifer and Craig (Stephanie), grandmother of Bryson & Brayton, age 8, Ellanor, age 7, Benton, age 6, Emmalynn, age 6, Max, age 2 and Grey, age 2.
Community Involvement: OMS track and field coach for 21 years, Dollens/OMS girls basketball coach for 18 years, coached and assisted with youth sports locally since 1992.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Two vying for NLCS board district 5 seat in general election
