David Cash

Running for: Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education, District 2
Hometown: Statesville
Occupation: Family Physician, Statesville Family Practice, PA
Education:
A.B. Chemistry/Pre-Med, 1976, Pfeiffer University, Misenheimer
M.D., 1982, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

What are the biggest issues facing your constituency?
One of the biggest issues facing our school district is the tremendous population growth. A few years ago we were only experiencing this excessive level of growth in the southern Iredell areas, but now the student population is exploding rapidly throughout the district. We also continue to face the challenge of educating all our diverse children and helping them individually to achieve their maximum potentials. We need to continue to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and administrators.

Of those issues, which is the most important?
As always, the most important issue or role of our educational system is to support the learning process that encourages, motivates, and enables every student to achieve to his maximum ability and stimulates him to become a productive well-rounded citizen. This process requires positive interactions of many people intricately working together.

Each student benefits from highly trained, educated, certified teachers who work together collaboratively to incorporate the most effective teaching methods into each classroom. As a board, we must ensure these teachers have adequate space, resources, and materials to do their jobs. Also, the board needs to provide continuing education options for the professionals to encourage personal and professional growth.

Next, the school system needs funding sources to provide for student needs. Since our local county commission provides a large portion of our discretionary income, it’s imperative that the school board maintain close communication with this body. Sharing information and concerns in a timely manner has stimulated a close working relationship. Also, involvement of many churches, civic groups, and businesses has offered funding sources over the past few years. These funds come in many forms including challenge grants, rewards for innovative teaching styles, scholarships, or equipment.

Most of all, these community partnerships help those individuals involved achieve “ownership” of our schools and individual students. When the whole community becomes involved in helping children learn, all are rewarded with a more wholesome environment – a true win: win interaction.

What, if any, prior experience do you have that will help you if you’re elected?
I have served on this school board since July, 2000. Over the past eight years, I have had the fortunate opportunity to learn the intricate workings of school budget processes, administrative and legal issues, school building construction and operations, and curriculum design. Most importantly, I have developed many friendships and working relationships with our community partners, county officials, and school personnel. My service on other boards, such as Iredell Memorial Hospital, Hospice of Iredell County, and Ebenezer Fire Department, has provided me with greater experience in proper boardsmanship behavior and has helped form long-term alliances.

What is one thing you think the current board is doing right?
One thing I think the current board is doing right is encouraging our school staff and administrators to “stay the course” on reaching our vision of becoming a “top ten” school district in North Carolina. We have reached that goal in many areas and coming very close in others. Our students have made remarkable strides over the past eight years, shown by increased SAT scores, ABC growth, and attendance percentages. We continue to close the achievement gap and have lowered the dropout rate.

What is one thing you think the current board is doing wrong?
One area where I think our board has failed is in overcoming the perception some teachers have about our quality assurance and quality improvement measures being an unnecessary burden and waste of time.

As a physician, I have felt some of these same emotions at times when I’ve had to address quality issues in my own practice regarding patient progress and outcomes, medication management, and utilization of diagnostic services. I regularly receive comparative data to my peers, and contract renewal decisions are partly based on how I manage medical cost and resources. Many other business leaders often tell me similar stories regarding quality management, often frustrating and time-consuming, but worthwhile, because it does offer opportunities for delivering an improved product.

In the case of our school system, that product is each student’s education. The modern public not only expects, but demands, assurance that our efforts result in the maximum benefit for each student. We have to be accountable for our performance, and since the school system is a public entity, our operations have to be performed in an open, transparent manner. Laws, such as “no child left behind,” have been written and strictly enforced to ensure this process takes place.

We have great teachers and support services in our system that this current board desperately wants to preserve and nurture to become the best we can be. If re-elected, I pledge to continue offering that support both in tangible and intangible ways. I will continue to support increases in teacher supplements, provide resources for personal and professional growth and development, strive for improved, adequate facilities, and reward innovative, successful teaching methods.

As a system, we achieve more by working together. For example, this system accomplished its goal of district accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, no small feat being one of only about 30 systems in the nation to achieve this. Another example is being recognized by the American Productivity Quality Council as a best practice district for data-driven decision making.

My dream is that we all work together to recognize our “education issues” with the positive attitude of facing challenges as opportunities rather than problems that hinder us. Let’s “run to” our challenges rather than “run from” them. To paraphrase one of our national statesman, I hope that when our school system looks across our district and sees all the issues before us, we face them not with the question “why?” but look for the positive opportunities, and ask “why not?”

What specifically would you do if elected in response to the county’s growth?
Iredell County’s growth has been a hot topic for several years and will continue to be in front of us. The school system has no say regarding growth and development in its district, but is expected to respond and be ready to accept all students in a timely manner. This board has actively worked in cooperation with our county commission and county office personnel to predict growth as best we can. The system consults periodically with the UNC-C Division of Urban Planning and Development regarding predictions of new housing and increased population growth in our region. This group has been very accurate in the past and a worthwhile investment. These predictions help us in our proactive search for land acquisition for new schools. I will continue to support the work of the joint task force regarding prioritization of school facilities needs over the next few years. This group composed of representatives from the school board, county commission, and community-at-large has been very effective in our current execution of the “three-phase” building plan initiated by the successful passage of the bond referendum a few years ago.

Posted on 02/11/08 at 09:09 AM
candidates •Iredell County •Iredell-Statesville Schools •District 2 • (0) Comments

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