Candidate has not returned Responses

Address
110 Carotauk Dr., Currituck, NC 27929
Phone: 252-232-2959
Email: smartz@currituck.k12.nc.us

Occupation
Medical practice financial administrator

Military Service
None

High School
not provided

College
Bachelor of Arts, Secondary Education
Fairmont State College, Fairmont WV
Master of Arts Education
West Virginia University
Master of Science Rehabilitation Counseling
East Carolina University

Family/Personal Info
Spouse
Dr. Michael Martz, 32 years

Children
Melissa and Tracy

Church Affiliation
Pilmoor Methodist Church

Other Organizations
None

Political Offices Sought / Held
* Board of Education - Crawford Township Seat
- Facing Jackie Simmons (Una) in General Election

* Board of Education (2006 - 2010) - Crawford Township Seat
- Unopposed in General Election

* Board of Education (2002 - 2006) - Crawford Township Seat
- Defeated Jackie Simmons in General Election

Advisory Boards/Appointments
Currituck County Arts Council: President 2008-2010; North Carolina School Board Association, Board of Directors, member 2010-2012, elected by School Boards throughout the state during the Annual Conference General Assembly; Member of National School Board Association & North Carolina School Board Association; Serve on the Finance Committee and Nominations Committee of Pilmoor Memorial United Methodist Church, as well as Usher, United Methodist Woman member and Untied Methodist Woman, treasurer; Patron to the Arts of Currituck; Participant of Relay for Life and Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer; Member of Animal Lover Assistance League; Member of Currituck Kids

Five most important issues which will be
faced by the successful candidate in this race?

1. Budgetary issues will be the biggest issues facing our schools.
2. Retraining teachers to prepare students for the 21st century & the financial ability to invest in continuous high quality , relevant professional development
3. Lowering the Drop-out rate
4. “Race to the Top” will place even more demands on teachers and administrators
5. Teacher retention

View Candidate’s Responses

Address
151 Launch Landing Rd., Moyock, NC 27958
Phone: 252-619-6294
Email: jackiecsimmons@gmail.com

Website
Facebook political page

Occupation
Retired school teacher
(30 years of Vocational Teaching Experience in Chesapeake Public Schools)

Military Service
Did not respond

High School
Great Bridge High School 1974

College
Norfolk State University 1978
Old Dominion University - advanced teaching courses

Family/Personal Info
Spouse
Mary Biittner Simmons, 23 years

Children
Melissa Simmons Harrison; Caroline Simmons; Sara Simmons

Church Affiliation
Pilmoor Methodist Church

Other Organizations
none

Political Offices Sought / Held
* Board of Education - Crawford Township Seat
- Facing Sharon M. Martz (Una) in General Election

* Board of Education - Crawford Township Seat (1998 - 2002)
- Defeated by Sharon M. Martz (Una) in 2002 General Election

Advisory Boards/Appointments
None

Five most important issues which will be
faced by the successful candidate in this race?

1. Reduce the travel and staff development budget and refocus money to decrease class sizes. While it is may be nice to add one new expensive program after another, it is too much of a luxury to do this in tough economic times. Instead of adding new programs, and sending school personnel to China, Las Vegas, or Atlanta, I trust that our teachers can create innovation if given the time to do so.
2. Give direction and focus to the Superintendent.
3. Restore faculty, staff, and community confidence in the school board. Teacher morale is at an all time low and staff turnover is at an all-time high. When I moved to Currituck, it was difficult to get a job here because staff would stay way past retirement. We need to build teacher morale–we can do this by returning to site-based management and letting our teachers just teach their curriculums. Luckily, we still have some of the staff here who we had 8 years ago when I was on the board, and our test scores were some of the highest in the area.
4. Restore the feeling of community to our schools. I believe one step towards this is to always advertise all jobs and to first try to promote from within our system–at the very least, make sure that
   they always have a chance to apply for job openings.
5. Focus on establishing a true Vocational School–one where our graduates leave with job certifications in many areas such as cosmetology, catering, automotive (one of our best and strongest programs), electrical, HVAC, etc. We can do this by pursuing grant money and possibly having a two-county Vocational School.