Voters in the November 5 general election will see one contested Gainesville City School Board race, as well as one newcomer taking on a post and an incumbent remaining.
In Ward 3, incumbent Willie Mitchell has served on the Gainesville City for 30 years, making him the longest serving member of the board currently.
Mitchell said he decided to continue his decades-long track with the school board when he looked at the data of kids in the school system in poverty, and felt that they, as a board, had tools to help those kids even more. He referenced The Hub, a student and family resource center at Gainesville High School that will open in January. He also mentioned how important affordable housing was to him and his constituents.
"When they closed down Atlanta Street Apartments, we picked up 100 extra homeless kids," Mitchell said. "And I said, 'We need to fight for those kids, as well as the other kids, but especially those kids that are being left behind."
He said he wanted to push some of the available resources more to help kids stuck in the poverty cycle. "To me, the best way to get rid of the poverty is for the school system and industry to put together a plan that will lift them out of poverty by giving them a skillset, and I think the school is the place to start that, the training process, and then partner with local businesses and see who can come up with something to change that situation."
Mitchell works with with children through the school system and in active in the community, inlcuding doing maintenance work at Sisu (formerly Challenged Child and Friends) for a number of years and mentoring children over the past 20 or more years. He said through that mentorship he learned it was really about environment adjustments and mentoring the whole family.
Newcomer Chad Payne has a similar idea about the importance of mentorship in the community. He got the bug for the District 3 seat after serving the school system for five years, both in youth sports and serving two years on the Enota Governance Council. His personal goal, if elected, is to reinforce and grow the mentorship opportunities available in the district.
He said he wanted to see kids have mentors so they could see life outside of their households and daily life. "I have a really big heart for the youth here in this community, not only stock in my own children - four kids over the next 15 years - but all the little guys I've been coaching, the cheerleaders on the football field... I want to see them excel in life, get them set up where they can excel past high school."
As for District 3 specifically, Payne said he could see mentorship having a big impact. "We have a lot of great parents and families but they need more."
The Newtown Florist Club will be hosting a Lunch and Learn regarding the race between Mitchell and Payne. It will be held Monday, November 4, at noon at 1064 DeSota Street.
The two uncontested races on the ballot leave Full Media CEO Kris Nordholz and Public Relations Professional Sammy Smith taking or keeping control of Districts 2 and 5, respectively.
A Gainesville native, Nordholz will fill the District 2 seat being vacated by John Filson.
Nordholz said he liked that the Gainesville City School System encompassed so much diversity. "It's grown a lot since I went to Gainesville High in the 90s, but I still feel like it's really a tight-knit community," said Nordholz. "You have a single high school system, I think the diversity we have in the city school system is really great - you have all types of ethnically and racially, but also socioeconomically and I just think there's a lot of benefits to a community when everybody is sort of doing life together."
Nordholz said his goal would be to continue to support the movements put forth by the current school board and superintendent, Jeremy Williams, including partnering with local colleges and the offering of a high amount of AP classes.
"I just feel like the city school system creates opportunity fo everybody, no matter what their goals are, no matter what their background is," he said.
Active in the Gainesville community, some of the city's creatives might recognize him as a dance dad, supporting his 9th grade daughter as Vice President of the board of the Gainesville Ballet Company. He's also stepped on the stage as Mother Ginger in GBC's The Nutcracker three times. He also has an elementary age son. Nordholz is an alumnus of Gainesville High School.
Filson served one term, which is four years, on the board. He could not be reached for comment on his departure.
Smith, meanwhile, is completing his third term and 12th year on the school board, running unopposed for the District 5 seat. He said his goals remain consistent: to see improvements in academics and use the best business practices for the system." In addition, Smith said "Good governance requires very good work (in all areas of public service.)"
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
A district map of the school system is available here.
Friday
April 19th, 2024
2:10AM
