Questionnaire Responses – Marshall Ashcraft
1 – What are your unique life/occupational experiences you believe will bring a different and important perspective to the Watauga County School Board?
I have been part of the school system as a parent (my daughter was a WCS student throughout her K-12 education), as an employee for 13 plus years, and as a member of the School Board since 2020. I have been in our classrooms and in school offices, have met teachers and principals and a wide range of support personnel, and enjoyed seeing our students excel in academics, arts, and athletics. I have consistently been impressed by school personnel at every level and have a deep appreciation for their hard work on behalf of our students. Before working for the school system, I served as executive director for the Children’s Council of Watauga County, where I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of early childhood education for helping children reach their full potential. I have worked with a wide variety of people both in the school system and in earlier jobs outside of public education. I believe the range of experience I bring to the School Board gives me a solid foundation for understanding the issues we face and for working effectively with others to make sound decisions for our students.
2 – What do you consider to be the most pressing issue facing Watauga County Schools and how will you address this issue if elected?
The top item on my list is strengthening our ability to recruit and retain the highest quality personnel for our schools. Our teachers are outstanding, and they have first rate leadership and great support from the other personnel in our system. However, the pipeline of new teachers has thinned substantially in recent years, a development that threatens our ability to maintain the excellent teaching personnel we currently enjoy. Our administrative leadership is working hard to sharpen our ability to compete for the best available candidates through early recruitment of new graduates and swift offers to high quality applicants. In addition, there has been a strong and consistent emphasis on creating a healthy and welcoming school culture, one that respects teachers as valued professionals and conveys genuine appreciation for their work. We need to continue our efforts in these areas, and strengthen them where possible. Another important initiative, one currently in the very early stages of development, is to help make affordable housing available to new hires. We are losing good people who want to work here because they simply cannot find an affordable place to live.
To address recruitment and retention in a big way will also require action at the state level to make the teaching profession more attractive and to make teacher education programs more affordable. The NC General Assembly could and should be doing much more than it is to raise teacher pay, expand support for health related services in schools, broaden the availability of pre-kindergarten classes and after school programs, and upgrade school facilities. We will also need to continue working with our county commissioners to advocate for more local resources to address these needs.
3 – Do you believe the Watauga County Board of Commissioners provides adequate funding for Watauga County’s public schools? Please explain.
Yes, I believe county funding is currently adequate, although we clearly need additional funds, especially for personnel retention and recruitment and for school facilities. Our county commissioners have historically been supportive of our school system and we are grateful for that support. They provide our schools with local funding well above the level enjoyed by most school systems in NC. This strong local support is one of the reasons we enjoy an exceptional school system. However, we must continue to work with our commissioners to secure increased local funding to help address growing needs in our schools.
4 – If you could only increase Watauga County’s public school spending in one area, what would it be and why?
My answer here would be the same as for question number two: recruitment and retention of teachers and other school personnel. These individuals are what make schools work for students and it’s getting more and more difficult to find and keep them. Budgeting is in large part a matter of priorities, and we need to invest more funds in getting and keeping the very best people available for our schools. In the medium and long term, more funding for school facilities is also a critical need.
5 – Do you support or oppose all/none/some of the ‘Parent’s Bill of Rights’ enacted for public schools by the state legislature in August 2023 (SB 49)? Please explain.
I support most provisions of this legislation, and in fact most of it is not new in substance. However, it seems to me that it was created more as a political vehicle than to address any real issues in public education, that it created more heat than light in some respects, and that parts of it are based on faulty assumptions about how local schools operate and what parents and students need.
6 – Do you support or oppose the “Moms for Liberty” organization and activities related to public schools? Please explain.
I am not familiar with this group and so do not have an opinion on their activities. However, as a general principle, we should focus our attention on the students, parents, and school personnel here in Watauga County, not on the agendas or activities of organizations and individuals with no stake in the Watauga County Schools.
7 – What are your ideas/proposals for increasing public participation with Watauga’s schools?
More parent participation is welcome and schools currently offer a range of opportunities for this. Parents are regularly invited to attend school events and volunteer for special school projects and activities, and there are opportunities for parent teacher conferences and for public comment at School Board meetings. Parent-teacher organizations and school clubs also offer public participation in school life. In addition, playgrounds and school buildings are often available for public use when not in use for instruction or other school related activities. Outside of school hours, school facilities host athletic events, church services, and a variety of academic activities and service organizations. In addition, school board meetings are held in the evenings to allow for greater public attendance and public comments. I believe the biggest obstacles to greater participation in the schools are usually parents’ work schedules and other competing demands for their time and energy. The best potential for overcoming these obstacles is wide adoption and implementation of “family friendly” policies that include provisions for flexible parental leave for education related purposes.