School board candidates face off

MAT-SU -- Nearly 40 people were on hand Tuesday night as five candidates for the Mat-Su Borough School Board laid out their positions on a number of controversial issues. From the merits of teaching Creation science to the qualifications for the chief school administrator to school discipline problems, the candidates weighed in on a range subjects.

Stephen Fee, Beverly Erbey and current board member Larry DeVilbiss were all on hand, running for school board seat F. Sydney Jacobs was also present, running for seat C and Daniel Contini was there to defend his spot on seat G.

The five candidates sat behind conference tables in the Colony High School theater and answered a series of questions from the audience and from the Frontiersman staff, who were hosting the event.

The candidates agreed on several topics, including the fact that sex education should be a family responsibility and not part of school curriculum.

"We're teaching a lot of these other things to the detriment of basic classroom instruction," said DeVilbiss.

Four of the five candidates also thought that, as long as the Theory of Evolution is being taught, the Theory of Creation should also be taught, though they had different ideas of how that might be accomplished.

Stephen Fee said students should be able to hear both sides of the debate and suggested offering religious electives if students and parents wanted those courses provided. Sydney Jacobs, however, held that the Theory of Creation should be taught from a non-religious standpoint, approaching the question from a "first mover" rather than a god. Contini was the only candidate without a comment on the issue.

DeVilbiss and Erbey clashed early over whether Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle was qualified to serve in his current position. DeVilbiss defended Doyle's record and ability to get a thousand district employees to work together as a unit.

Erbey, however, thought Doyle should be removed because he does not have all the qualifications to be a district superintendent, and he has to have an additional person work under him to fulfill certain duties which he is unqualified for.

"We have qualified people for superintendent right here in the Valley," Erbey said, "I'm not out to get anyone but when there is a job available then the job description should be followed."

Every candidate was concerned about the school budget problems and offered a variety of solutions.

Jacobs said the district could cut costs by inviting qualified community members to voluntarily teach certain subjects, such as character development, which the district currently pays outside professional consultants to do.

DeVilbiss thought the budget could be better managed by controlling teacher salaries, while Contini suggested that school cuts would have to be made unless people wanted their taxes increased. Both Fee and Erbey expressed concern that cuts should not short change teacher salaries.

"If you want good teachers and principles, then you have to pay a good wage," Erbey said.

Title 1 funds were also addressed during the forum. Recently the district made it more difficult for schools to qualify for Title 1 funds that provide special assistance to schools with high numbers of low income students. The funds now go to less schools with each of those schools receiving more money.

Fee disagreed with the more stringent Title 1 requirements and suggested that the district may have made it more difficult for schools to qualify because Title 1 schools bring harsher penalties than do non-Title 1 schools if they don't meet the federal No Child Left Behind mandates.

Contini and DeVilbiss disagreed, saying there is only so much money to spread around and the money needs to be focused on the schools that need it most.

Despite their differences, all the candidates spoke with a unified voice in their closing comments by encouraging voters to get out and cast a ballot, regardless of who they voted for.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.