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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | Terry A. Boyd |
| Address | 5646 Concord Hill Drive
Columbus, Ohio , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
00, 1955
(69 years)
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Juan Croniqueur
Feb 13, 2024 04:00am |
| Tags |
Black - Married - Baptist -
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| Info | President of the Board, Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Age: 52
Residence: 5646 Concord Hill Drive, Columbus
Web site: none
Occupation: faculty member and program chair, Franklin University
Education: bachelor's in social work, Defiance College; master's in social work administration and Ph.D. in social policy, Ohio State University
Experience: current school board president; past president of the Columbus Metropolitan Library Board of Trustees; trustee of Franklin County Children Services Board of Trustees; administrator of the Youth Services Bureau for the city of Columbus
Family: married, two teenage daughters
Religion: Baptist
Why he's running
I am running for office to continue our efforts of improving the academic achievement of our students in the district; and to ensure effective implementation and continuity of the recently established policy governance model.
Have you run for public office before?
Yes, I successfully ran for the Columbus school board in 2003.
What are the three biggest issues?
The three biggest issues facing Columbus Public Schools are:
(1) Sufficient funding to support the educational demands of our public, state and federal government;
(2) The mobility of our district families, which challenges our ability to standardize all parts of the curriculum to accommodate educational interest of all families and students; and
(3) Transportation issues: Our bus fleet must be replaced so we may maintain appropriate means to get our students to schools.
What makes you the best candidate to address those issues?
I am one of the best candidates to address these issues because of my knowledge of the issues; my leadership in addressing the various issues while working along with the superintendent and supporting our teachers; and a proven track record of success as we have worked to get the district to its highest record level of academic performance: continuous improvement.
What do you hope to accomplish?
It is my hope to accomplish higher levels of academic achievement; and to instill confidence in the entire Columbus community of our district's efficacy in having each student highly educated, prepared for leadership and service and empowered for success as a citizen in a global community.
Financial issues
Should Columbus school district continue to hold spending increases to 3 percent a year?
No; 3 percent cap put a huge strain on the district's ability to provide the level of educational programming necessary to accomplish our goals. I can live with a cap of some kind, but it must be more reasonable to allow for proper programming.
In what areas should the district reduce spending? In what areas should it invest more money?
The 3 percent cap caused such a reduction in spending I honestly can't see where any unnecessary spending is taking place. We should however, advance spending on technology in the classroom and to some extent within operations of the district: the technology being used to maintain and report data for academic assessment is well beyond its intended lifespan; and we must keep pace with the technology that will improve content delivery in the classroom, and technology our students can expect to encounter once they graduate.
The district might ask taxpayers to approve an operating levy and a bond issue in the next couple of years. Should the district seek these and should they be on the same ballot?
The district must seek revenues that will allow the appropriate level of instruction for our students, and the necessary resources to create decent and effective learning spaces. Our students and their educational success are too important to postpone either request any longer than necessary.
Did the district close the right number of schools, too many or too few? Should closed schools be sold or should the district keep those properties for future use?
The district determines the need for schools based on enrollment. As enrollment increases or decreases the district must make the parallel adjustments to classroom space. Consequently, at any particular time the district seeks to have the class space necessary to be effective. The district will develop a building usage plan of those buildings currently vacant. The plan will suggest which buildings (based on data and area census) can be eliminated as a holding and thus sold, while other buildings may need to be held for a period of time to ensure their need or not.
Should nonclassroom operations, such as food services and busing, be privatized?
It is always better to be in full control of those services that are essential to the operation; but you must operate them efficiently. If the district finds that greater efficiency can be obtained while not diminishing service can be experience, then it is worth entertaining privatization.
Climate/competitive issues
How can the district improve student discipline? Would uniforms help, and should they be mandated?
There are a number of elements involved in the improvement of student discipline. I am a believer in dress codes that remove competitiveness between students in dressing. If this means uniforms, then by all means, let's get to uniforms; however, uniforms alone will not establish the discipline reform we must pursue. We need to implement, by building, the rules and regulations currently on the books as they pertain to student conduct. We must be willing to alter the learning environment of those students refusing to conform to the rules governing conduct: create additional learning environments away from the mainstream students until such time they are able to tolerate rules and appropriately learn alongside students in their originally assigned school.
How can the district better compete with charter schools?
The district does not need to compete with charter schools; it needs to improve in a few areas and find means by which to effectively communicate the outstanding educational opportunities that exist within the district. The district as a result of some of the best teachers in the nation, has demonstrated its ability to educate students of every class and/or social condition, including a wide range of languages, culturally emphasized programming, arts, and international exposure. The district also provides excellent social development via extracurricular activities (sports, music, etc.), and accomplishes all of this with or without parental support. No charter school can come close to matching what the district can provide. Competition; I don't think so.
Should the district create more alternative programs and/or charter schools? What kind?
It is my dream that one day, via master teachers or some other mechanism, we will be able to provide the diversity of educational programming in all of our schools, or maybe then we will call them campuses. Experiences that will meet the needs and desires of each student and their family. Until then we must consider alternative programs as well as special charter schools if this is what is needed to ensure the necessary preparation of students to become productive adults.
Do residents trust Columbus City Schools? What should the district do to improve its public image?
Those residents that have been exposed to the richness of the district's educational programming, while understanding the social challenges of large organizations do trust the district; this is why we still have 50,000 plus students in our schools. But the challenges that I am speaking about are not the sole issue of urban districts, but are experienced in suburban districts as well. To improve our image, the district must remove the myths that exist about discipline problems and insufficient teaching practices. I challenge any district in Ohio to identify more nationally recognized teachers than Columbus; I want to see another district in Ohio that generates more scholarship dollars (academic scholarships) than Columbus; How many districts can boast of students that excel in some many various activities that provides exposure in various parts of the world? But all of this can not be the best kept secret; we must expose the truth; and the truth is Columbus Public Schools is becoming that which will produce students highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered for success as a citizen in a global community.
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