Monday, July 6, 2009
Morganton, North Carolina
Thomas Files for School Board Seat
My name is Catherine Thomas and today I filed as a candidate for the Western District seat on the Burke County Board of Education currently being held by Ms. Tracy Norman. Some of you may know me as Cathy Redman from my school days. I was brought up in Burke County and attended and graduated from Burke County Schools. My husband Joe and I have a blended family of 4 boys – three of whom graduated from Freedom High School, and one who is a rising sophomore at Patton High. I currently work as in house counsel for Environmental Inks and Coatings Corporation in Morganton, and have held that position for 12 years.
I am running for this position because:
I recognize that the Burke County school system has achieved great things over the past years and realize that our teachers and staff are responsible for those achievements. I believe it is crucial that we continue to support our teachers and staff so that they can continue to elicit great things from our students.
I believe that teachers and staff should be able to do their jobs using the skills they have acquired, and should not be subject to discrimination or harassment by any school board member or administrator.
I believe that Open Meetings Laws must be adhered to and that the current board’s efforts to circumvent the public’s right to witness the dealings of the board and to comment on the board’s actions or proposed actions are direct violations of our rights as United States citizens.
I have a copy of Robert's Rules of Order and I am not afraid to use it.
As an attorney who actually deals with personnel and policy issues daily, I hope to collaborate with the board to provide all of the employees of the school system with policies that protect them from harassment or discrimination from their supervisors. I hope that a new board majority will be able to quickly rectify the “Public Comment Policy” to conform with the public’s notion of fair play and transparency in government. I hope to be able to show the folks at SACS-CASI that a new majority will not trample on the public’s right to be heard, and will not rule the meetings with an iron fist and a hidden agenda. I hope to be a good steward of the public’s trust and the public’s money – and to make every decision with the well-being of the students of Burke County foremost in mind.
I have been following the current school board and writing my impressions of their activities on my blog, http://www.barkburke.com/ for quite some time. You’ll find much of what I stand for on that blog, so please visit!
Please consider supporting my campaign and those of my fellow candidates – Sam Wilkinson (Eastern District), Deborah Davis (Central District) and Susan Stroup (Western District – John Aulgur seat). I believe that together we can effect needed positive change on the school board.
Morganton, North Carolina
Thomas Files for School Board Seat
My name is Catherine Thomas and today I filed as a candidate for the Western District seat on the Burke County Board of Education currently being held by Ms. Tracy Norman. Some of you may know me as Cathy Redman from my school days. I was brought up in Burke County and attended and graduated from Burke County Schools. My husband Joe and I have a blended family of 4 boys – three of whom graduated from Freedom High School, and one who is a rising sophomore at Patton High. I currently work as in house counsel for Environmental Inks and Coatings Corporation in Morganton, and have held that position for 12 years.
I am running for this position because:
I recognize that the Burke County school system has achieved great things over the past years and realize that our teachers and staff are responsible for those achievements. I believe it is crucial that we continue to support our teachers and staff so that they can continue to elicit great things from our students.
I believe that teachers and staff should be able to do their jobs using the skills they have acquired, and should not be subject to discrimination or harassment by any school board member or administrator.
I believe that Open Meetings Laws must be adhered to and that the current board’s efforts to circumvent the public’s right to witness the dealings of the board and to comment on the board’s actions or proposed actions are direct violations of our rights as United States citizens.
I have a copy of Robert's Rules of Order and I am not afraid to use it.
As an attorney who actually deals with personnel and policy issues daily, I hope to collaborate with the board to provide all of the employees of the school system with policies that protect them from harassment or discrimination from their supervisors. I hope that a new board majority will be able to quickly rectify the “Public Comment Policy” to conform with the public’s notion of fair play and transparency in government. I hope to be able to show the folks at SACS-CASI that a new majority will not trample on the public’s right to be heard, and will not rule the meetings with an iron fist and a hidden agenda. I hope to be a good steward of the public’s trust and the public’s money – and to make every decision with the well-being of the students of Burke County foremost in mind.
I have been following the current school board and writing my impressions of their activities on my blog, http://www.barkburke.com/ for quite some time. You’ll find much of what I stand for on that blog, so please visit!
Please consider supporting my campaign and those of my fellow candidates – Sam Wilkinson (Eastern District), Deborah Davis (Central District) and Susan Stroup (Western District – John Aulgur seat). I believe that together we can effect needed positive change on the school board.
***Update***
Due to mutual agreement between Deborah Davis and Buddy Armour, Buddy has decided to run for the his current seat! Hopefully Deborah will wait in the wings for the next election!
