DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ida Duncan Wright is the epitome of the kind of policy maker the Volusia County School Board has come to rely on in terms of leadership in three short years -- she's the current chair -- and a sound policy maker.
Wright is a career educator with 20 years of service of Bethune Cookman-University and clearly a community role model. And so it's a no-brainer that Wright is endorsed by Headline Surfer for re-election in Tuesday's primary.
Her challenger, Boysie Mae Smith-Walden, 63, a retired teacher who taught at Campbell Middle School for 25 years, and currently has five grandchildren in the Volusia County Schools, is to be commend for her continued desire to want to serve in the school district, relying on her experience in the classroom.
Smith-Walden-told the League of Women Voters of Volusia County that one of her top priorities, if elected, is to ensure that "each school has the resources it needs, and every school will quite possibly have different needs. We should provide for these things in order to make (sure) all our schools are high performing."
It's a tall order that is easier said than done. Wright understands the fiscal realities and is taking the right steps toward achieving this and other lofty goals.
Boysie Mae Smith, shown here, is challenging Ida Duncan-Wright in the Aug. 30 primary for the district 2 seat on the Volusia County School Board.
Her challenger, Boysie Mae Smith-Walden, 63, a retired teacher who taught at Campbell Middle School for 25 years, and currently has five grandchildren in the Volusia County Schools, is to be commended for her continued desire to want to serve the school district, relying on her experience in the classroom. Smith-Walden-told the League of Women Voters of Volusia County that one of her top priorities, if elected, is to ensure that "each school has the resources it needs, and every school will quite possibly have different needs. We should provide for these things in order to make (sure) all our schools are high performing."
It's a tall order that is easier said than done. Wright understands the fiscal realities and is taking the right steps toward achieving this and other lofty goals.
Clearly, Ida-Duncan Wright is the right person for the job at hand. Consider her achievements:
-- Smooth transition from retirement of longtime Superintendent Margaret Smith to the current superintendent of schools, James Russell;
-- District-wide Implementation of school uniforms for the start of this school year;
-- Recent settling of high-profile contract dispute with teachers union after impasse declared.
Wright said one of her main ongoing priorities is recruitment of teachers willing to work in under-performing schools.
"I am committed to creating strong incentive packages, i.e. housing and/or housing allowances, homeowners or rental insurance allowances, competitive wages, tuition waivers for critically needed areas and great customer service that would encourage an educator to consider Volusia County," Wright explained. "To retain high quality Teachers, I am committed to working with faculty and administrators to foster a nurturing and caring work environment."
Already, a Wright-led school board has increased starting treacher pay in thew district from $34,000 to $38,000, one grand shy of her goal this year.
Truly an asset for the public schools in Volusia County, Headline Surfer endorses the re-election of Ida Duncan Wright in the primary.