DeKalb County School Board Member, Mr. Jim Redovian discusses missing Dunwoody eduKalb forum and his upcoming priorities.

Jim Redovian

Please accept my apology for not being at the eduKalb candidate forum on Tuesday night the 28th. I had a previous business commitment that was out of town. My commitment to and involvement in the DeKalb County Schools spans many years and I have never seen such a critical time for our school system. The most pressing need, or course, is to hire the best superintendent that we can. I am committed to hiring an outsider who has experience leading a large organization, preferably one that he/she has turned around. I believe that it is essential that we find the absolute best person for the job and I am willing to fight for this. I believe this is the only acceptable path for our system to take.

The budget situation continues to be challenging. We did not raise taxes this year and we also did not cut the central office and other overhead expenses enough. When I began serving on the board, four years ago, 60 percent of the school system revenues came from the state. Last year, only 40 percent of our revenues came from the state.

Instructionally, we are not where we need to be. I believe that our new superintendent must be free to bring in the best people that can lead the system instructionally. I often hear from teachers about their concerns and I believe that the new leadership must be willing to listen to teachers as well. They are in the classrooms and their insights are both invaluable and important.

We have huge facility challenges that must be addressed. We have an aging infrastructure that deteriorates more and more each year. Not only do we need to renovate or rebuild existing schools, but we absolutely must institute a plan that will assure that our schools are better maintained. I intend to assure that the needs of our areas are not overlooked.

It is not always easy being a school board member. As you all are probably aware, school board members make and review policies but the superintendent is responsible for running the system day to day. As a school board member, I am also expected to represent the entire system; that means that I make appearances in schools and meetings county-wide, as well as district one.

Again, I was sorry to miss all of you at the eduKalb forum. I look forward to seeing each of you at future forums and school related events. Please feel free to email me your questions at: jimredovian@yahoo.com

Jim Redovian