Chuck Studebaker considers himself an education outsider in the sense that he hasn't been employed by a school system. But the Republican candidate for the Gwinnett County Board of Education District 4 seat said that doesn't mean he isn't passionate about education. Both his mother and grandfather served on school boards and he said he sees that as a great way to serve the community.
“I’ve had 14 years in our school system because I’ve got three kids,” he said. “I’ve had the chance to see what that looks like from the parents’ point of view.”
Perhaps it’s that enthusiasm that helped him squeeze past opponent Randall N. Lee with 52.32 percent of the votes in the May primary.
Serving on executive boards of Parent Teacher Student Associations for six years has given him a perspective not many have, he says.
“That’s a really unique type of relationship you get to have with your schools. You’re in the know. You’re in the mix of what’s going on. You get to spend time with the principals and the teachers and parents. You get a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on. You’re not in the classroom where sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.”
As a property owner, Studebaker said he has kept his eye on how taxpayer dollars are spent and plans to continue doing that.
"This year's budget was $2.2 billion," he said. "It may sound like a lot of money, but to a school system this size, it still has to be spent sensibly."
With school funding recently returned to 100 percent of the state’s formula, Studebaker said it’s still not a time to behave like the proverbial grasshopper in the ancient fable and fail to plan ahead.
“We still have to make sure we’re getting the most bang for our buck,” he said. “This money isn’t a gift. It’s what is needed to run the schools and it has to be spent responsibly.”
And as a businessman, Studebaker said the school district should be run like a company.
“If you look at companies and that’s what Gwinnett County is like — a big company. … and big companies don’t have frontline workers on their boards of directors. They have people with other experience to help run their company. They help make policy for their companies and that’s how I view this,” he said. “I have managed hundreds of employees in different roles — as the manager of a whole company and the manager of sales teams where I deal day to day with issues that individual employees have.”
Studebaker mentioned that employee issues such as wages, upward mobility, out-of-pocket expenses and communication are areas where he has expertise and said he wants to make sure they are appreciated and respected.
In addition to his business background, Studebaker has been involved with several boards, which he says gives him experience with transparency, working toward consensus and moving forward when issues arise.
“I’m currently on our homeowner’s association board. We have 400-plus homes and nine people on our board. We’re never all going to agree,” he said.
Some critics of the current administration have argued that the school board almost always votes unanimously. Studebaker speculated that before the school board gets to the voting stage, they probably have disagreements but present a united front to the public.
While Studebaker plans to continue what he calls “the good works” already done by the current board, he said he’ll be cognizant of the needs of his district and the county in general.
“If my feeling about it is the opposite direction, I’m going to vote my conscience because it’s not about me. It’s about what’s right for our teachers and our students and the rest of our stakeholders,” he said. “The school board meeting is just one day of the month. I have 29 other days to communicate with constituents and I will be their voice.”
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