In one guise or another, the campaign theme for Decatur’s three school board candidates is the system’s rapid growth.
On Tuesday Mark Arnold and Lewis Jones will square off for the seat being vacated by Mark Wisniewski, a member since 2001. Annie Caiola, who’s unopposed, will replace Valarie Wilson, elected in 2002.
Since 2007 Decatur schools have grown by nearly 40 percent, climbing over the 4,000 students this year as it escalates toward the all-time high of roughly 4,300 in 1970, just following school desegregation.
The new members also face cultivating a closer relationship with Decatur’s city commission, beginning with a joint session on Nov. 22.
The board expressed disappointment last August when the commission declined putting on the ballot a $59.5 million bond referendum that would finance significant additions to Renfroe Middle and Decatur High School. The commission proposed, instead, forming a committee that would study enrollment trends and other issues the board said it spent two years researching.
Additionally, Decatur will reopen Westchester Elementary next year. That will mean the redrawing of boundaries for the five elementary schools, which has drawn flak from parents.
Caiola, 33, works for a Decatur law firm, Slotkin and Caiola, has two children and has lived in the city for eight years.
“I think the communication between the city and school board has to get a lot better,” she said. “But I also think the board can do a better job in communicating to the community at large. Two of the biggest challenges we face is getting community support on the bond [referendum], and getting the re-redistricting [of the elementary schools] balanced for the long term.
Jones, 45, works for King & Spalding, has five children and has lived in Decatur since 1998.
“Before [the city commission] voted,” he said, “my immediate thought was to get behind the referendum. We definitely need those [additions] built. But then when they voted against it I began seeing their side. I had questions myself about the master plan [for Renfroe and Decatur High] that it wasn’t easy to get answers on. More leg work needs to be done and we need to work with them to get it done.
Arnold, 49, is a partner in Red Clay Capital, a private equity firm, has two children and has lived in Decatur since 1999.
“Money and funding are two of my areas,” he said. “We’re losing our financial leadership (Wisniewski) at a time when it’s needed the most. I think everyone agrees our schools offer a good quality of education. That’s contributed to the influx. The challenge is how to sustain that quality as we grow. Right now the rate of growth has completely overwhelmed the ability of the revenue sources to keep up. We’re struggling to pay for what we have now.”
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