|
Kaye May: Seeking second term
General Election 2007
BY CHARLES GARRATT • STAFF WRITER
 | | Kaye May |
|
MILLBORO - Incumbent school board member and board chair Kaye May laughed when asked why she is running again to represent the Millboro district. She knows the long hours required, but wants to stay with the work begun during her first term on the board, she said.
"People have a stake in their community. I want to help out where I can," she said. She also wants to see the high school renovation project finished and the new discipline plan put into practice.
May serves on the subcommittee overseeing the renovation with board member Eddie Ryder. She said the changes will make some nice improvements to the campus and she wants to help maintain the integrity of the project.
While she may chuckle at the many hours she spends on board duties, she said, "I've learned a lot. I've enjoyed it."
May doesn't feel she is a good public speaker, but she said she likes to listen, weigh pros and cons and make a decision about facts. As board chair, she said she may be too lenient as far as allowing things to ramble on, but added, "People need to have the opportunity to say what they think."
As a board member, she doesn't think it is appropriate to get involved in day-to-day operations of the schools. "That's not our job. That is why we have teachers and principals," she said. The school board, she explained, is supposed to make and implement policy.
May credits her background in bookkeeping and accounting with helping her understand the budget. "The budget system is very complicated," she said. "I have a pretty good understanding of the budget."
Including the budget work sessions and called meetings, May estimated she has attended more than three dozen board meetings in the past year. She also serves on the Jackson River Governor's School Board and on the gifted committee.
As a school board member, she said her duty is to make informed decisions. "Members should be available to listen to concerns, complaints, praises of parents."
She cautioned, board members must be careful to not promise something that isn't going to happen. "A member cannot make a decision yourself - (it) must be a board decision," she said.
May said the current board has done a good job of keeping the public informed. All board members have a copy of the code book and policy manual, which address the Freedom of Information Act and conflict of interest issues.
Networking with board mem- bers around the state through the Virginia School Board Association is the primary way May has prepared to be a better board member, she said. The VSBA offers workshops and hot topic conferences and plenty of opportunities to get together.
Like any family, May said the school system could always use more money but must live within the appropriation received. "We are doing a good job with what we have," she said. "We are never going to have everything we want, so we must set priorities."
"Look at the progress our schools have made - test scores, no child left behind. If you look at the success of our system, evidently somebody is doing a good job," she said, referring to superintendent Dr. David Smith.
The relationship between the board of supervisors and school board has improved, according to May, though budget issues create problems for everyone. "It's not their fault, not our fault," she said.
"We have a good working board. Everyone has a genuine concern for the system top to bottom," said May. "We offer the best opportunity we can to our students with the best faculty we can afford."
About the candidate Kaye May
Age: 54
Lives on Mill Creek Road.
Graduated from BCHS in 1971. AS Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. BS General Business VA Tech 1975
Bookkeeping and accounting for F. Clayton Plecker & Sons.
One term representing Millboro district on school board.
| 
)