The Huntsville Council of PTAs and The Schools Foundation partnered to host a public forum with the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education candidates.

The forum was held in the auditorium of the Academy for Academics and Arts (AAA) on the evening of August 12.

The meeting was opened by Deb Stern, President of the Huntsville Council of PTAs.

Stern reported that the PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) of Columbia High School has gone inactive this year due to a lack of officers.

Steve Johnson, who recently retired after 47 years at WHNT News 19, moderated the event. Johnson is the father of two Huntsville City Schools graduates.

Chaudra Jones, Claudia Harris, and Pat King are the school board candidates in District 1. A place was set for Will Culver, who was not in attendance.

Zara Broadenax and Carlos Mathews (incumbent) are competing to represent District 5.

Johnson posed questions on current challenges facing public education, strengths of Huntsville City Schools, teacher retention, math and literacy proficiency, and the diverse needs of learners.

Chaundra Jones, District 1 Candidate:

Chaundra Jones introduced herself as a mother of seven. Jones has three biological children and is also a foster parent. Jones is a licensed social worker. She has volunteered with Girls, Inc., the Girl Scouts, and on the Huntsville City Schools Desegregation Advisory Committee.

“My slogan is that I am capable, caring, and centered on students,” said Jones. “I wanted to ensure that my children had an excellent educational experience. My late husband and I knew that, in order for that to happen, we had to partner with the school system, with the educators, and with the community to ensure that our children were ready to compete.”

Jones would like to see mental health days made available to educators in the school system.

Claudia Harris, District 1 Candidate:

Claudia Harris is a current public school teacher in Madison City Schools and a mother of children who currently attend Huntsville City Schools.

Harris identified the national teacher shortage as one of the most pressing challenges facing public education.

“There are prepared and educated people in our nation but they do not want to serve public schools,” said Harris. “It is our duty, as involved stakeholders, to try to attract them back into our public schools.”

Harris stated that the diversity of the staff is one of the strengths of the local school system.

“When I worked in Huntsville City Schools I really enjoyed how diverse the staff was — from education level to race, ethnicity, religion, and age groups,” said Harris. “The students could look at the staff and see that there were teachers who looked like them.”

Harris stated that Huntsville City Schools pays teachers well compared to neighboring districts. She also stated that investments in facilities are being noticed and appreciated by students and parents alike.

Pat King, District 1 Candidate:

Pat King is a mother of two children; her daughter is a graduate of Johnson High School and her son is a graduate of Columbia High School. Her spouse worked for 28 years as an administrator in Huntsville City Schools. King is employed as a quality engineer for the U.S. Army.

King stated that three strengths of Huntsville City Schools are its superintendent, its generous budget, and its location in a strong community.

King described herself as a good listener who is adept at building relationships and solving problems.

“I create policies and procedures in my job duties, so if there are policies and procedures that need to be created — or that need to be modified — I am it,” said King. “I’ll consider everyone’s opinion to come up with a compromise and a happy medium.”

King would like to create incentives around housing and healthcare to attract and retain high-quality educators.

Zara Broadenax, District 5 Candidate:

Zara Broadenax is a mother of two children who currently attend Huntsville City Schools. Broadenax is a retired U.S. Army officer and a former long-term substitute teacher. She has been on the local PTA since 2013. Broadenax is a Girl Scout troop leader and teaches the youth at her church. As a military officer, Broadenax “adopted” classrooms around the world.

Broadenax stated that there needs to be greater parental involvement in District 5 schools, especially as students age into the middle and high schools.

“There is a lack of parental participation when students leave elementary-level education,” said Broadenax. “When I was in PTA, I saw a lot of parents there [in the elementary schools] but once we moved to middle and high school, the parents were scarce.”

Broadenax says that “passionate staff” is the school system’s greatest asset. She would like to see greater cross-district collaboration between teachers.

If elected, Broadenax would like to review reinstating valedictorian and salutatorian honors to Huntsville City Schools. These honors were replaced in 2019 with summa cum laude and magna cum laude designations.

Carlos Mathews, District 5 Candidate:

Carlos Mathews is the current District 5 School Board Representative. Mathews is a graduate of Alabama A&M University and a small business owner.

Mathews is proud of the fact that dual enrollment opportunities — between Huntsville City Schools and Alabama A&M — have been created during his tenure. He is also pleased with progress that has been made in mentorship programs in the schools.

“The students [in the mentorship program] have no clue what I do or where I sit on the Board of Education,” said Mathews. “So they open up and talk. Some of the things they talk about are opportunities that they are missing or things they wished they had. When things are not going right, I hear it firsthand. I don’t have to listen through filters. With that information, I can go back and work with the superintendent and the team. We can implement changes to try to make things better.”

Mathews stated that the people who work in Huntsville City Schools — from janitors to teachers and administrators — are the “lifeblood” of the school system. He also pointed to relationships with industry, such as Toyota’s partnership with the school system, as a strength.

Mathews said that the success of the Huntsville City Schools system depends on parent involvement.

“The funding for our schools depends on parents bringing their kids to school through the first month of the year — that average daily attendance. If you are not bringing your kids to school, next year we may have one less teacher in that school — which causes us to have a larger classroom size or have to pay for another educator out of the local funds, which means we have to take resources from another location” said Mathews.

Closing:

Steve Johnson closed the debate by saying that this group of candidates is the most impressive cohort that he has seen in his years as a moderator.

The candidates were available to speak with the public following the debate.

Districts 1 and 5 will hold their School Board and City Council election on August 27.