Candidate Q&A: James E. Bridgeford

What makes you the best candidate?

I am the best candidate because of my 17 years on the School Board, 10 years of experience on the finance commission, and other positions as listed above. I have also worked in the school system for years participating with my children and now my grandchildren. I continue to talk with parents, students, teachers and administrators about our system.

What should be the school district's top priority now, and how can it be achieved?

The school district’s current top priorities are: Increasing our teacher salaries so that we can remain competitive; second, getting our other four schools accredited while maintaining accreditation of the others; and third, we must continue to hire only the most highly qualified teachers. Finally, remaining competitive, becoming fully accredited and hiring the most qualified teachers are the ingredients essential for our school system.

What do you think will be the school district's most pressing issue in 10 years, and how can the board prepare for it?

The most pressing issue in 10 years will be the full funding of the division’s budget. This will allow appropriate resources to be utilized in the school district which will translate into services for our children.

How effective are Virginia's Standards of Learning and the national No Child Left Behind initiatives in raising student achievement?

The Virginia’s Standards of Learning and the No Child Left Behind initiatives have been instrumental in some improvements in raising student achievement but have not been a panacea for improvement as many felt it would be. The funding did not come with the mandates; thus the burden fell on the localities. We have asked our congressional representatives for help in changing the law.

What would you do to ensure that accredited schools in the division remain accredited? What do you think should be done at schools that have not yet achieved accreditation?

To ensure that accredited schools remain accredited we must maintain the resources already in place at that school and if necessary apply additional resources when needed. In schools that are not accredited we need to determine what is not working, make the necessary changes and monitor for adequacy

What should the division do to ensure school campuses are safe?

We must get the parents more involved and continue to work with staffs to ensure safe school campuses. We have too many problems that are spilling over into the schools from the neighborhoods. This takes away valuable time that could be used in improving instruction. Hopefully, we will have a new program started in September 2008, which will deal more effectively with the students that do not want to attend school.