Paradise residents to grill Fort Mill hopefuls

By Shawn Cetrone - scetrone@heraldonline.com

FORT MILL -- The four candidates running for Fort Mill's school board are expecting tough questions tonight from black families concerned about how their children are faring in the district.

Organizers from Paradise, the historically black community between Joe Louis Boulevard and Steele Street near downtown, will host the two-hour question-and-answer session starting at 6 p.m. in the Jerusalem Baptist Church Family Life Center off Steele Street.

The forum comes less than two days before the election in which voters will choose candidates for two open seats on the school board that sets policy for the district, which encompasses Fort Mill and Tega Cay.

In an off-election year, the school board race has shaped up to be one to watch. Who the frontrunners are is anyone's guess.

Marion Davenport, owner of the backyard nature store Chirp 'n Chatter, is counting on a network of customers, retirees and residents without children in schools to show up at the polls.

Wayne Bouldin, a longtime resident and school volunteer, is well- known around town and familiar with the district from his time leading a committee promoting school construction bonds.

Chris Krieger, a school volunteer and former marching band booster club president, has strong support from families of band students, many of whom make up an organized group of volunteers who have in the past raised more than $500,000 for the district's middle and high school band programs.

Michael Johnson, a local attorney, has the incumbent's advantage, which includes name recognition and a reputation for questioning district officials.

All four candidates said they're anxious to hear from Paradise residents tonight to learn their concerns.

It doesn't hurt that nearly 500 Paradise area residents are registered voters, many of whom, records show, voted in last November's election.

“This is a huge voting bloc that could make a huge difference in this election,” said the forum's moderator, Montrio Belton, a Fort Mill resident and principal of Monroe Middle School in North Carolina. “I think some of the candidates stood up and said, ‘Wow, Paradise is a game changer.'”

Most of the questions he plans to ask came from the community, Belton said.

“People have concerns,” he said. “They really feel disenfranchised, not just from the school system, but from politics in general. Whether real or perceived, there's definitely a feeling.”

Black children make up 10 percent of the 9,957 students in the Fort Mill district, according to enrollment figures. At some schools it's less than that. Springfield Elementary, for example, has 563 students, of whom, 33 students, or 6 percent, are black. Of Gold Hill Elementary's 851 students, 26, or 3 percent, are black.

An issue expected to come up tonight is the achievement gap between white and black students and between white and Hispanic students. Gaps across several subjects in Fort Mill schools have reached double digits.

According to the most recent state report card data, 63.7 percent of white Fort Mill students in third through eighth grade scored proficient or advanced in English and language arts on state tests. That's compared to 36.8 percent of black students and 50.3 percent of Latino students who scored the same.

The gap between whites and blacks in science is 31.4 percentage points. The divide between whites and Hispanics is 29.1 percentage points.

Gaps in some areas have narrowed since last school year when Superintendent Keith Callicutt pledged to make closing them a top priority. But successive cuts in state funding, officials have said, make it tough to devote a lot of money to the problem.

Ronnie Spratt, president of the alumni organization for George Fish High School, where black students used to attend in Fort Mill, said he's excited about the forum. He announced it in church and has been knocking on doors, telling people about it.

“I hope they have a full house and local parents come out and ask questions about rezoning and how it'll affect students in the future,” he said.

Other topics Belton plans to ask about include student reassignment and budget decisions that impact poor and minority students.

“There will be a demand on candidates to answer questions directly,” he said.

“We will not allow candidates to use politicalese to skate around answering. Some questions may be uncomfortable for candidates. We will be respectful and dignified, but we will be relentless in our pursuit to hold them accountable to this community.”