Retired administrator, school volunteer seek election to Rock Hill school board

A retired Rock Hill school teacher and administrator and a longtime parent volunteer who also worked for the district are seeking election to the Rock Hill school board’s District 5 seat.

The candidates are Hank Hammond, who retired in 2015 after 42 years with the district in a variety of roles, and Windy Cole, who has volunteered and worked as a teacher substitute and administrative assistant.

Hammond and Cole are seeking the District 5 seat held by longtime board member Walter Brown, who decided not to seek re-election after 16 years. District 5 covers the northeastern part of the district; the majority of the area in the district lies east of Interstate 77.

Rock Hill school board members serve four-year terms and board elections are nonpartisan. Five board members are elected to represent districts within the Rock Hill enrollment area and two are at-large, meaning they are elected by all voters in the school district.

Hammond, 66, has deep roots in the district. He worked as a social studies and physical education teacher and as assistant principal at three schools. He retired last year as director of Rebound, an alternative school.

Cole, 52, works as development director for the Culture and Heritage Museums of York County. She said she has served for 20 years in a variety of volunteer roles, including on Parent Teacher Associatons and school improvement councils and as a room mother, library assistant and student mentor.

Cole said she also worked for several years as a Rock Hill teacher substitute and administrative assistant, as a ParentSmart family educator and she taught a drug prevention program, Too Good For Drugs.

“I am not looking to go in there and make big changes,” Cole said. “I am there to represent parents and to make sure that in any of the decisions that the board makes, they are putting students, student achievement and overall well-being of the students first.”

Cole said schools need to prepare students for the workplace, and that many kids are returning home to live with parents because they have not been able to support themselves.

“Our kids are graduating and they are not able to find jobs,” Cole said. “They are not able to find a job that pays a wage they can survive on. We need to make sure our students are equipped for that.”

Hammond said that although he has retired, he still wants to give back to the community. “I’d like to think I know something about what our children need,” he said. “I want to help. I don’t want to get in the way.”

Hammond said he’d like to see teachers get pay raises in addition to the 2 percent step raises they receive for those on the salary schedule. “I think our teachers at least need a cost-of-living increase each year, and that’s what the step is for, but steps were frozen for a few years.”

Hammond said he is also sensitive to the needs of families with special needs children, because he has a special needs daughter, now 35, who went through Rock Hill schools.

“My daughter was handled extremely well by loving, caring teachers who still keep up with her,” he said. “I know this district has done everything they possibly could do, but you still have hopes and dreams for your children. Parents are no different whether it’s special ed or not.”

Cole said she would like to see the district focus on improving student achievement. “Too many students have to do high school English and math before they can do college-level courses,” she said.

Cole said she has a lot of experience working with boards and other organizations, citing service with her church council, First Steps, Leadership York County, the Come-See-Me festival and the museum board.

“I am someone who has the ability to bring together individuals with different viewpoints and help them find common ground,” she said.

“All of us want an exceptional education for the students of our community,” Cole said. “I can make sure that everyone feels that their voices were heard and their concerns were considered.”

Hammond said he believes the district is doing the best it can with funding, given restrictions imposed by the state which limit the ways it can raise revenue. “I think our district is innovating,” he said.

Hammond said the Rock Hill district has enjoyed a very supportive community that has never voted down a bond referendum. “I think we get more bang from our teachers, who do a monumental job.”

Hammond said he doesn’t agree with all the decisions the board has made, but “they are doing what they feel like they need to do and what’s in the best interests of children.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Retired administrator, school volunteer seek election to Rock Hill school board."