Summing Up a Bit

Note: This week was my turn to be profiled in a free candicacy announcement in the Plaindealer. Since it was my first chance to do this in that publication, it seemed wise to sum up the campaign so far. The article that ran in the Plaindealer on July 24th appears below.

Bob Mamrak has announced his candidacy for the office of Superintendent of Schools. He will be running in the Republican primary on August 7th. Mamrak has been an educator in the Choctaw County school system for 20 years. He is also in his 20th year pastoring New Zion Baptist Church. He calls those 20 years one of his most pleasing accomplishments since the longest any one man ever served the 165 year-old church was seven years. Mamrak has been married to his wife Anna for 36 years. They have two grown children and one grandchild.

Mamrak’s academic qualifications are impressive. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in public relations. He has a master’s degree in educational leadership. He has finished the coursework for a doctorate in educational leadership and is completing his PhD dissertation on Mississippi school reform. Mamrak is a nationally certified English teacher, and is certified by the state of Mississippi in English, art, journalism, and administration. He has successfully competed for national grants that he used to study the school systems in both Japan and Germany.

Mamrak has said that his intent from the start has been to run a campaign that focused on the issues facing our schools. He feels that A serious discussion of the issues cannot take place in small advertisements, on yard signs, or on business cards. Therefore, he helped organize a public panel discussion where all the candidates for superintendent had the opportunity to explain their positions and answer the public’s questions. All but one candidate attended. In addition, Mamrak has posted all of his positions and proposals on the Internet (http://bobmamrak.blogspot.com) so voters can evaluate them carefully and thoughtfully.

Mamrak feels there are many problems facing our schools. “There’s a bunch of them,” he said, “but most stem from one over-riding problem: the public has lost control of our public schools. For too long our schools have been run like a private business. We say we want parental involvement when in reality we only want parental approval. We say we want to hire the best certified educators available when in reality we don’t recruit beyond our friends and families. We allow public educators, paid with our hard earned tax dollars, to make decisions behind closed doors and without our input: decisions that will determine our children’s futures. Maybe it’s acceptable to run a privately owned candy store this way, but not schools established to serve the public. It’s got to stop. It is time to take back our schools.”

Mamrak has listed eight changes he would make to begin the work of fixing our schools: 1. Begin aggressive and wide recruitment for certified personnel and then involve parents and teachers in the hiring process in order to put a stop to administrators hiring less qualified “insiders.” 2. Work with each school’s PTO to make them organizations that help parents help their kids succeed, rather than the fund-raising groups they have become. 3. Work with principals and teachers to improve test scores by instituting proven teaching methods like problem-based learning, curriculum integration, and other student-centered techniques. 4. Make the decision making process in the school system transparent, so that taxpayers can hold administrators responsible for the decisions that effect their children’s futures. 5. Utilize the expertise and experience of classroom teachers by empowering them to be involved in policy and program decisions. 6. Ensure the safety of our students by securing the school buildings on every campus. 7. Get directly involved in the evaluation of teachers and administrators in order to acknowledge excellence and formulate plans to help those who are ineffective improve. 8. Hire an unemployed Choctaw Countian at minimum wage to cut grass on our campuses so that administrators making over $50,000 a year can get off riding lawnmowers and get back to running our schools.

Joking about not running on good looks or personality Mamrak said, “If that were the case, I’d be lucky to get my wife and myself to vote for me. I’m hoping there are enough people in Choctaw County who care enough about our schools to vote for someone who recognizes our problems and knows how to fix them.”