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TPS District 7: Tulsa School Board Hopefuls Outline Positions on Issues

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer

Tulsa school board President Matt Livingood is seeking re- election to his District 7 post. Francis Skonicki will be his only opponent in a Feb. 14 election.

Schools in District 7 are: Memorial High School, Nimitz Middle School and Thoreau Demonstration Academy, and Carnegie, Grimes, Grissom, Patrick Henry, Key, Marshall and McClure elementary schools.

Both candidates provided written answers to a Tulsa World questionnaire.

Matt Livingood

Livingood has served on the board since October 2001. He has served as board president since spring 2005 and was the board's vice president the year before that.

A self-employed attorney, Livingood is the father of two grown children who attended school in the Tulsa district. He is a native of Michigan but has lived in Tulsa for 24 years.

In addition to the legal responsibilities of board members, such as establishing policies and approving all major spending, board members should "bring a community perspective to Tulsa Public Schools' decision-making and represent the district to the public," Livingood wrote.

The Tulsa school board will be charged with one of its greatest responsibilities in the coming months, as it decides on a successor to David Sawyer, who is retiring at the end of June.

Livingood said he believes the board's relationship with the district's superintendent should be one of collaboration.

"The superintendent certainly may not undertake major efforts without board approval and the board must rely upon the superintendent's expertise and focus," he wrote.

When asked what special qualifications or characteristics he would like to see in the next superintendent, Livingood's list included having experience in leading a diverse district, financial acumen, being comfortable with conflicting demands and being a good communicator.

Livingood said the district's biggest challenges stem from the same place as its strengths: size.

As the largest school district in Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools can offer diverse curriculums and involves thousands of parents and corporate partners.

Conversely, "It is very difficult to standardize school offerings district-wide and yet serve such diverse student needs," Livingood said. "We face a challenge to place the right teachers and leaders in the right positions and we face the continuing need to actively involve parents as committed partners in their children's education."

Livingood said he would like to see the district's Code of Student Conduct revised so that it focuses more on "expected behaviors rather than on punishable offenses."

The district should also make improvements in training and evaluations for teachers and school and district leadership.

Francis Skonicki

Skonicki is a Chicago native who has lived in Tulsa since 1996. He, too, is the father of two grown children; his sons attended school out of state.

He works as a registered nurse at St. Francis Hospital and is involved as a church member at Victory Christian Center.

He said that he has never sought or held elected office.

When asked why he is seeking election in District 7, Skonicki wrote, "Position is open. I'm qualified."

He wrote that the relationship of the school board to the superintendent is "defined by school board policy," citing a specific policy number from the board's policy manual.

As for the greatest strengths of the Tulsa school district, Skonicki wrote that "There is a place for opposing sides of an issue to express their opinions and concerns," and referred to the board's consideration of the North Tulsa Community Schools Strategic Plan on Jan. 9 in parenthesis.

The district's biggest weakness, according to Skonicki is "lack of communication between administration and school board and concerned citizens regarding options concerning school changes."

He gave no answer to the question of what changes and/or new initiatives he would like to see in the district.

He cited the same school board policy as mentioned above when asked what special qualifications or characteristics he would like to see in the next Tulsa superintendent.

Andrea Eger 581-8470

andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

Public forumset Tuesday

A public forum for candidatesrunning for the District7 seat on the Tulsa schoolboard has been set for Tuesday.

St. Dunstans EpiscopalChurch, 5635 E. 71st St., willhost the forum at 7 p.m., andDavid Frerichs, pastor ofBethany Lutheran Church,will moderate.

Matt Livingood, presidentof the school board, is runningfor re- election to thepost against Francis Skonicki.The election will be heldon Feb. 14.

Source: Tulsa World

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