Two From FB Vie for Seat on School Board: Whoever Wins the Race, City Will Have Three Spots on District Panel
By Katherine Leal Unmuth, The Dallas Morning News
Mar. 23–Two Farmers Branch residents are vying for an open seat on the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board.
In Place 6, Rodney Pirtle, 72, a retired Highland Park school administrator, will face Frank Shor, 55, a lawyer who has twice run unsuccessfully for a seat.
The diverse district spans six cities. With May’s election, Farmers Branch is certain to have three seats on the seven-member board.
Nancy Watten, a Farmers Branch resident and retired kindergarten teacher who taught at Janie Stark Elementary for 32 years, is running unopposed in Place 7. Incumbent Lynn Chaffin of Carrollton is running unopposed in Place 5.
Dr. Pirtle said he was initially approached by community members to run for City Council. But he decided instead to run for the school board. He listed improving education of children with limited English-language skills as a top priority.
“I wanted to take advantage of my experience as a school administrator working with schools and school boards,” Dr. Pirtle said.
Mr. Shor said he wants children who speak English as a first language to get more opportunity to learn a second language in elementary school.
“I would like to move the foreign-language programs to much earlier — such as kindergarten,” he said.
The district is already piloting a dual-language Spanish program in which both native Spanish and native English speakers learn together.
Dr. Pirtle worked for the Highland Park school district for 18 years, including being principal of University Park Elementary, director of special programs and assistant to the superintendent before retiring in 1990.
Mr. Shor, whose law office is in Carrollton, is a former chairman of the Farmers Branch School Community Relations Committee, which works with the district to improve the city’s schools. He’s also been involved in the PTA, was a youth coach and has a son enrolled at R.L. Turner High School.
He said he got involved with the committee years ago because of tensions between the city and school district and the need to improve that relationship.
“I do believe in the best education for everyone in the district, and that doesn’t have geographic boundaries,” he said.
Mr. Shor said he also supports programs advocating exercise and healthier food in schools.
Dr. Pirtle said he hasn’t been active in the school district but has an educational background. He’s also been involved with groups advocating that drug abuse be handled more as a public health problem.
Dr. Pirtle said he’s not running with any agenda.
“The best thing I can do is maintain the status quo and not let anyone tear that down from the outside,” he said.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Dallas Morning News
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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