He’s a husband, a father and a chef. He’s a giver, a teacherand an educator’s educator currently pursuing his PhD.  Mark Williams is your democratic candidatefor Gwinnett County School Board District 4.

Currently Mark Williams serves as a high school counselor inthe Dekalb County School system. Hailing from the state of Michigan, Williams hasbeen passionate about education since he began mentoring and tutoring, oftentimes for free, in high school and continued throughout college and tothis day. I met with Mark a few weeks ago for a free-flowing conversation oneducation.  A replay of that conversationfollows below.

Williams on runningfor District 4:

“I’m a parent and I bring realworld experience in the field of education to the table. I’ve been in educationby mentoring, tutoring, teaching and counseling for over 20 years. This can’tbe said about most members of the school board.” According to the school boardsite’s profile page, only one board member is an educator by trade.

Williams on what he’snot interested in hearing anymore:

“When people come up to me and say,‘I’m so glad you’re running so that the board will be more reflective of thecommunity.’ It would be impossible for the school board to be absolutelyreflective of the community. For example, every person who is deemed ‘black’ isnot African-American, every Asian is not Korean and so on.  The community is so diverse that a truereflection of the community on the board cannot happen.”

Williams on criticalareas that would be changed/addressed if he were on a member of the board:

“1)All school board decisions wouldno longer be unanimous decisions.; 2)Research and practice would come togetherin education – A lot of what professors/educators are researching reallydoesn’t filtered down to K-12; 3)Increasing student support services likecounseling and mental health services. When used as preventive measures we don’t have to use intervention laterdown the line; 4)Growth in the area and overcrowding in schools; 5)findingbetter ways to reach students whose second language is English, doing so couldhelp improve test scores county-wide. ”

Williams on questionsabout his qualifications:

“How could my qualifications bequestioned when the only qualification to run is to be a resident of GwinnettCounty?”

Williams on the“handling” of stakeholders at public meetings:

“Stakeholders, residents ofGwinnett County who attend these meetings should be treated respectfully andhave their questions and concerns addressed.”

The Takeaways

Mark Williams is a man who is passionate about education forall children.  Each child should have allthe resources necessary to be successful. Williams is not one who believes that existing ideas or programs arenecessarily bad because everyone has said so, he prefers to tweak what is goodthan to throw the baby out with the bathwater. At the same time, he has a keenability to recognize when the current model isn’t working and is not afraid totake bring a new idea to the table and travel down a path that has not beentravelled before.  There is freshnesshere, there is a relentlessness here that might just be exactly what is neededon the Gwinnett County Board of Education.

For more information on Mark Williams please go to his fanpage on Facebook. 

On Monday August 10, 2009 I attended GA-4^thCongressional District Representative HankJohnson’sHealthcare Reform Townhall at Georgia Perimeter College inClarkston. This particular townhall was larger than any I’d seen covered in themedia with approximately 2000 people attendance with main seating in ColeAuditorium and additional seating in overflow areas.

The townhall was moderated by Dekalb County District 3 CommissionerLarry Johnson andwas divided into three parts. Part 1 began with remarks from two constituents whowere supporters of the current bill HR3200 going through the house. The firstCathy McClure, has a son with type 1 diabetes and a daughter with epilepsy, shehas health insurance but her premiums are $3000 a month, in addition she’s atthe mercy of her insurance company when it comes to getting tests and otherneeded services for her children.  Thesecond speaker was Dr Debra Greenwood a, licensed psychologist, RN and businessowner who supports HR3200 because she is unable to provide quality affordablehealthcare to her employees, a direct knock at opponents who say that reformand its costs will put small business owners out of business.

Part 2 featured comments from the healthcare panel made upof both supporters of HR3200 and opponents. The first speaker was Dr Sandra Ford,pediatrician and Dekalb County’s district health director. Dr Ford gave some damningstatistics on childhood obesity, chronic disease, infant mortality and AIDS inthe US, Georgia and Dekalb Countyand stressed the importance of healthcare forall.  She is a reformer supporter and andadded that she’d like to see included in reform emphasis on preventative care,a reward system for those who take personal responsibility for their health andan outreach and education component.

The second speaker was Dr PatriceHarris, from the American Medical Association (AMA). She is a supporter of HR3200but would like to see included more protection of the patient/physicianrelationship as well as a revision that would ease the bureaucracy involved inMedicare physician payments.

Third was DrArthur Kellermann of Emory University. He is a former emergency roomphysician, who while practicing in an ER in TN witnessed a patient being turnedaway from the ER because they had an outstanding bill with the hospital. Hesaid that when seeking care a patient should not have a “wallet biopsy”performed on them before they get care and that patients should not be turnedaway for emergency care because they don’t have insurance, ever. He supportssome combination of private and public funding of healthcare.

Fourth was EricNorwood, CEO of Dekalb Medical Center, he also believes in healthcare forall with a combination of public and private funding. He’d also like to see thehigh cost of medical malpractice insurance go down. He gave an example ofdoctors refusing to deliver babies due to the high cost of medical malpracticeinsurance which they could not afford.

Fifth was Jeffrey Taylor,CEO of Oakhurst Medical Center which serves uninsured an underinsured patientsin the Oakhurst Section of Decatur, GA.  Heemphasized personal responsibility for healthcare and is opposed to governmentrun healthcare.

Sixth was Dr. M. Todd Williamson,President of the Medical Association of Georgia who was not shy about hisopposition to HR3200. His belief is that HR3200 and the public option wouldeventually evolve into a single payer government run system like Medicare whichhe believes doesn’t work well in part because it is government run. He also ranthrough several GOP talking points on the failure of national systems like Canada’sand said that he believes the government should provide some assistance butshould otherwise stay out of the way of any healthcare policy execution.

Last was Michael Young,CEO of Grady Health System. Young is a staunch supporter of a nationalizedhealthcare system and let it be known that he was opposed to some of the thingsthat he was hearing from other experts on the panel. His believe is thatleaving the states to run a system will only result in cost shifting.  Patients will have to go state to state toget the best healthcare and the best rates. He is the only one who wasabsolutely explicit in his support of HR3200 and that it the reform could notwait. He also discuss the high cost of providing the free services that Grady providesto uninsured patients.

Part 3 was Q&A and Commissioner Johnson laid down thegauntlet when he said that anyone who was disruptive would be escorted out ofthe townhall by police and that protestors would be confined to a designatedprotest area.  Some of the standoutcomments and questions include a gentleman holding a baby. A baby born byC-section whose doctor recommended that his wife/mother of child and baby stayin the hospital an extra day. They were unable to do so because insurancewouldn’t cover it and he didn’t have the money to pay for it out of pocket. Hesupports HR3200.  Another standout was awoman who indicated that she had filed bankruptcy as a result of mountingmedical bills because she could not get coverage for herself due topre-existing conditions, she had several chronic diseases. A third was a seniorcitizen, a supporter of reform who had questions regarding reform effects onMedicare. He was assured by Representative Johnson that there would be nochanges in benefits. 

The Q&A continued in a respectable fashion andthroughout the entire program there were no outburst to speak of, onlyapplause, cheers and boos.  The Q&A portionground to a halt with 10 minutes to go in the program however when Congressman Johnsonlaunched into the lies the GOP were telling about reform and how the insurancecompanies were only getting rich under the current failing system. As the ladysitting next to me at the forum stated to me,, she believed that Rep. Johnson’sheart is in the right place but this was not the forum for him to launch into aspeech. I agree with her, especially since this portion of the townhall was forconstituents/attendees and because his argument really lacked the bitenecessary.

Overall from what I could hear and see from the overflow I’dsay that the attendees of this townhall were supporters of HR3200.  The overflow area where I was seated I’d estimatethat the numbers were closer to half and half. The entire forum was wellplanned and executed but I left with the feeling that the Democrats have a lotmore work to do in terms of messaging, especially debunking the myths generatedby the right as well as being able to answer more succinctly questions from thosewho are riding the fence on reform.

I didn’trealize how serious the water wars with Florida and Alabama were until now.Before I thought it was all foolishness, shortages, potential shortages, tryingto save wildlife and all the rest.  Welljust as we get released from the drought and all the water restrictions. We getthis; U.S.District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Georgia must discontinue allwithdrawals from Lake Lanier unless congress gives permission to do so.  As an immediate discontinuance of thesewithdrawals is not practical, we’ve been given three years to secure thispermission from Congress to continue.  Heindicated in his findings that withdrawals from the Lake were not a part of itsoriginal purpose and the Army Corps of Engineers overstepped its bounds inallowing the withdrawals to happen. The most telling about the judge’s remarkson this decision were his remarks on growth. “…local governments allow uncheckedgrowth because it increases tax revenue, but these same governments do notsufficiently plan for the resources such unchecked growth will require…”  the largest growing county until recently hasbeen Gwinnett County and it just so happens that Lake Lanier is the ONLYsource of water for the county. 

At a rateof nearly 90 million gallons per day being used, county officials contend thatthere are really no other viable alternatives than to withdrawal from the Lake.  The metro area has received a commitment fromSenators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson that they would do all they can toreach a suitable agreement with Florida and Alabama, but considering that thebattle over the Lake has been going on since the 1970s and this most recentruling, it’s unclear to me how this can happen. That said the question is whatcan citizens of the County do to ensure that we continue to have water in 2012and beyond?  I’d like to hear yourthoughts.

J.Alvin Wilbanks Salary vs. Other Superintendents in Metro Atlanta......


Please find Superintendent Salaries in Metro Atlanta below :

From the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts Website:

Cobb County $190,550.00
Gwinnett County $306,904.73
Dekalb County $243,182.71
City of Atlanta $378,259.91
City of Buford $162,999.96
Hall County $172,588.92
Union County $143,129.78
Walton County $158,600.16
Douglas County $201,185.04
Fulton County $201,524.74

   We do not think the current School Board members have been good stewards of the taxpayer's dollars......
What do you think ?? Can a cap be put on School Superintendent's Salaries ? Should School Superintendents stand for election county-wide ?

   

Dear Georgia Autism Advocate, We have received word that Senate Bill 161, "Ava's Law", sponsored by Senator Johnny Grant will be heard on Tuesday afternoon, March 3, 2009 before the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.  We have also learned that House Bill 426, the House version of Ava's Law sponsored by Representative Katie Dempsey, will be heard on Wednesday morning, March 4, 2009 before the House Committee on Insurance.  Over the next few days, we will need your help in contacting the legislators who sit on these committees to let them know that you want their support on this very important measure!     Ava's Law would require private health insurance companies to cover the screening, diagnosis, testing and evidence based, medically-necessary therapies for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) including ABA therapy up to $55,000 a year. This is your chance for coverage for your children with autism Georgia!  It's time to act now!

Here is How You Can Help: 1.  START CONTACTING THE SENATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TODAY! SEND AN EMAIL to the members of the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee urging their support for Ava's Law in the Committee hearing on Tuesday! CALL the members of the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee!  Let them know what the passage of Ava's Law would mean to your family.  Let them know how this would impact your child's life to end the discrimination against your child and provide them with coverage for the therapies they need and deserve! Senator Ralph Hudgens, Chairman (R-47)             404-656-4700 Senator David Shafer, Vice Chairman (R-48)         404-656-0048 Senator Dan Moody (R-56)                                  404-463-8055 Senator Robert Brown (D-26)                               404-656-5035 Senator Jeff Chapman (R-3)                                 404-656-0045 Senator Tim Golden (D-8)                                    404-656-7580 Senator Ed Harbison (D-15)                                 404-656-0074 Senator Jack Murphy (R-27)                                404-656-7127 Senator Chip Pearson (R-51)                               404-656-9221 Senator Ronald Ramsey (D-43)                            404-463-2598 Senator Chip Rogers (R-21)                                 404-463-1378 Senator John Wiles (R-37)                                   404-657-0406  2. SAVE THE DATE FOR THE HEARINGS on TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY!  We will send out additional information at the beginning of next week but the Senate hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and the House hearing is scheduled bright and early Wednesday morning.  We need to pack the room and hallways with hundreds of Georgia citizens eager for autism insurance reform. Wear red and bring pictures of your children. 3.  FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA!  We need to generate thousands of calls in support of Ava's Law.  Please forward this to anyone who can help make phone calls to the committee members.  They do not have to have a child with autism - just be concerned about this issue and willing to make some noise in favor of it!  Forward to your family members, children's teachers and therapists, neighbors and coworkers...anyone who cares about the future of your child! 4.  STAY INFORMED ON AVA'S LAW BY REGISTERING AT WWW.AUTISMVOTES.ORG for further updates.  Be sure to register at our website www.autismvotes.org for the latest updates on Ava's Law as it moves through the legislative process within the state and stay informed as well on federal issues that impact the autism community!

For more information on Ava's Law, visit www.AutismVotes.org/Georgia. Happy Dialing! Shelley Hendrix Director of State Advocacy Relations Autism Speaks

   Gwinnett County's Population continues to grow... The size of the County Commission and Board of Education should also grow in size. Citizens representation should not be diluted.  Both bodies need at least a total of seven members each ...

Ms. Mathers:
GOSA

My concerns are as follows, the State Laws that GCPS, are exempted from cover a broad range of requirements. I hope the plan is implemented in a responsible manner and not used as just a means of saving education spending. Increasing class sizes and making teachers do more with less resources would not be a good thing for education in this state. Since this is such a new program for The State of Georgia, I think five years is too long a period of time for this experiment ?

I think The State Board of Education should not be absolved of monitoring Gwinnett County Public Schools
or any other system that get's an IE 2 contract. The State Board of Education should be involved in how a IE 2 contract is implemented. So that however the Contract is implemented is fair to both students and teachers. That there is a good chance of meeting AYP as promised in these contracts !

I also feel that GCPS did not have a full and open discussion with the public before enacting their IE 2 plan. I feel the legislature needs to flesh out what full discussion with the community is. I think in a county as large as Gwinnett three public question and answer hearings in different parts of the county should be the minimum required by law !

I also feel the State Board of Education and GOSA, should do a top down review of the IE 2 Contracts every other year. If the Contract needs to be repealed in that review, the State Board of Education should have that authority ! If this requires additional legislation let's get it done in this legislative year. Please let me know your thoughts on this ...

Please contact your State Legislators, by phone, e-mail or mail !

Thank you,

   GCPS's IE 2 Contract with the State Board of Education has been approved by a unanimous vote. The State Board has been working with GCPS on this Contract for 6 months. Never brought up by any of the School Board Candidates in the last election cycle... However GCPS only decided to work with the Taxpayers for 30 minutes on it. The Contract exempts Gwinnett Public School's from various State Laws and Regulations.

   Now that Mr. Wilbanks got his IE 2 contract let's see if student performance is improved as he has promised !

   Please consider flooding the Incoming Secretary of Education with e-mails; concerning your problems with The IE 2 Contract with the State of Georgia. Also consider discussing the process used to approve this contract and it's lack of transparency. Ask him to review the contract. Yes We Can !

Sec of Ed's E-mail address:

aduncan@cps.k12.il.us

   GCPS is seeking basically to deregulate itself from State Laws and Regulations. Is that such a good idea will that really Improve Student Performance ?

   Wallstreet and Banks were deregulated from Federal Law and Regulations in the 80's and 90's. Regulatory Agencies stopped regulating them and stopped looking at them as well in the new millenium. What happened was our current Economic Meltdown. Can anyone say Enron ! 

   GCPS is seeking flexibility from State Regulations. Those regulations were put in place by previous General Assemblies and Governors, not to mention the Georgia Board of Education, because they felt they were needed to provide a quality education for all of Georgia's children. What has changed now ? Nothing in my opinion, except the Gwinnett County Board of Education is looking to save some money. Tax Receipts are falling.. Remember their recent statement that went something like this,  if they could just move one student more into each classroom they could save $30 million dollars systemwide.

   This time our elected School Board members acted in haste, what can we lose, five years in a child's education. How can you ever get that back for that child ! Five years is a long time in a young childs life !

   Parents need to lobby the State Board of Education for Improvements to the IE 2 contract that now exists. Parents and community members need to be involved in the implementation of IE 2 on the School Level. We do not need a meltdown in the quality of our children's education !  Thanks.