NORTH CARROLLTON — Only one of four candidates for Carroll County School Board showed up for a “Meet the Candidates” forum at J.Z. George High School gymnasium Monday evening.
Beat 1 Candidate Christopher Givens, who is running against two-term incumbent Kenneth Deloach, answered questions posed by the audience, mostly members of the J.Z. George Parent Teacher Organization, which sponsored the forum.
Givens, 38, is a process engineer at Nissan plant in Canton. His wife, Regina, is an registered nurse at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson. They have two children in the Carroll County school system — a fifth-grader and an eighth-grader.
In Beat 2, Bonnie Wiggins is running against incumbent Marcus Kuykendall.
Givens graduated from J.Z. George High School in 1991 and then earned a bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University in industrial engineering technology. He is currently working on a Master of Business Administration degree from Belhaven College.
Givens discussed his nickname, “Killa,” which has created some concerns. He said his father gave him the nickname “Kiddo” when he was small. A neighbor couldn’t say it properly, so it became “Killa,” and that name stuck.
This is Givens’ second run for school board. He ran 12 years ago and was defeated by Deloach by a small number of votes. He has been active in the Marshall Elementary parent teacher organization, where he has been president. He is also active in the Carroll County Development Association and the Boy Scouts.
Givens said he wants to encourage more participation in the system by parents. “The school board is here to approve policies, but it is more,” he said. “It is all about the children.”
Givens said the top priority of the system now is “getting test scores where the state wants them.” He said he felt Carroll County has good administration and faculty but there should be more support. “We need the entire community’s support,” he said.
One question concerned the frequency of board member visits to school. Givens said he feels board members should come “on special days and when the principals request that they come — not every day, but we want to support the schools.”
When asked what plans he has to support the superintendent, Givens replied, “We’ve got to support him. We have to ask why. You do have to ask questions, but yes, you want to support.”
Superintendent of Schools Billy Joe Ferguson and board member Laura Davis also spoke to the group. Both emphasized the importance of voting and the problems accomplishing goals in the county because of a lack of support of some on the board. “It’s important to elect a board that will be concerned about our schools,” Ferguson said.
Davis told the group it took three years to get pavement in front of the George gymnasium. “I had to beg the board, after I went to graduation and had to go to the restroom to wipe the mud off of my shoes,” she said.
