This week, an important deadline has been given to the community. The community-wide survey regarding the search for the new Colleton County School District superintendent closed on Wednesday. This survey asked each resident for their input on what the school board should be seeking in a new superintendent: Should the new superintendent live in Colleton County? Should the new superintendent have specific education requirements? Should the new superintendent be focused on academics more than athletics, or vice versa? Should this new leader have an understanding of finances and of the education, or should they be more of a business-focused leader?
All of these are questions that each Colleton resident could have listed as being important. Moreover, each of these are qualities and concerns that we should all be asking ourselves.
The superintendent of our school district is more than a figure head. This person will have substantial input in how millions in dollars in annual funding is spent. Whether through federal, state or local dollars, all of this money comes from you, our taxpayers.
The superintendent is also the leader of the district’s academic plan, and helps to push each student through their learning cycles. They give momentum to local educational leaders and they hold principals and schools accountable for what is being taught and how children are learning.
This person is also the man or woman who makes suggestions to the school board, the very body of elected people who make decisions on your behalf. The board chooses how to spend money, who to hire, what to build within in our district, and how to improve education in our county.
We cannot succeed as a community without boosting our education system. We have built new schools, boosted our infrastructure, and made the county look the part for being ready to learn. Now, we actually have to do it. Colleton won’t advance with economic development or with residential growth without our educational system improving. Some might say the burden lies on our teaches. Others put the burden on our parents. The truth is that is on our all of our collective shoulders, including the students, who need to be taught to learn and who need to see the value of education.
We would like to commend the Colleton County School Board for presenting such a survey to our community. Because the superintendent’s role is critical to the value of our county, it is imperative that each resident has the chance to speak on the issue. The school board also went further than posting a survey link: the board has sponsored several virtual meetings, where community members could speak on what they want in a new superintendent.
Our question to you is, did you participate?
Colleton, we need to become more involved in the choosing of who leads our community. We are physically a large county, with so many resources and positive people. We bring power to the entire Lowcountry’s economic engine, and we need to push ourselves to do more for our future. We can’t complain about our community if we aren’t involved in making it better.
