EDITORIAL: Time for a fresh view — Angela Tekell's strong background shows real commitment to education
District 4 voters in the Waco Independent School District are fortunate to have two above-average candidates for school board: incumbent Debbie Luce, who has held the post 12 years, and her challenger, longtime education activist Angela Tekell. Both are intelligent and articulate, and it’s easy to see why each has a dedicated following.
Considering the critical state of the Waco Independent School District, we believe it’s time for a fresh, studied perspective on the board, one that is more fully engaged than we’ve seen in the past. For that reason, we strongly favor Tekell. She won’t balk at asking hard questions of school administrators as this troubled district seeks to right itself amid dismal state and federal academic rankings.
Tekell speaks with an urgency that suggests the need to turn things around, and now. She talks about the necessity of getting past the excuses and reaching out to demand involvement by parents — a tough proposition considering the poverty that hinders many in this district. But Tekell is right that other districts have triumphed over similar adversity. Why not us?
Besides poor rankings, our school system has been troubled by everything from crossed signals with East Waco parents during the painfully controversial closing of G.L. Wiley Middle School to the unfathomable reinstatement of a kindergarten teacher into an Alta Vista Montessori Magent School classroom while he was under investigation by police for sexually abusing a student.
Tekell is no novice. She is past president of the Waco chapter of Parents for Public Schools, co-chaired the Greater Waco Community Education Alliance Nonprofit Sector Committee, has been heavily involved in PTA activities and served on the Campus Decision Making Councils for Hillcrest PDS, Mountainview, Lake Air Middle, Tennyson Middle, Waco High and University High.
She’s more than ready. And she’s needed.
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