Reginald Blow and Patrick Gray are running for district two trustee for the Wichita Falls Independent School District.
Blow, the incumbent, is a pastor and local businessman. He's been on the board for the last 13 years. He says declining enrollment and school financing are two of the major issues the district faces.
Blow says, "We say we want the best education available, but we're not willing to pay for it. Not locally, but on a state and national level."
He says the district still managed, despite financial set backs, to provide full day kindergarten in the Wichita FallsSchool District. He says the next challenge is updating secondary education facilities to keep up with the digital age.
He says, "I think it's important to help our kids face the challenges of the 21st century, to be competitive in a global economy by producing the best students."
The district is working toward a possible bond election to update the district's junior highs and high schools to make them more technologically advanced. Blow says now is a good time for it because other bonds are being retired.
"We'll be able to get some increases in bond dollars without any significant increase in the tax rates you're paying presently," Blow says.
His opponent, Patrick Gray says he would be a good addition to the board because of his background in technology. He works for the city of Wichita Falls as Database Application Analyst.
Gray says, "They don't have anyone to specialize in technology. Technology seems to be the direction the district wants to go, so I think they need to have someone who specializes in technology."
When it comes to a possible bond election, Gray says he supports improving technology at the secondary level but he would need to see exactly what the bond would cover.
"Let's go all the way, let's don't put band aids on what we already have. Let's going ahead a start anew. A new school board, a new school district and new, fresh ideas. "
Gray, a youth basketball coach, says parents often encouraged him to run. He says the biggest problem facing the district right now is apathy. He hopes to get parents and the community more involved.
"It's about the kids, the community and technology, and if it's not about that I don't want to focus too much time in it," Gray says.
