Henderson County School Board candidate profiles: Jay Egolf
The Times-News is running answers from questionnaires sent out to the Henderson County School Board candidates. There are three seats available, as Dot Case and Jay Egolf are running for re-election. Amy Lynn Holt's seat is available, since she is running for a Henderson County Commissioners' seat.
Below are Egolf's responses:
What do you believe are the top issues facing the School Board and how do you plan to address those issues?
Every year the Board of Education makes a priority to address the issues that are impacting our county and more importantly the students of Henderson County. These include classroom size in relation to the current teacher shortage, economic challenges in families and the impact on the student, affording new technologies in the classroom to enhance learning, bullying, parental involvement, etc., just to name a few.
However, in my opinion, one of the top issues facing our children today is what I call a continued distraction to education. Our world has been greatly impacted in many ways by the COVID pandemic over the last two years. We have all been affected but I feel strongly that our children, the future generation, have been impacted in ways that we could have never imagined, in ways that we will only begin to unravel over the next many years. From school closures, virtual learning, social distancing, strict quarantine guidelines, mask mandates, etc., the impact has left many children behind in their education. According to a recent report, the national average ACT composite score for the class of 2022 is 19.8, the lowest score in 30 years. I feel it is imperative that we work together to make education in the classroom our number No. 1 priority. Our teachers have worked diligently during this difficult time and it's imperative that we support them while getting back to the basics. There are a lot of divisive social issues in our country... these do not have a place in the classroom. Our focus should be math, reading, writing, language, history, science and technology.
Talk about your background and why you would be the best choice to be on the School Board.
My family moved here in 1972 and I attended Henderson County Public Schools (HCPS) for 13 years. I attended Bruce Drysdale School in 1975 for K-3, Hendersonville Middle Grade for 4-6, Hendersonville Junior High for 7-8 and graduated from Hendersonville High School in 1989. My wife also attended HCPS and graduated from East Henderson in 1993. Our son attended BDS, HMS and graduated from HHS in 2021. Our two daughters are currently in HCPS — one is a junior at HHS, and our youngest is in seventh grade at HMS. I've also been a HCPS Board Member since 2018. With some overlap, that is 27 years of experience with HCPS. I also have personal relationships with members of Hendersonville City Council, Board of Commissioners and other municipalities. This is helpful with the communication that must occur to continuously improve our public schools. I am deeply invested and passionate in the education of Henderson County children and therefore, I would be the best choice for the School Board.
With the new superintendent, Mark Garrett, coming in, describe the Board's role in working with him to ensure the success of the schools, teachers and students.
I'm very excited to work with Mr. Garrett, who has been McDowell County Schools superintendent since 2013. I could not have been more blessed to work closely with Dr. Bryant and now look forward to continuing the work already initiated with Mr. Garrett. We will work to build new relationships, bridge connections when needed, offer support and continue the work of the current board while we all work together to build a better tomorrow for the students of Henderson County Public Schools. The future is very bright for HCPS.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Henderson County School Board candidate profiles: Jay Egolf
