Larry Stanley for Henry Board of Education, District 2

I want to serve Henry County in positive and meaningful ways. Our school system is highly regarded and recognized across the state. It will be an honor to serve with the other board members as an advocate for students, parents and school system staff. The role of a school board is to set direction and provide oversight and accountability. While day-to-day management is delegated to school system staff through the superintendent, board members are elected and therefore must be accessible and accountable to the county s voters, taxpayers and residents. The quality of educational services provided by the Henry County Schools affects quality of life for the county. It affects the physical, intellectual and emotional development of every student. It affects the local business climate. Every board member has a huge responsibility.

Larry Stanley will accept the responsibilities that follow the authorities of the board. First on the list is maintaining accessibility, openness and always answerable to the needs of the entire system.
Hands-On Accountability
A poll conducted by Georgia State University indicates that school boards should have the responsibility Hiring, firing and promoting of teachers Hiring, firing and promoting of principals and school administrators? Setting policy about promoting and retaining students is mainly seen as a board role, but Administrators in each school polled next highest.

Setting discipline and safety policy is also seen as a shared role between the local board and Administrators in each school.

4/4/2012

 Larry Stanley will consistently apply a conservative social and fiscal voice to the Board
Pursuit of Excellence
See www.centerforpubliceducation.org The decisions made by the school board affect virtually every important aspect of local schools from boundaries to bus schedules, curriculum to clubs, and funding to field trips. The Georgia Constitution requires that an elected school board oversee each school system. Members of a local school board are to manage and control and to make decisions on almost every aspect of public school operations. Each school board -- as a whole -- serves as the governing body. Individual board members have no authority outside of the board room. Many of the day-to-day responsibilities for which school boards are responsible generally are delegated to the superintendent. However, responsibilities of a public school board also include, but are not limited to some duties that cannot be delegated, such as: Buying and selling school property (including the power of condemnation), Calling elections to authorize a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and bond elections to authorize the issuance of bonded debt Making the policies and rules necessary to govern the school system Reorganization and consolidation of schools within their control Authority to hire employees on the recommendation of the superintendent. Responsible for arbitrating personnel recommendations from their superintendents. These recommendations include such things as disciplinary action, recognition, and dismissal requests. Responsibility of approving the district s annual budget.

Larry Stanley will not join any effort to create bonded debt that is not absolutely, 100% necessary
The 2009 Bond Referendum was a fiasco and it was rightly rejected by the voters of Henry County.
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The Referendum would provide revenue for 2 high schools, 1 middle school and 4 elementary schools plus additions and renovations at existing schools. Losing by 70% to 30% of voters, even school system employees did not see the need for an additional $265,000,000 in bonded debt.

Larry Stanley will not join any effort to increase the Henry County school millage rate AND will always stand to protect Henry County taxpayers
Henry County Schools already collects the legal limit on property taxes
See www.millagerate.com The millage rate (also known as the tax rate) is a figure applied to the value of your property to calculate your property tax liability. One mill equals one dollar of tax on every thousand dollars of taxable value. Your tax dollars are used to fund the cost of your government each year. The three parts of the millage calculation 1. The budget 2. The net tax digest 3. The millage rate The budget: Determining what services are to be offered by government, what the cost of those services will be, and how expenses will be funded are fundamental responsibilities of elected officials during the budget process. The budget process can be fraught with political influences, to which any critic of out-of-control, pork barrel spending can attest. The millage rate: Currently, a taxing authority can set the millage rate at whatever level it chooses. Although no analysis of statewide data exists, anecdotal experience indicates that most jurisdictions do not set their millage rate mathematically, but rather set the millage rate arbitrarily and politically. The bottom line Currently, there is a constitutional limit of 20 mills for the funding of schools. School Boards can adopt a rate above the cap only by voter approval. New School Board members are taught a process which can be described as a millage value estimation. BoE members are taught to divide last year s actual tax revenue by last year s millage and use that dollar value of a mill to compute how many mills will be needed to make up the budget shortfall for the current year. The process is invalid
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because it produces a millage rate that has no mathematical relationship to the actual needs of the budget. The only way to control the budget, and correctly evaluate the millage rate, is by thoroughly scrutinizing every line item of the school system s revenues and expenses.

Larry Stanley will always stand to protect Henry County taxpayers by opposing out-of-county students
School choice options in Georgia
See www.greatschools.org In Georgia your child can attend any school in the district (called intradistrict choice) or outside the district (called interdistrict choice), provided that there is space and the receiving district agrees to accept the student. I have heard school board members or school principals say, We will provide educational opportunities for any child coming to our door. Enforcement of school zones based on county of residence has no meaning unless the county school system actively enforces a consistent policy. That means the receiving district Henry County Schools - must not agree to out-of-county school attendance.

There are many elements to the role of school board member. And many factors that you, the shareholders of the school system, must share with me. I look forward to a series of events that will be announced soon. In the meantime, contact me via email at lrstanley@charter.net.

Larry Stanley
Candidate, Henry County BoE I need your support. Please consider a contribution to my campaign. Contact: Stanley for Henry Board of Education 260 Oak Leaf Drive Stockbridge, Georgia 30281

4/4/2012