Garth Hebert, who represents District 2 on the Guilford County School Board, is one of the few incumbents on the board facing an electoral challenge this year. The other is at-large member Nancy Routh.
Four years ago, District 2, which covers much of north High Point, was also contested. At that time, incumbent Susan Mendenhall was retiring, and Hebert bested opponent Debbie Maines in the 2006 election. Hebert marshaled dissatisfaction with a school attendance realignment planned supported by Mendenhall to win the seat.
A certified public accountant, Hebert joked after a rough day in the midst of tax season: “Maybe I need to be replaced.”
He has two challengers: Ed Price and Richard Becker.
Hebert said he surmises that Price’s reason for running for the seat is that his opponent wants Guilford County Schools to give Simeon Stadium at Andrews High School back to the city of High Point.
“My response to that is, ‘Over my dead carcass,’” Hebert said. “That gives us a serious point of contention.”
Simeon Stadium didn’t motivate his entry into politics, said the 60-year-old Price, who owns a High Point real estate company.
“No, that would be mighty shallow,” Price said. “I would like to see Simeon Stadium returned to the city of High Point, but that’s not why I filed to run. I would hope that I had more reasons than that.”
He added that he harbors no illusions that any of the other 10 members could be persuaded to support such a move.
Price said his thought process about the decision to run was colored by a rumor he had heard that Hebert wasn’t planning to run for election. (For the record, Hebert filed to run on Feb. 10, and Price filed on Feb. 26, the last allowable day. Price added that he holds no dissatisfaction with Hebert’s representation.
“He’s done a good job of representing the young people in this part of the county,” Price said. “If he’s still there in four years, I’ll be fine.”
Notwithstanding his disavowal of the notion that his candidacy is motivated by a desire to see Simeon Stadium returned to the city of High Point, Price said he would like to see more cooperation between the school board and other government entities such as the city of High Point and Guilford County. He also said he would like to see low-income schools across the county receive more assistance and would like to see more support for arts education, which he sees as enhancing student’s self-esteem.
On the matter of the challenges facing Oak Hill Elementary, a struggling school in District 1 — the other High Point district — Price indicated he does not favor a punitive approach.
“I don’t think the answer is going in there and firing half the teachers and the principal,” he said. “Oak Hill — that school is a situation for the entire community, not just the school system. They need corporate sponsors. It should be a concern for the whole county. The citizens need to step up and make it better. It’s part of this town and part of this county. If we’ve got a school that’s not performing, it’s not necessarily the teachers’ fault, but we all need t help.”
Triad Elections '10
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