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                    "Incumbent Cassandra Palmer, left, and challenger Maggie Cooks, both candidates for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees, speak to roughly 15 people attending the candidate forum Wednesday hosted by Starkville Voices at the Greensboro Center. The candidates agreed largely on challenges facing the district but differed on whether the board has been transparent enough about the new Starkville High School construction. Emma McRae/Dispatch Staff\t\n\t\t\tSTARKVILLE \u2013 Incumbent Cassandra Palmer wants voters to give her a second term on the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees because the learning curve for the position can be steep.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tCassandra Palmer\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\u201cThe first couple years, you\u2019re learning a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it\u2019s advantageous if you have a member who\u2019s doing a good job to continue to keep them on the board because they know what to do.\u201d\nChallenger Maggie Cooks is looking to change things up.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMaggie Cooks\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\u201cSometimes we need a change,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with change. My main goal is to make sure that no student is overlooked and no schools are left behind.\u201d\nThe candidates shared those perspectives Wednesday during a forum hosted by Starkville Voices at the Greensboro Center, where both discussed their motivations for running and what their plans are for the district if elected.\nThe SOCSD board is made up of five members serving staggered five-year terms, two of which are elected positions. Only district residents of Oktibbeha County who live outside the city limits will be eligible to cast their ballot during the Nov. 3 general election.\nWhile Palmer, a first-term board member and licensed professional counselor, and Cooks, a retired SOCSD educator, agreed broadly on the challenges facing the district, including teacher retention, mental wellness of students and funding, the candidates split on the board\u2019s approach to being transparent about the new Starkville High School construction.\nPalmer said the board has recently implemented several initiatives aimed at improving transparency around the project, including streaming board meetings, having a construction update in each meeting and the district\u2019s SHS-focused webpage.\nBut the board speaks through its policy and minutes, she said.\n\u201cWhen it comes to speaking for the board, transparency, there are certain things that board members are allowed to talk about outside of board meetings, and there\u2019s things that we aren\u2019t,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cWhen you go to school board training, you learn that your policy and your board minutes really have to speak for the board. So that\u2019s the first way for people to learn.\u201d\nCertain matters, such as personnel and land acquisition, among others, are permitted to be discussed in executive session. However, votes on any matter taken by the public body must be announced publicly and published in the meeting\u2019s minutes.\nCooks said she believes the community feels the district hasn\u2019t been forthcoming about the project, suggesting potential ways for board members and administrators to interact more closely with the public.\n\u201cThe Starkville community and the Mississippi State community, they want to know what\u2019s going on. They want to be involved,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 But the public has the right to know all this that\u2019s going on. You can do it through community meetings, surveys. People like to be heard.\u201d\nBoth candidates spoke to the importance of providing students with academic improvement opportunities and extracurricular activities.\nIf elected, Cooks said her priority would be ensuring all students have equal access to technology, facilities and high-quality education, something she feels the district is not doing well.\n\u201cAnother challenge is ensuring that all schools and facilities are treated equally,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve said this openly before, I don\u2019t mind saying it again. We know each student is not going to get what they want. \u2026 But my big thing is to be fair. Whatever you do, be fair.\u201d\nPalmer said student achievement has improved in the district, noting it received an A accountability rating from the Mississippi Department of Education for three consecutive years. Targeted initiatives, like providing specialized training for teachers of students with dyslexia, have also helped with academic improvement, she said.\nShe also noted efforts to expand extracurricular opportunities for students, like the planned construction of a performing arts center at the new high school.\n\u201cWe know that if kids are involved in something, they\u2019re more likely to stay in school and graduate, so extracurricular activities \u2013 both sports and other things \u2013 are very important,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have expanded those and continue to.\u201d\nWhen it comes to recruiting and retaining quality teachers for the district, Palmer said it can be a challenge, due in part to a high cost of living in Starkville.\nThe district has collected input from teachers\u2019 exit interviews and started targeted efforts to recruit more teachers of color to better reflect the student population. But retaining teachers really boils down to listening to them when they ask for support, she said.\n\u201cI think the people that are involved in the trenches every day deserve a voice, and when we do that more with teachers, that will make a really big difference,\u201d Palmer said.\nCooks said more opportunities for advancement may keep more teachers in the district, especially those who have already made Starkville home.\n\u201cYou still have some people that\u2019s going to be rooted into an area, and they\u2019re just going to make it their home, and that\u2019s what I wish we could do here,\u201d she said.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMcRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community."
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