Published: June 30, 2008 09:13 pm      

Bright stresses vocational education

With “probably 60 percent” of Murray County High School’s graduating seniors not going on to college each year, Kenneth L. “Sam” Bright says vocational training is the key.

Georgia Department of Education figures show 44.9 percent of MCHS grads entered college in the 2006-07 school year.

Bright faces Kay Leonard McCurdy in the Republican primary on July 15 for the District 2 seat on the Board of Education. Davena Baxter-Baggett and Anthony Gallman are squaring off on the Democrat side.

A native of Murray, Bright graduated from Murray County High School in 1984, then went directly to work at the Torrington-Fafnir manufacturing company in Calhoun as a programmer. When the company moved to China, he attended Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome to learn telecommunications and networking. He uses those skills now working for SouthTel Communications, with offices in North Georgia and Southeast Tennessee.

Having never run for elective office, Bright was asked why he wanted a seat on the school board.

“I have two children in the school system and I’m also involved on the advisory committee at Gladden Middle School,” he said. “In my work I put in a lot of technology at schools, and I see a lot of different things I like in other systems as far as technology goes.

“Specifically, I’ve seen the kind of technology they use in Gordon County, and how they work with global businesses in raising funds. They also have internships in their schools, where students work with local businesses.”

Bright said high school students who are not going to college need to be paired, for example, with mechanics and electricians in a real world atmosphere to help them get a career going before they graduate.

“The welding class I took at Murray County High helped me to get my first job,” he recalled. “My vision is on the vocational side, and I believe that would help the dropout rate.”

Bright also points to attendance as an area he would address.

“We need to crack down on that,” he said. “We are flooded with low-educated citizens and the carpet industry is down. The days of just going out and getting a job without a diploma are over. We’ve got to give them that knowledge in high school.”

Bright was not critical of the present board, but did say he did not understand why it is taking so long to get the new high school built.

“I’m the father of two children, and my wife is a stay-at-home mom,” he said. “We run our house off one income, and that’s not always easy. But I believe education is a 50-50 thing, so parents need to step up also (and not just educators).

“You get out of education what you put into it.”

School board members are paid $50 each time the board convenes.