Observer Election 2024: John P. Griffith, School Dist. 5, Area 7
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
John P. Griffith is a candidate for Anderson School Dist. 5, Area 7.
Griffith is a managing partner of Smith & Griffith, LLP, Law Firm and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, is a graduate of U.S. Army Military Police School, and earned a Doctor of Law from Loyola University.
He has served on the Dist. 5 School Board since 2012, is a member of First Presbyterian Church and the Gideons International, and a former board member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and a YMCA youth soccer and football coach.
Griffith is a veteran and served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve.
School Board Candidate Profile and Questions
Here are his answers to the Anderson Observer’s questions:
1. What is the most important responsibility of public schools? The most important responsibility of public schools is educating all children in a safe and secure learning environment.
2. What are the three most important duties of a public-school board member? Big picture policy making for the district, overseeing the budget and finances of the district, and hiring, supervising, and evaluating the Superintendent.
3. How is your combination of education and experience relevant to serving the duties identified in question one? With my education and experience as an attorney, and the only lawyer on the board, I understand and explain various legal implications of policies the board considers as well as legal issues involved in personnel decisions and various lawsuits involving the district. I help the board and superintendent understand various court decisions and laws affecting schools. I take many hours of continuing legal education specifically on school law yearly. I focus my law practice on workers’ compensation, employment, and personal injury law which are relevant to issues that frequently come before the board. My trial experience in criminal and family court also assists the board in disciplinary and family issues encountered by our schools. Further, being the husband of a teacher as well as the father of a teacher makes me sympathetic and understanding of the difficult issues teachers face and the types of support they need. I am a homeowner and small business owner with 5 employees, so I understand the tax concerns of citizens and business owners. Finally, my experience as a current board member is invaluable. I have been through multiple levels of board training and continuing education through the South Carolina School Board Association, National School Board Association, and National Dropout Prevention Conference. I understand the authority of school board members and the limits. Board members should be civilians - community members – guiding district policies so that the day-to-day operations of schools are left to the Superintendent and professional staff and teachers.
4. Is there a particular issue that motivates you to run for a seat on the board of education? I am committed to bringing back programs like International Baccalaureate (IB) and ensuring our students have access to the best educational opportunities. I am for smaller classes to give each student the individual attention they need to thrive. In addition to being an advocate for public education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and other academics like English/language arts and social studies, I am a strong advocate for the arts in education. Studies have shown that children who participate in the arts perform better academically. The fantastic success of Southwood Academy of the Arts demonstrates how the arts improve academic performance and well-roundedness. Southwood was awarded the state’s highest award of Palmetto’s Finest Award recently. Anderson District 5 has 2 of only 8 schools (including North Pointe Elementary) to receive the Palmetto’s Finest Award in South Carolina recently. Additionally, from adding School Resource Officers (SROs) to weapon detection systems, I am dedicated to keeping our schools safe and secure. Considering the teacher shortage, I understand the need for better pay to retain top talent for our kids. With aging schools needing attention, I support maintaining and repairing our facilities. Further, I believe in keeping our schools and students up to date with the latest technology, preparing them for the future. Considering the recent hurricane and school closures, I support innovative solutions like eLearning to ensure our students can keep learning even during weather events. Finally, I am motivated this term to develop a plan for the growth of our District. With a growing population, I am leading the charge to plan to build new schools, including another high school and middle school, giving families more school choice.
5. Please explain your understanding of how school board millage works and what you see as the top priorities for using this money.
Millage is a property tax to fund school districts. One mill represents $1 of tax per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. On personal residences, people only pay bond debt millage. They pay for operational millage on other property they may own. About 90% of the millage tax goes towards the top priority of paying salaries along with other sources like state and federal funds. Schools are a people business. However, the millage tax on personal residences is substantially reduced by the penny tax. The penny tax reduces the bond debt millage you pay on your house as 20% of the money raised with the penny tax goes toward paying down bond debt and reduces millage taxes on homes.
6. Given all the issues that arise, how can the board stay focused on student achievement? We must hire and retain the best teachers and principals. Mentoring for new teachers and ongoing support for all teachers lead to more effective teaching and better student outcomes. We must keep class sizes small. Also, the board is investing in quality early childhood programs to make sure that children start school ready to learn, giving them a strong foundation for future achievement. There are too many other initiatives that the board approves to support teachers and students to describe here.
7. How does a school board balance the need to provide a quality education with the need to respond to the local taxpayer burden? The school board must always consider the tax burden when making budgeting decisions - the board must balance the district’s needs against its wants and its ability to operate without tax increases. The Anderson 5 School Board has done well here as we have the lowest property tax millage among the 5 districts in Anderson County. Anderson 5 had no tax increase this year.
8. What are your thoughts on the current and the proposed budget for your school district? I voted for and approve of the current budget. At the request of the board, the Superintendent was able to cut approximately 1 million dollars from this year’s proposed budget to reach the current budget without a tax increase.
9. As a board member, where would you look to make budget cuts? In my experience, the Superintendent will make reductions at the request of the board and in line with the board’s priorities for the district. For example, at the board’s request, the Superintendent and her team cut the most recent proposed budget by approximately 1 million dollars to reach the current budget without a tax increase, which was a board priority. Additionally, the board can reduce administrative costs at the district office by merging roles, increasing efficiency, or outsourcing non-essential services. Cutting administrative overhead is preferable to reducing classroom personnel. Cuts can generally be made to programs that do not use all the budgeted funds for the prior year or non-essential programs or projects.
10. Are there any areas you would not consider cutting? I am against budget cuts that affect the primary academic focus of the district or cuts that would compromise safety. I am also generally against cuts that reduce teacher pay, essential benefits such as health insurance, or increase class sizes. While I would not make cuts in the area of safety, Anderson 5 spends over 1 million dollars per year on SRO’s (school resource officers). Anderson 5 began funding SROs in every school as a safety priority, before the state provided funding for SROs. Once state funding began, it excluded funding for SROs in any school that already had SROs, so District 5 faces a financial burden for SROs that most districts do not have. I am advocating for the board to find support in the legislature and our local delegation to secure state funding so that SRO funding will not be paid by local taxes/millage.
11. How would you determine your budget priorities? Financial priorities include all funds going directly into classroom teaching and must be analyzed with the advice and guidance of the Superintendent and her team including the Assistant Superintendent of Finance. Anderson 5 is excellent in finance and consistently receives the highest ratings from outside financial auditors each year. The second priority is safety and security necessary to allow teaching and learning as discussed in other questions herein. The board acts collectively as a board rather than individually so consensus of the board members on financial priorities is essential.
12. What changes should be made on the state and local level regarding public education? As mentioned above, the state needs to provide fair funding for SROs in districts that made safety a priority before the state began funding SROs. The state also needs to provide full per student funding under the state’s own formula. We also need the state to provide guidance through statewide regulations and laws on issues like cellphones. It would be great if the state would stop sending the local districts unfunded mandates which are just a way of allowing the state legislature to say they did not raise taxes while forcing the local districts to do so to follow the mandated actions and programs per state law. Apparently, the county may not have the funds or ability to enforce fee in lieu of tax contracts (wherein corporations are exempt from school taxes because of benefits to the community) with corporations to ensure they are following through on their obligations like employing a certain amount of employees, etc. It would be great if that situation could be changed.
13. Do you favor renewing the penny sales tax for schools when the current law expires? Yes, I favor renewing the penny tax for schools with the support of the community. The penny tax has been a game changer for our district and county. The county benefits from out-of-town visitors to Clemson University games and events such as the bass tournaments and other events spending money in Anderson County which now support our schools. This funding source is for facilities and equipment (by law in the referendum) and cannot pay expenses like salaries. It has allowed our district to supply all students with 1-1 technology with Chromebooks, build and furnish AIT (career campus with Districts 3 & 4), and make extensive roof repairs at T.L. Hanna and McCants, add a lab building at Westside, build the Chadwick Boseman auditorium at Southwood, and add band buildings, field houses, tennis lights and court improvements, and turf field improvements at the high schools as well and many more projects. Currently, the board has set aside funds for much needed maintenance for each of our schools.
14. How important are athletics and extracurricular activities and should the school board support such endeavors for students? I am an advocate for the arts as explained above. I also support athletics as sports foster school pride and inclusion for students. Sports also give some students motivation to do well in school and come to school. All three of my sons participated in school sports and orchestra. My oldest son is a public school orchestra teacher. My youngest son also participated in drama and dance which has led to a lifetime love and career in comedy and acting.
15. What is your understanding of separation of church and state when it comes to public schools in Anderson County? I believe in the separation of church and state in our schools. I heard someone say recently that “we don’t need teachers to be preachers or students to be congregations.” I believe religious education is best left to the parents for their own children and to churches. There is not a complete separation - religion is allowed in schools as students can lead religious clubs and prayers, religious groups help with and support student clubs, coaches can pray on the field after games, and the school board has a prayer before each meeting.
16. Are you familiar with Moms for Liberty and/or Stop Moms for Liberty groups and how do you view their activities (positively/negatively and why)? I am glad that parents are involved in District 5 and that some are coming to board meetings. However, I agree with the nonpartisan nature of the school board, school board elections, and hope to keep partisan politics out of schools. As long as groups are local with local parents and citizens, I welcome them to contribute to the success of District 5.
17. How would you work to find common ground with other school board members and the superintendent on issues of disagreement? Because the board acts as a board rather than individually, finding common ground is essential to the proper functioning of the board. To reach common ground with other board members and the Superintendent, I make my concerns and questions known and request additional information on various issues prior to board meetings. The current board, which I sit on, functions well. It values the input of each board member and listens to each member’s concerns. The board is also attentive to input from the public which is often gained informally at the grocery store, games, and restaurants. I invite teachers, parents, citizens, and students to contact me with any concerns or to let us know how they feel about the schools and various policies.
18. Could you support a board decision you did not vote in favor of? Why or why not? Yes, I support the board decisions after the vote regardless of the outcome. It is the board’s duty to support and implement the decisions of the board over individual positions. All board members should work to make all decisions as successful for students and staff as possible.
19. What is your opinion of current teachers in the district and what would you do as a board member to support them? District 5 has the best teachers and staff. I support our teachers. My wife is a teacher at Southwood Academy of the Arts and my oldest son is also a public-school teacher in Texas. I support our teachers by listening to their concerns and helping to resolve them. I invite teachers to let me know about their problems and to tell me what they think we can do to improve. I ask these types of questions when I visit schools and when I see teachers in the community. I support higher pay for teachers and a safe work environment for them and their students. I also support incentives to attract and retain teachers with innovative ideas, like the board’s vote for free lunch days for teachers.
20. How can a school board know if its goals are being accomplished and its policies are being implemented? Goals can be tracked with data that the district and state analyze. Test scores, grades and disciplinary data are analyzed to determine fair administration across schools, students, ages, etc. The board asks questions to follow up on implementation and the Superintendent and her team update the board on the progress of various goals and implementation of policies at each board meeting.