Observer Election 2024: Tommy Price, School Dist. 5, Area 3
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Tommy Price is a candidate for Anderson School Dist. 5, Area 3.
Price is owner of Price Tax Service, LLC, and Price Driving School.
He earned a degree in Business Administration from Central Wesleyan College (now Southern Wesleyan University), Anderson College and is a graduate of Crescent High School.
He has served on the Anderson 5 Board of Trustees since 2012 and is current chairman, is on the Anderson Institute of Technology Liaison Committee, and has been the public address announcer for Westside High School Football since 2001 (and a 2023 inductee in the Westside High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Price is also a Board Member Centerville Volunteer Fire Department, Board Member Anderson County Accommodations Tax, Board Member Anderson Area Touchdown Club, President Hunters Glen Homeowners Association, and a member of the Anderson School Dist. 5 Steering Committee 2006.
Here are his answers to the Anderson Observer’s questions:
1. What is the most important responsibility of public schools?
The most important responsibility public schools are to educate all children with an equal education to make them a valuable part of our community in the years to come
2. What are the three most important duties of a public-school board member?
Oversee the Superintendent, the Budget and School District Policies and make sure it is all in best interest of our students and community
3. How is your combination of education and experience relevant to serving the duties identified in question one?
My background is in Finance and my many years as a small business owner is to make sure we handle our tax dollars with the taxpayers. Being a small business owner you have to handle funds very carefully and always prepare for a “rainy day” and the unexpected items that come up, same with a school district. We are at the mercy of SC State politicians on the amount of money we get each year per student and that can vary drastically.
4. Is there a particular issue that motivates you to run for a seat on the board of education?
My motivation for being reelected to the Board is basically I am a firm believer in Community Service and making sure our children get a great public education
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 based on property values, Homeowners do not pay school operations tax on the value of their primary home, they only pay tax for bond debt. This is from ACT 388. Naturally top priorities are our Classrooms and making sure our students have the best opportunities to succeed as well maintaining all of our district properties/buildings to remain safe and secure.
6. Given all the issues that arise, how can the board stay focused on student achievement?
Student achievement is one of our main concerns, this comes from state testing and graduation rates. For any of our lower performing schools we get updates monthly from the A5 Leadership team or more frequently if we ask.
7. How does a school board balance the need to provide a quality education with the need to respond to the local taxpayer burden?
Like anything that involves taxpayer dollars we always have to be aware of how we use our funds, it takes a lot of money to operate a school district but we always need to make sure whatever we do is in the best interest of not only our students but also for the taxpayers as well. We cannot just spend at will and increase taxes just to cover more and more costs. As always, the board has been great stewards of taxpayer funds
8. What are your thoughts on the current and the proposed budget for your school district?
For the current budget Dr Kelley and her staff were able to cut in excess of $2 million of recurring costs and not ask for an increase in millage which was a phenomenal feat considering a lot of extra unfunded requirements by the SC State Department of Education. Dr Kelley and her staff are very frugal with how money is spent
9. As a board member, where would you look to make budget cuts? We always reevaluate budget items to make cuts to our budget but we also live in a time of skyrocketing payroll costs and so many other costs we have no control over. A school district is just like any other business that is affected by increasing costs whether we like it or not
10. Are there any areas you would not consider cutting?
Would not cut anything that pertains to the classroom needs or school security, in fact we are always asking teachers what else they need to succeed in the classroom. These are areas that are pretty much off limits unless extreme cuts come down from the Statehouse as they did in 2010
11. How would you determine your budget priorities?
I base budget priorities on our main needs of our students and teachers. After that I am always concerned about maintaining all of our buildings and properties in A5
12. What changes should be made on the state and local level regarding public education? One thing from the State that would help is if ACT 388 was fully funded, I think most any school board member state wide will agree on that. A lot of states have different curriculum areas that students can graduate with instead of a “one size fits all” for high school graduation requirements
13. Do you favor renewing the penny sales tax for schools when the current law expires?
The penny sales tax is a phenomenal tool that helps ALL school districts in Anderson County. The first 20% goes to reduce bond indebtedness and the rest has strict guidelines as to how it is used (Capital projects, Security Measures, Technology, Roofs and HVAC, Land, and Student Transportation methods. This money is split per student in all of Anderson County and according to SCDOR up to 40% is paid by Non-Residents of Anderson County. This has been very valuable in the maintenance of our facilities and providing 1 to 1 technology for our students. It is very important that we renew this penny sales tax for the future whether I am on the Board or not
14. How important are athletics and extracurricular activities and should the school board support such endeavors for students?
Extra-Curricular activities and Athletics are extremely important to our students. This helps not only student morale and excitement about our schools but also is proven as an incentive for kids to stay in school and graduate. These activities teach hard work, dedication and discipline that is required all the way through life and also how to deal with the “Ups and Downs” that not only these activities have but life in general. For some of our students their Coaches/instructors are the best influence they have in their lives.
15. What is your understanding of separation of church and state when it comes to public schools in Anderson County? My Dad was an educator and Baptist Minister so I was raised in a very traditional Christian home for which I am thankful for . I Lean on my faith when making not only tough decisions but the simplest ones as well. However, we must be aware that not everyone in a Public School has the same religious beliefs and thoughts as us. So, any decision we make must take all that into account.
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)?
Moms for Liberty Endorsed me after I attended their forum. I do agree with them in that we need to be aware of the books that are in our public school libraries. The State of SC has developed a better guideline of what books are in school. If a concern arises it is up to our leadership team to have a qualified employee vet those books
17. How would you work to find common ground with other school board members and the superintendent on issues of disagreement?
We are not always going to agree on every item however Dr Kelley is great about running thoughts and ideas but us to see what we think. But at the end of the day, we rely on her and her staff’s expertise in the areas of public education and we will do what is best for students whether we personally agree or not
18. Could you support a board decision you did not vote in favor of? Why or why not?
As a School Board member, we take an oath to go with the majority when voting and whether we agree with the decisions or not we must go along with the majority of the Board. Board members are generally very strong leaders and can be very opinionated but that is what makes a board work in unison
19. What is your opinion of current teachers in the district and what would you do as a board member to support them?
I visit schools all the time and one of the first things I ask any teacher is “What do you need or what can we do to improve your school”. They have my support 100% and an open line to me with any concerns or areas for improvement. You will be surprised by the things I have learned from Teachers as well as them when they ask me why or why not can we do certain things. We always need to have open ears and eyes
20. How can a school board know if its goals are being accomplished and its policies are being implemented?
As for goals, the finances are the easy part to see how we're doing, just looking at our balance sheet and fund balances is a clear view on how we are doing financially. However, the student performance is an ever-changing item that takes continuous work and oversight to make sure we are accomplishing our goals. Test scores and graduation rates are under constant scrutiny from the public and us as well. Keep in mind every year there is a new set of students and they all have different issues. Dr Kelley and her team do a great job of staying on top of any of our schools that are not performing as expected and she constantly updates the board on areas and methods of needed improvement.
We can never sit back and just look at statistics after the fact