"It is with some reservation at the responsibility which I am seeking that I announce that I will seek reelection to the Marked Tree School Board," said Mike Dabney about his decision to seek another term on the Marked Tree School Board. "When the education of our children is concerned, no parent has a greater priority, or higher expectations and demands, and I, as a parent, am no different. There are many limitations as to what board members can do and it can be frustrating, but I understand more than I used to, and I hope my experience can be serve as an asset to the education of your children."

Dabney said he was most proud of the rising bench mark scores, especially in the high school

"We are hiring good teachers with a passion for teaching." continued Dabney. "Mr. (Gary) Masters and Ms. (Anesa) Thompson deserve a lot of credit in giving our high school teachers direction and motivation, and our bench marks go up. Our students are better prepared at graduation."

The candidate said he was also proud to have been a part of giving substantial raises to the district's teachers during the last four years. He added that when it came to teaching, each teacher in the school is where "the rubber meets the road, where the actual learning occurs."

"Many of us remember our favorite teachers in school," said Dabney. "and many of those were responsible for putting us on the road to our chosen professions. We are in a position to compete financially with schools in our area, and get better teachers, even if we have to cut other corners financially to do so."

Dabney said that his main concern was finances, in his view, and that with a declining attendance, providing a quality education with fewer resources was becoming more difficult.

Recognizing that most schools today have financial concerns, with the rising gas prices and other things, declining attendance is especially difficult to deal with.

"For each student we lose, we lose over $5000." Dabney pointed out. "We are down about 25 students, that is more an $120,000. Mr. Masters has done a good job dealing with our budget in a time of declining attendance.

"I want to do what it takes to make our school attractive and known for quality elementary and high school teachers and education. I would say, and it is only my opinion, that our elementary needs the most work. I would be deaf if I did not hear the concerns expressed about our elementary school, as I collected my reelection signatures."

While personnel issues cannot be directly addressed by the school board, Dabney said the board could require the administration to take care of business in their own houses, in both the elementary and the high school."

"We simply want teachers to do their job: love and teach their students, and give us a full day's work for a full day's pay." He said. "We want our administrators to put the education of our children as their highest priority above all else. I promise to do whatever it takes within the scope of my position on the school board, if elected, to see that our elementary once again has the reputation that attracts families, so that all parents can feel comfortable with our elementary school."

Finally, Dabney said one of his goals, even though he has had little success in the endeavor, has always been connect Marked Tree High Schools with the vocational educational opportunities Delta Technical Institute. He confirmed that he would continue to encourage the administration to "connect the dots" in a way that hopefully will give students who elect not to go to college a good education in the trades, so that the area will have well trained plumbers, electricians and auto mechanics making a good living in this area.

"Parents, my last sales pitch is to you." Dabney concluded. "It is your contact with the school, your encouragement and your constructive criticism, that is much more important than my input. Please get involved with your concerns and don't just criticize and watch from afar. Take your concerns to your teachers, and know that your input may serve to improve the education of all the students."