Dumas looks for change on county school board

Dr. Joe Dumas works closely with academically unprepared students as a professor at UTC, so he has a vested interest in making sure local high school graduates are ready for college, he said.

“The quality of preparation that students have in (kindergarten through 12th grade) has a direct impact on my job and that of my colleagues,” he said. “We want to see those students be the most well-prepared they can be.”

Dr. Dumas, acting head of the department of computer science and engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, recently announced he would run against school board member Chip Baker for the District 2 seat on the Hamilton County Board of Education.

A Signal Mountain resident, Dr. Dumas has an acronym, SAFETY, that he said spells out his platform as a school board candidate.

“S” stands for safety and discipline, “A” is for academic focus, “F” represents fiscal responsibility, “E” is effective communication, “T” stands for transparency and accountability and “Y” is for your schools, your voice.

As the school board prepares to vote on the system’s budget for the 2009 fiscal year, Dr. Dumas said it is important to get 90 percent of the district’s dollars spent in classrooms, a goal of district officials. According to Hamilton County Schools’ Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz, about 84 percent of the system’s money currently is spent in the classroom.

“We are spending way too much money on administration at the central office and at individual schools,” he said.

Dr. Dumas, 46, said transparency among board members and communication with constituents were two areas the school board needs to improve.

“If you’re going to run for the office, you ought to be willing to communicate with constituents,” he said.

Missy Cantrell convinced Dr. Dumas to run for the school board, and said Thursday she’s convinced her hard-working friend will be just what the board needs.

“He’s very thorough,” she said. “He’s the kind of person who will put in the necessary hours to master the issues that come up before the board.”

Dr. Dumas said he ultimately was dissatisfied with the accomplishments of the current school board and was offering a chance for change.

“If people are satisfied with the status quo, they won’t be interested in my candidacy,” he said. “But if they think we can do better, they will be interested.”