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With the primary elections past, the Chambers County Democrat and Republican candidates will be facing off for the election in November.

In the primaries, candidate Frederick “Reco” Newton won the Democratic spot for the District 1 Chambers County School Board member. He will be running opposed by republican candidate Carolyn Danyel Peters.

Peters, a Valley native, has a private law practice in the county. She attended Auburn University for undergraduate and studied  political science. She received her master’s degree in Public Administration with a research focus on education before going to Faulker College’s Thomas Good Jones School of Law.

Out of college, Peters worked as an Assistant District Attorney for Chambers County before moving on to private practice.

Both of Peters’ parents work and live in Chambers County. Her mother is a teacher at CCSD’s Inspire Academy. Peters said that throughout her own education she too kept coming back to the classroom as a Paraprofessional, a substitute teacher or from a research perspective.

“I’ve always had this connection to school,” Peters said.

What is your platform?

One of her main focuses, Peters said, is on teachers. Having been in the classroom, she said she knows how important the job is.

“They’re great people and they truly have great hearts,” Peters said.

However, the top focus for the candidate is the kids and making sure they are engaged while they’re in the classroom.

“They don’t want to learn if they don’t like to be there,” Peters said, adding that it’s the school board’s job to keep students interested.

When asked why she decided to run, Peters said she sees Chambers County as her “forever community.” But education and schools are one of the biggest factors in that decision for young couples and families. Peters said that it’s time to spark change in the school system and the community.

“… And I don’t see anyone else making them,” she added.

Test scores

“Test scores are a very complex situation,” Peters said, when asked about the school system’s recent scores. 

Last year, the state released CCSD’s test scores which saw both high schools drop to D grade levels. The schools are considered “priority schools,” meaning they fall in the lowest 10% of the state.

Peters said she plans to evaluate where the issue with scores starts once she gets into office.

“From kindergarten to high school, where is that [disconnect] happening? … Where are we failing these kids?

From there, she can work with the rest of the board and administration to address it. Peters said that any new policy could have unforeseen side effects so it’s important to look at the full information before making a decision on how to approach the issue.

“There’s a lot more that goes into it than you see as public knowledge,” Peters acknowledged.

Peters added that the students, faculty and parents all need to be heard in order to find solutions that will give better outcomes.

Consolidation

When asked about her thoughts on the current consolidation efforts mandated by the decades-old desegregation order, she said, “The federal government has spoken so now [the question is] what’s next?”

For Peters, one of the most important aspects of the consolidation is providing equal opportunity for all students across the county, whether it’s athletics, academic programs or other extracurriculars.

She said the question should be: “How can every child in Chambers County have equal opportunities without overstretching the parents?”

Peters, like others in the community, questioned the level of input that the community had in the decision making process when it came to consolidation. She said that the current administration seemed to make the decision quickly and without sharing much of the details with the public.

“I don’t know if we explored other options,” Peters said, adding that the former administration lacked transparency when it came to the decision-making process. “They just didn’t feel heard.”

Peters said if she came into office, she plans to have more opportunities for open communication.

“There’s got to be an open forum … We understand that something has to change,” she said.