Grace Palculict is the incumbent on the Parkers Chapel school board for Position 4. On Tuesday, Palculict will face challenger Kris Madison in the election for the seat.
Palculict recently spoke with the News-Times about her five years on the school board and her plans if reelected.
In those five years, Palculict said she believes the board’s biggest accomplishment is the renovation work done to the district’s schools and campus.
“I was [elected] at tail end of big renovations at the schools; I wasn’t there when they started but I was there when they were completed… One thing they wanted to do is protect the kids, so safety was a primary goal when they looked to do renovations and expansions. On campus, our elementary is at one end, the high school is at the other and there is an inside hall that connects them all. So, kids don’t have to go outside to change classes or to eat their lunch or break,” Palculict said.
The goal of improving safety was accomplished by the renovations, Palculict said.
“We made the buildings so people could still have the freedom to move around but be safe. Everything is inside now, and we have a larger auditorium. That’s probably the biggest objective accomplished during my tenure and I’m very proud of what we were able to complete,” Palculict said.
Another addition Palculict praised was that of a certified track for athletic events.
“When my kids were young they went to Parkers Chapel. One was athletic and one was more artistic but wanted to do some kind of physical activity. At the time there were not many options beyond baseball, basketball and football. With this track, ideally every student has the opportunity to compete, whether in archery, track, or something else… It expands the opportunities for students both in scholastic achievements and in physical sports, which makes them more well-rounded,” Palculict said.
Looking to the future, Palculict is excited to work with new superintendent John Gross if re-elected.
Gross will replace superintendent Michael White, who is retiring.
“[Gross] was [Parkers Chapel’s] superintendent for many years and retired but wanted to come back, and we want to support him as he comes in. We’re interested for him to come in and see what we need to look at to build up our rating academically. We want to keep being near the top in the state and always focus on what we need to keep it at that level,” she said.
Palculict said a worthwhile focus will be the academic recovery from a year of virtual learning by helping both students and teachers.
“We’ll look at new projects and new adventures with academics and look to bring in programs that will help teachers do their jobs more efficiently. With COVID, all students are behind, but you must also assume some students might get further behind than average. We will be getting a program together to identify those students, and put them in a smaller class to bring them back to the level of others [academically],” Palculict said.
Palculict concluded by saying what she believes to be the ideal function of a school board.
“A school board doesn’t have a day-to-day finger of what’s going on but we do have oversight. We’re able to look at things objectively, which allows us to do oversight and to make sure everyone understands what needs to be looked at further,” Palculict said.
Election day is tomorrow, May 18 and all voting will take place at the First Baptist Church of Parkers Chapel. Polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.