Today, I post a candidate interview with Michael Rocque, candidate for the school board. I mailed candidate questionnaires to all those running in this year’s election and will post their responses in the order received. Below are my questions and Mr. Rocque’s responses.
Could you please tell us about yourself and why you are running for the school board?
I am a Whitehall Native with 35 years of Leadership and Executive Management Experience.
• Former Member of a Corporate Board, Responsible for Providing Oversight and Accountability over a CEO
• Led and Managed Multiple Large Organizations of Several Hundred Personnel
• Commanded a Schools Company in the US Military; Highly Familiar with Curriculum and Scheduling
• Developed, Executed and Managed Several Multi-Million Dollar Budgets
• Led Human Resource Departments Responsible for Finding, Screening, Interviewing and Hiring Management Executives
• Developed and Executed Performance Counseling Programs for Public and Private Organizations
• Retired US Army Combat Veteran with over 20 years Active-Duty Service
• Education: WHS Graduate; University of Vermont, BA; Central Michigan University, Masters in Administration; Graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College; Graduate of the US Department of Defense Armed Forces Staff College
Most people look back fondly on some aspects of their high-school education. Could you tell us what your favorite book from high school was? Why was it your favorite book and should it be required reading today?
There are several: some of the classics like JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and I was always an avid science fiction reader, as the best sci-fi tends to be the best predictor of future scientific advances and technology development; authors like Asimov, Heinlein, Clark, etc..
There were big issues decided by the school board this past year. What do you think about block scheduling and the way the football program was handled?
Block Scheduling and the Football Program were totally mishandled by the WCS Administration and BOE, but they are NOT big issues! This big issues are: 1. The Academic Standing, Academic Performance and Scholastic Achievement of the students of WCS; 2. Finding, qualifying, screening, interviewing and hiring the best possible permanent Superintendent and Elementary School Principle to lead WCS into the future; and 3. Ensuring a budget is constructed for WCS that meets an end state of higher academic performance for our children and one that the school district can afford!
Many of the students educated in the Whitehall school district talk about leaving Whitehall once they graduate and going elsewhere to look for work. Does the school board have a responsibility to cut spending to make the local taxing climate more receptive to jobs and growth?
Unfortunately this question looks at things in too small a scope. In my opinion the level of school board spending will have NO impact on local economic growth and job creation. Whitehall’s economic woes are a symptom of our NYS Governments continued incompetence. Over the last couple of decades our state government has systematically driven corporate America out of NYS, with corporate tax rates that are some of the highest in the nation! That’s where all the jobs have gone (to 49 other states) and that’s why there is so much economic decay from Albany north to the Canadian border!
The job market today is a highly competitive one. Should the school district be doing something that it is not already doing or should it be offering additional classes to see that its graduates have the skills and education necessary for success?
We need to bring business leaders into the school to speak with students and give them first hand factual accounts of the types of jobs that are available today in our country and the world, and the skills they will need to be prepared and competitive!
What is the biggest issue that children face today and what realistically can the school board do to address it?
Probably the biggest issue our children will face as they depart WHS is job opportunity and availability. They need the academic foundation and skills to be competitive in a global economy. The biggest immediate thing that WCS needs to improve and accomplish is to rapidly increase the Academic Performance of our Students: 1. Instill and enforce better classroom discipline and make trouble-makers and their parents accountable; 2. Increase Academic rigor and standards……all of education and acquiring knowledge is not necessarily fun, some of it is just old fashion hard work. I believe I have the right qualifications, background and experience to make a difference at WCS and ask the citizens of Whitehall, Huletts Landing, and Dresden for their support and their vote on May 19 from noon to 9:00 PM. @ WHS. Thank You!