School Boards, Professionalism & Economic Development

This is a key reason why we MUST have a school system that functions professionally. To many of our fellow citizens are out of work. We cannot allow the school board to be the reason why companies bypass our community in favor of another one. Help me change the tone, leadership & direction of the board!

~Matt Shultz

*Courtesy of the Cartersville Patch:

Bartow County’s more than 4,200 unemployed residents drove its jobless rate up in December, according to the state Department of Labor.

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County            Rate

Forsyth             6.5%
Cherokee          6.9
Paulding           8.0
Bartow            8.6
Douglas           8.8
Fulton             9.3

Cherokee County – 6.9%

 

 

Keep Calm….

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Goal of True Education

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Bartow BOE District 3 Map

I have had some people ask me about the BOE district maps. District 3 has been outlined to make it easier to see.

Dist3Map

It’s Time for Transparency (Again)

Here is a link to an article I wrote in 2008 about adding video recording to our school board meetings to make the board more transparent and accessible.  The board discussed making changes to the public participation policy that could lead to restrictions in the community’s ability to address areas of concern.  It would be a mistake to take any action that would further limit public input. Even the perception of something like this just adds to the view that the system is operating inconsistent with public expectations. The idea that the public participation can be moved to any point in the meeting at the discretion of the Superintendent does not provide the consistency our citizens expect. This board must begin the work of earning back the trust of our citizens and that work cannot begin by limiting access to their elected officials.

 

Adam Zyglis Cartoon

Speaking Requests

I am starting to get a lot of requests to begin speaking about the campaign and my thoughts on the future of the school system. If you have a group and would like me to speak please message me on Facebook or on twitter @mattshultz. You can also contact me by email at matt@mattshultz.org  Thanks again to all of those who have reached out!…It has been very encouraging!

School Board Sign

Shultz Announces for Bartow BOE Post 3 Special Election

PRESS RELEASE:

January 4th, 2013

In light of yesterday’s news, I would like to announce that I am going to run in the special election for the open school board seat representing District 3. The education of our children is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a society so that we can pass on the traditions and values of this country. Our children and this community have been let down in recent months and we must all stand up and demand more from those who are representing us. I understand that we must move past personal politics and focus on ensuring that our school system is seen as an asset as new employers seek to locate their businesses here. My service on the board from 2004-2010 will allow me to step in immediately and go to work for the students and teachers of the Bartow County. I am a certified teacher in the state of Georgia with a Master’s Degree in Executive Leadership and I am currently pursuing a Doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction from Liberty University. Our school system will only be effective and trusted again when we ensure transparency and always focus on doing the right things in the right way. My guiding principle will always be the truth…even if that means we have to stand up in front of the community and admit we made a mistake. We have all of the pieces in place to be one of the best systems in the state if we will not get distracted by selfish ambition and personal agendas. With your help and support, I look forward to being the kind of leader that leads from the front, defends the truth, protects the innocent and exhibits personal integrity. If you are willing to go on this journey with me again I would love to have your support in the weeks to come.

Contact: matt@mattshultz.org for further information

Changing Education Paradigms

Election Maps by Population…

2012 County level Results

 

 Same Map adjusted for population

Lessons from the Election…

 

Needless to say I was shocked and dismayed at the results on Election Day.  There is really no conclusion to be drawn other than America in large part voted for bigger government, less freedom and less personal responsibility.  Unfortunately, this country has taken a turn away from our historic roots and towards a very uncertain future.  Here are some thoughts about what it all means for this country…

  • Many people have tried to make this election about race (again) but my objection to President Obama falls squarely on what his policies have been and what he still intends to accomplish.  In his first election, he promised to “fundamentally transform” this country and many people voted for him without even bothering to ask the simple question…Into What?  Time & the Presidents’ record have now answered this question for us.  President Obama is an anti-colonialist hater of what America stands for. His formative years occurred outside of this country and away from all of the experiences that makes one fundamentally American.  President Obama may be a citizen of this country legally but it is becoming clear that he is not an American in the way that a person is who is reared in this country would be. He instead subscribes to a third world anti-colonial belief system that rejects Western philosophy and values.  He also believes that American intervention globally has been an evil inflicted upon the rest of the undeveloped world.  This belief will result in America becoming weaker economically & militarily. His worldview is the antithesis of what this country has stood for since it’s founding. Simply put…President Obama wants to punish America by making this country no stronger or better than any other country in the world. President Obama does not believe in American Exceptionalism.
  • 60+ percent of regular church attenders voted for Mitt Romney & 60+ percent of non-church attenders went for Barack Obama.
  • This is what happens when almost 50% of this country gets checks from the government. We have to reform our entitlement mentality or face the eventual collapse of this country. We were warned:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.”

― Alexis de Tocqueville

  • During this weekend devoted to the Marine Corps birthday & Veterans Day I think about all the sacrifice required to build and defend this nation. All of the people who died pushing back fascism, totalitarianism, & communism…Now we have a party and a President that are intent on destroying America from the inside.
  • The African-American community has actually fared the worst in this bad economy. President Obama has demonized and targeted the people who actually create the jobs for EVERYONE in this country. He has been an abject failure in virtually every metric that Presidents are measured on.  I ask myself would he have been re-elected had he been a white democrat?
  • I don’t understand why the African-American community is so attached to a party that went to war over slavery, created segregation in the South, fights for social programs that keep people in poverty & wants this country to be a weaker place to live. The Democrats have brought & keep minority communities’ in disproportionate unemployment, rates of incarceration, and lower rates of education. The Democrats stand as a party nationally for almost nothing that people of faith believe in. Real change will come to our historically minority areas when historic party allegiance is abandoned in favor of demanding results and accountability. We need more diversity in the Republican Party but it must come based on our values and not through political capitulation….Republicans are the party of Lincoln by the way.
  • Hispanic voters accounted for around 10% of the total electorate for the first time in this countries history.  We must do more to reach out to this constituency and explain what our conservative values really mean.
  • The Republican Party must move past the party of middle-aged white men if we want to remain relevant in national elections. Conservatism has a powerful message but we must make it more relevant to people before election season arrives.  Our investment in young, minority & female voters must be happening all the time and with a message that is real.  We can’t show up 12 months before an election and expect to have any credibility…especially if we come from a different cultural background.

We have had our time to mourn for the uncertainty of this country as a result of last Tuesday. Now it is time to go back to work, keep fighting and make sure that America still stands as a beacon of freedom to the world.  When I enlisted into the Marine Corps, I raised my hand and promised to defend this country against our enemies foreign and DOMESTIC.  President Obama is the most dangerous domestic threat this country has faced since WWII.  Our task will be tougher and the road much longer but with faith and perseverance America will always be that shining city on a hill.

 

 

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