Race for school board gets only one new candidate

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
Dr. Jim Emerson is the only school board member with competition for his seat in the election this fall.
Incumbents Bryce Beard of the Salisbury district and Linda Freeze, who represens the southeast, face no competition.
Salisbury-area resident Eric Trail, who is an assistant principal at a middle school in Cabarrus County, threw his name in the hat Friday for the eastern district.
Emerson, who represents that district, said he was surprised more people didn’t join the race. Friday marked the filing deadline.
“I think more people should get involved in it,” he said.
Emerson said maybe more people didn’t choose to run because it takes so much time without much pay. School board members earn $200 a month. As the board chairman, Emerson earns $300 a month.
Emerson also said board members “get grief” from parents.
“When you are making decisions involving people’s children, it can’t get more serious than that,” he said.
Trail said he knows being a school board member would be hard work. He had his own ideas about why people didn’t jump on the chance to serve on the board.
“I think it’s partly because no matter what decision the school board makes, everybody’s not going to be happy with it,” he said.
Trail also cited what he called a “strained relationship” in the past between the school board and Rowan County commissioners.
Test scores are another issue, Trail said. He said school boards feel the heat when students’ test scores don’t make the grade. “I think there is a lot of pressure,” he said.
Being a school board member is often a thankless job, Emerson said. In his four years in office, he said, no one has called him to sing his praises.
During the 2004 election, his first, Emerson squared off against two other candidates.
Emerson said he put up signs and participated in public forums to win that race. He plans to actively campaign again, he said.
As a school board member, Emerson said, it’s rewarding to see progress in the school system. That’s why he chose to run for another term, he said.
He said Beard and Freeze share his desire for improvement. “We are a work in progress,” Emerson said. “We want to see it through.”