Vote Freddie Gene Walker
District 5 Seat A, School Board
Newspaper questionnaire and responses.
1. What is your background?
I am a life long resident of Loudon County except for the time I served in the
United States Air Force during which included a tour of duty in Vietnam (1967 to
1968). Patrina Shirk Walker and I were married 1965 and Lord willing, on July 3
we will celebrate our 43rd anniversary. We have three wonderful children;
Candida, Kevin, and Keith. Candida is married to Judd Guice and they have two
children; Caitlin who is 5 and Alec who is 23 months. Kevin is married to Lori
and they also have two children; Matthew who is 4 and Maggie who was just born
on June 12th of this year on her father's birthday. Keith and Kevin are
attending Pellissippi State and are working towards their degrees. I graduated
from Lenoir City High school in 63' and we are having our 45 year reunion this
year. I have attended Roane State and University of Tennessee. I have worked in
management at Charles H. Bacon and T. R. W. Knoxville before starting work for
Loudon County Sheriff's office. I have worked for the last 23 years as a
detective, school resource officer, and at this time a road officer. I have
worked with the Lenoir City football youth program for over 25 years. I attended
New Providence Church for most of my life with the exception of three years at
Cave Creek Church and now attend Grace Baptist Church on Ford Road. At Grace
Baptist, I sing in the choir and serve as a church trustee. I am a member of
Lenoir City America Legion Post 21. More Info
www.votefreddiegene.org. I am also a relay for life cancer
survivor and this is my 4th year.
2. Why are you running for office and what are your qualifications for this
position?
This is a critical time for the school board with respect to budgetary and
capital projects decisions. Under these circumstances, it would be easy to make
serious and lasting mistakes if we're not careful. I have served on this board
for 28 years and that experience has prepared me to take a measured and
thoughtful approach to these critical challenges. I have always stood for and
been willing to fight if necessary for what is right. My record demonstrates
that I have earned my reputation for asking the hard questions and expecting
answers. As a Deputy Sheriff, I have worked both at North Middle School, and
Eaton Elementary as a School Resource Officer. This experience provided me with
valuable insights into the day to day operation of schools in Loudon County. I
still have a desire to serve and to help all schools improve. This year Matthew
Walker, my grandson, will be attending the Loudon County School system.
3. What is your opinion of the county schools building program and what do you
believe should be the first priority in the building plan?
I voted against the building program and believe it is too costly for the
taxpayers of this county. There must be a balance between what our children's
education demands, and being good stewards of the taxpayers money. This county
has a lot of citizens who are on a fixed income and are struggling with the
rising cost of just about everything. The first priority is to develop a plan
that will meet the needs of the students, educators, taxpayers, and one that the
funding body will approve.
4. What is your opinion of the proposed wheel tax and county property tax hike
to help fund school systems needs.
I voted against adding the wheel tax resolution to the board agenda. We had not
discussed the resolution previously at a work shop. I voted no after it was
added to the agenda. The wheel tax places too high a burden on the most
vulnerable members of our communities. Further, I don't believe there is
adequate support among voters for the wheel tax to pass. As far as taxes are
concerned, I believe that the people don't object to funding schools, but they
want to know that the school board is being a good steward of their money and
sometimes that means looking at the cost side of the equation instead of just
the revenue side. The people have legitimate grounds to be concerned that there
has been waste in the budget and they are not going to be willing pay more until
that trust that is has been identified and eliminated. Again, I say we must be
good stewards of the tax payers money.
On the other hand, the property tax increase will help our school system and
will be less costly for the taxpayers. We the board must look for ways to hold
down spending and work within the amount allotted for schools. I have not voted
for the school budget in several years. I believe you must justify spending. The
school budget raised 10 million dollars in the past 3 years. The enrollment has
not increase that much but new programs account for most of the cost. I do
support employee 2% raise and would vote to take it from fund balance in the
form of a bonus if we must cut if from the budget.
5. What are your expectations for the county's new director of schools?
I expect a new fresh look at everything going on in our system. I believe Mr.
Honeycutt will evaluate all programs and aspects of the system and will develop
a plan for improvement. I also believe his leadership will help. I like what he
said about where is Plan B on the building program. I feel that he will keep the
board informed on all aspects of the Loudon County School system. A good
decision on board action should be a well informed decision.
6. What do you believe is the most pressing problems facing the Loudon County
School System and how would you propose the problem be solved.
At this time the budget is the most pressing problem. We need to realize
everyone is hurting due to the increase in oil cost and get the budget in line
with what the funding body will approve. With respect to the building plan, we
need to develop a plan that will be accepted by the funding body and the
taxpayers. We need more choices than fund or don't fund a single expensive plan.
Where is Plan B and Plan C? I believe that with Mr. Honeycutt's leadership we
will develop plans that will be acceptable.
Some members of the board need to except responsibility for money spent whether wisely or not. As I said earlier, the vital balance between what the education of our children demands, and what the taxpayer can afford must be reached. Failing to take that duty seriously and live within our means as the taxpayer must in their private lives explains the problems we have. There are many worthy programs that I would love to offer our students, but we cannot practically afford them. I am sure that just about any good parent would tell you the same thing about their family and children. We must stop spending more than we have. Also, many of our problems are self-inflicted. For example, we continue to educated out-of-county students at a cost deficit. It is hard to expect the taxpayer to pony-up more money when we are not being good stewards of what they already made available. Simply put, the most pressing problem is fiscal accountability and you fix that problem by electing a board of education that will be fiscally responsible and accountable. We need to remember as a board that this is the people's money. They just asked us to budget it for them. Its an honor and a duty that we should take seriously and not spend more than they gave us - no matter how worthy we think the expense.