Candidate questionnaire: Bridgette Frazier, District 9 school board hopeful
Name: Bridgette Frazier
Age: 33
Office: Beaufort County Board of Education, District 9-Bluffton
Challengers: Chris Epps, Bill Fletcher, Christina Gwozdz
Number of years living in the area you seek to represent: 22
Family: Husband, Warren Patterson, and three step-children
Education: B.A. in Professional English, SC State University; M.P.A., American Public University
Current occupation/employer: Owner-operator of Deliciously Couture Catering LLC and Gullah Fried Sweet food truck. owner/operator of food truck Gullah Fried Sweet; eighth grade English Language Arts facilitator at Hardeeville-Ridgeland Middle School.
Summary of employment, military and volunteer history: Formerly a teacher for 11 years, eight in West Palm Beach, Fla., and three in the Beaufort County School District, and secretary of the Bluffton MLK Observance Committee, recording secretary of the Bluffton Community Center, and a literacy volunteer.
Please list all public offices to which you've been elected, when and where: None
Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office and when: None
Other prior political and government experience: None
Key endorsements you've received: The South Carolina Education Association, Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton Director Molly Hornbeak, Bluffton Town Council Mayor Lisa Sulka, councilmembers Fred Hamilton, Larry Toomer and Dan Wood, Beaufort County Councilman Tabor Vaux
Contributions: $1,292
Expenditures: $1,254.47
Highest contributor: Leah Ford-$150
Why are you running for this office?
Would a person experiencing a heart attack call a plumber to ask what could be done to save them? Would a person with a gaping hole in their roof call a bakery for an estimate to fix it? If the answer to any of those questions is no, that's why I am running.
Our students and educators deserve to have a person on the board who has more than good intentions, but the actual experience gained through a degree program in education and classroom experience in teaching.
I am a product of the Beaufort County school system and have always been proud of that fact. I would like to take my experience from such a background to give the students of this district all of what BCSS gave to me.
I am passionate about my profession, my community, and our future and am not seeking this office for the sole purpose of firing our superintendent or cutting costs. I am passionate about ensuring that ALL students succeed, teachers are able to work and live in the communities they teach in with ease and I believe that no child or teacher should ever be made to feel that there's only one way to learn or teach.
What should the board do if its proposed 1 percent educational sales tax does not pass?
Re-educate the public in a way that makes the proposal seem less ambiguous and wasteful. The sales tax is not a new phenomenon in funding capital projects, it is a practice that districts have always utilized and will be a need in funding the expansion impending with growth projections, new buildings and renovations of existing structures.
What do you see as the district’s biggest strength and weakness in serving students?
The biggest strengths are educators and staff who are dedicated and vested in the success of their students so much, that at times they place their personal lives, and finances in limbo to educate our county's future. The district's biggest weakness is not valuing educators enough to do what is necessary to retain them in this district so they can continue to mold the minds of our children.
Another glaring weakness is the inability to effectively develop and implement a plan that will allow our minority students to achieve at the same level as their counterparts.
What specific steps will you take to make government more open and accessible to the public?
I'd implement hosting bi-monthly or quarterly sessions with my constituents to keep them abreast of district initiatives and hear their concerns on district matters. The public is indeed why government exists so I'm a staunch believer on keeping them involved and knowledgeable of everything that is going on.
What is another top issue you would address if elected, and how?
Another key issue I'd like to address is ensuring the safety of our staff and students. The district's decision to reduce their budget by cutting out key positions such as hall monitors has placed yet another non-teaching responsibility on our educators.
No teacher anywhere in this country should have to give up their planning period to cover lunch duties, break up fights or monitor halls. An educator should be valued more than a body in the building; they are literally the only profession that oversees the learning of every single profession in existence. Every individual at some point or time in life will have or has had a teacher.
If elected, one of my goals is to definitely ensure the safety of our students and reduce the burden of our educators by hiring hall monitors to be staffed in all of our schools.
Have you ever experienced any of the following: been convicted of a felony; been disciplined by a professional licensing board or organization; had an ethics violation filed against you; filed for bankruptcy; been delinquent on your federal, state or local taxes? If so, please give the details.
No.
Are there any personal details about yourself that voters would be interested in knowing?
My father, Oscar Frazier, was once Bluffton's Mayor Pro-tem and Poet Laureate. He was my inspiration for running for office and was a huge advocate for literacy and education period and instilled that same passion and desire in me.
This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 9:08 PM with the headline "Candidate questionnaire: Bridgette Frazier, District 9 school board hopeful."