Lillie Brooks and Adam Shirley are running for ACC School Board in District 7

Hello, you're listening to the Athens Politics Nerd podcast. Today, we're taking a look at the Clark County Board of Education. I'm going to interview the candidates running in District 7, former second grade teacher and parapro Lily Brooks, and former member of the Board of Elections and current science teacher Adam Shirley. District 7 runs along Timothy Road, and it also includes West Lake Drive and part of Milledge. Now, let's meet Lily Brooks. Thanks for coming on my show, Lily. >> Yeah, thanks for having me. >> So, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? Um, so where are you from? >> I am from Louisiana. I grew up in South Louisiana. I grew up as a product of both public and private education, and so that plays a lot into some things I'll talk about later. We moved here because of Josh's job. Um, football operations with the university. We lived here for uh 6 years, I think it was, and we had all of our kids were born here. And we uh moved away for 2 and 1/2 years. Josh took some other jobs, but then ultimately we made our way back to Athens. And then, yeah, I have an undergrad in speech pathology, but I did not get my master's degree in speech pathology. I worked on a master's degree in education, which allowed me to teach second grade. And so, yeah, so I moved to Athens and I took a job as a parapro at Cedar Shoals. >> Okay, cool. And why do you want to be on the school board? >> Um, I would like to be on the school board because I first of all, um through all of this time that we've been in Athens, I have been a parent of CCSD students. I've taught in CCSD at Cedar Shoals for just a short period of time, and then uh Barrow for a little bit longer period of time in pre-K. And I um and then I've also become come to be a pretty busy community volunteer. And all of those things combined led me to this decision to to run for school board. The things that I saw as a teacher and and the things again the things like I said that I experienced coming from both a private and public education background of my myself. Uh I went to uh some public schools up until fourth grade and then I went to private school Catholic school all the way from fourth grade all the way through 12th grade. And so um just taking these experiences together and knowing where the need is and knowing the the dynamic of our community and what it looks like as a teacher not only as a teacher but as a parent volunteer when I'm doing things with the parent with the parent organizations the PTOs the PTAs when I'm working with my booster club um providing meals for the track team uh uh volunteering in the media center at the middle school and seeing that side of the um school spectrum it's just been it's been a really interesting just to see all the different facets and how they make up the school system and how running for a position like school board you can affect change or help things be better in all of these different ways. All these different areas. >> Yeah I did want to ask about your qualifications. So so you do have experience both in the school system and then also you have children going through the system as well. >> Yes. Yes I do. I have yes I like I said I I've taught I taught at at Barrow um for two and a half-ish years it kind of got muddled by COVID and so I was a pre-K para in the pre-K program there and then I taught second grade in a full-time classroom in Louisiana in North Louisiana before we moved to Athens. And then yes as a parent I like I said you name it I've done it. PTOs PTAs fundraising chair I have um put on a 5K the Owl Flight here in town that the middle school does. >> Now to Adam Shirley. >> Thanks for coming to my show, Adam. >> Hey, thank you for having me. >> So, let's start by um telling us about yourself. Um so, where are you from originally? >> Oh, originally I was born in South Carolina, uh lived there for about 2 months, and then grew up basically 10 years in Florida, 10 years in Missouri, came to UGA, and then with the exception of 2 years I spent in Japan, I've been in Athens since 2001. >> Okay, and what do you do? >> I teach eighth grade science. >> What's that like? >> Oh, it's awesome. It's uh baby physics and baby chemistry. We uh light stuff on fire and blow stuff up for for science though, so it's okay. >> Cool. So, how long have you been doing that for? >> I've been teaching eighth grade science for 10 years. And then I taught seventh grade for a couple years in there. Uh I've been a substitute teacher before that, a paraprofessional. So, 18 years altogether in classrooms, 14 years as the lead teacher. >> Wow, so 18 years in at >> in any capacity. >> Clark County schools? >> No. Uh so, in in Commerce and in Clark County. So, 18 years total, 2 years in Japan, and in Clark County a year and a half as a substitute, about a year as a paraprofessional, 2 years in seventh grade there, and then 13 years now in Commerce. So. >> Okay. Or in Athens. >> No, no. I I live here, but I teach in Commerce. >> Oh, you teach in Commerce? >> Yeah, yeah. You can't be on the school board and teach in the same school system. >> Oh. >> There's a state law against that. Um and I tell my neighbors that I've been meeting, as much as I love running for school board, I would not give up my day job for this. I love teaching too much to have to pick between >> Oh, I didn't realize that. >> So, there's there's nobody who teaches in Clark County who is even able to legally run for school board. >> Okay, I I guess that would be a weird conflict of interest, wouldn't it? >> I can see it both ways, right? Like it's a conflict for sure, but then like I can run for Congress and have conflicts in Congress, and that's okay. Cuz then we're kind of robbing ourselves of the chance to have kindergarten teachers, 10th grade algebra teachers, you know, principals running for school board who really really know how this stuff works. But, I can see it both ways. >> So, uh why do you want to be on the school board? So, the main reason is there's two three main reasons I want to run. First is a passion for education. Like I just from 18 years in the classroom, I know that our students deserve the very best we can give them. I know that the these teachers that are with our kids for let's face it a third of their lives, right? 8 hours a day from ages 5 until 18, our kids are spend time with teachers. And so, we need to make sure the teachers have the best possible support they can have. I just I know that from an educator's perspective. And so, I want to be on the school board to help. The second main reason I want to run is because I understand what the job is for the school board and what the job is not. And that second part wouldn't have meant anything to me before I got involved in like local government with the Board of Elections and the SPLOST committees that I've worked with, but I've learned from speaking to neighbors and observing the school board and frankly watching other people that work in different parts of the government that we have ideas of what we ought to do if we're in that position that sometimes don't quite match with what the actual scope of the job is. And that job is to say, this is the goal, the mission and vision for the school system. We're going over there. That's where we're going, y'all. Second thing, hire superintendent who will take us there and say, "Superintendent, go. Take us there." Third, set a budget. Consult with the superintendent and find get their recommendations, but ultimately the school board sets, "Here's how much money we're going to get for you. We know how much is coming from the state, how much the federal government gives us. We're going to set the millage rate that sets how much the local share will be, but here's the money, superintendent. Go." And beyond that, there's not much else that the school board does. They they can set the broad contours like board policies that set some general constraints on what it's going to look like getting over there like code of conduct, dress code, hiring and firing, review of disciplinary things, but that's as close as the board gets to actual day-to-day operational stuff. The bulk of that like 99% of the day-to-day operations, is the superintendent's job. And so, understanding that apparently puts me in the minority. So, I understand what the job is and what it's not, and that makes me qualified. I learned from working on the Board of Elections for 5 years that if you come in with these ideas and think I can change it, let me flip over the tables and burn the place down, that's not what the job is. The job is to be part of a group who builds consensus cuz a lot is riding on this. And just like for elections with 80,000 some odd voters wanting us to get it right, with 13,000 kids helping we get it right, we have to make sure that we know what the job is so we can do the best by them cuz we don't get a second chance with the kids. So, the second main reason I want to run is that. And then third, I just I know that I have the right skill set for this because of my work with the Board of Elections and with the SPLOST committees, this idea that sometimes the wheels have to move slowly to get something right. Um and this can infuriate people, it can bore people, it can make people so exasperated and I've known this from talking to friends and family about the Board of Elections. They just say, "Can't you just make it move faster?" And really I've learned that it's not supposed to. With so much riding on something being done correctly, the wheels have to move very slowly to be sure that everybody, as much as we can, is on board with it and we're leaving nobody behind. And so, whereas I've spoken to some people who want to just go in there and knock stuff over and and change everything around, I know we can't do that. We can't afford to do that. And so, like my temperament, my understanding of what the job is, and my passion for education are really what led me to want to run for the school board. >> Yeah, I want to talk about the knocking stuff over a little later. Um Um but I did want to ask about your qualifications. I I think you think you touched on that, but uh so you do have experience in the school system. And and and you have a child who is not maybe not quite yet in the school system. Is that right? >> Uh our son is going to begin at Holston in August. Uh pre-K. >> That's exciting. >> yeah, we're just beginning. I've spoken to many neighbors who have graduates that have gone on and I tell them we're at different ends of the journey, right? Like yes, we have a student who'll will there for pre-K in August. So. >> Yeah, so about the knocking stuff over, I attended the last candidate forum put on by the Family Advisory Board and I was just kind of struck by the dire assessment that some of the candidates had of the school system, like where we're at, like they're saying that our kids can't read. The district isn't doing anything to help them and like some of the comments I thought they were saying like maybe this intentional they're not doing anything to help them. Um At least that's that's what they made it sound like. Um but like I know there are some great teachers there, like my sister is a teacher. I know how hard she works. Right. So what's going on here? Like are our schools that bad? You know, like >> What's the deal? >> I I won't pretend to know, of course, what is happening in every single classroom across the school system, right? I won't That's not a fair thing for anyone to try and say. I will say that from my assessment when I worked in at Coyle Middle School, from speaking to the neighbors that I've spoken to, there's not one simple answer, right? It's all these things at once. It is a school system that is working great for some people. It's a school system that is failing miserably for some people. It's a school system that's just kind of there for some people. It's all these things at once and so for example, it is it is true that the numbers show that our reading scores are not where they should be at all. It was true that people that were pointing out and characterizing the system as failing the students in terms of getting them to read. Absolutely. And I share the concern about we must make sure our students can read. Absolutely. But what I worry about is the devil's in the details. If we tried to go scorched earth, it's all about reading, okay, but there's it's a zero-sum game, right? There's not more money coming from anywhere. So whatever money we want to route to or divert to reading with the best of intentions, great, but it must come from somewhere. And so my understanding is to help with these things, we can help better our student outcomes by getting the superintendent in there that we understand is qualified for the job, making sure they are supported, and making sure that they are doing right by our kids based on what we're hearing from the community, what we're hearing from principals, what we're hearing from teachers, and be able to then use our voice to speak to other groups outside of the county. This is a key part that I'm not hearing from many, many other candidates. There's a role that the school board has to play because only 40%, maybe 50% of our budget comes from local sources. We We have control over that. The millage rate, we can control that. But, the 50%, if not more, of the budget comes from federal and state sources. And so, we can be inward facing as much as we want, but the school board really has a role to play to talk to our legislative delegation, to talk to the governor's office, to talk to our federal our senators and congressmen about what they can do to help us also. So, to answer your question, what's going on in Clark County? We have people trying their very best to do right by our children with limited resources. I think that is the simplest, tidiest package I can put it in. There's exceptions. I'm sure there are some teachers who are not as good as they should be. There might be some administrative bloat, some positions that might not should be there. I don't know that for sure, but I accept that's possible. But, I think it's a much more complicated answer to go any further than we have some things that are working, some things that are not working at all, and to try and fix that is a very delicate balancing act because you don't want to, to use a kind of gross uh figure of speech, lose the baby with the bathwater, right? We don't want the good things that we're doing to get sacrificed in the name of helping shore up some of the bad things. Cuz there's a lot of good happening, and we There's a lot of bad happening. And to try and fix that, we have to be very careful how we proceed. So, to wrap up my answer then, um I don't despair that I don't have the answer because I'm not running for superintendent. If I were running for superintendent, I would be genuinely deeply concerned about what am I going to do with the numbers here on this end of the thing. I take comfort in the fact that I will be one of nine people who come together and share the perspectives of our neighbors, and put our heads together, and try to make the best possible solution. >> Um one thing you said is that we have limited resources, which of course is true. The flip side of that is um the people who don't like our schools or whatever, they'll say um you know, they actually spend a lot of a lot per student here like more than in some other places that maybe have better scores. >> For sure. >> So yeah, how how how do we square that? Like how is more resources the answer? Is that what we need or is it really something else? >> So it's it's a great question and a lot of neighbors have shared that sentiment. Like what is my money going toward? Is what I've heard from a lot of people whose doors that I've knocked. And it's it's it's a valid question. Like ultimately, if we can have all the research-based, evidence-based best practices, but if the people that pay the taxes don't feel like it's helping, they're going to make a lot of noise about understandably why the taxes should be lower because why am I going to I can burn money in a pit in the backyard and get the same test scores, right? Is is the kind of sentiment that I've heard from some neighbors, right? Um so my answer is not shovel more money at the problem. My answer is not what we ought to do is just blank. My answer to how we go about with the funding shortfalls, I think the way we solve this is one, to address the concerns that people have about the local taxes being so high. Like one of the most common concerns, especially from our neighbors that don't have kids in the school system, they just now see the the the school M&O tax line on their property tax bill. They don't see their kids' report cards. They don't go to graduation anymore. My approach to helping those concerns is to help bridge the gap and help them understand where their money is going to. This money is not getting them to where we want them to be, but this these resources that you are paying in taxes are helping us get them further along than they would be otherwise. It's hard to prove that, right? Think of how bad it would be if we weren't paying for this. It's kind of a difficult thing to convey, but that's the job of a school board as far as I understand. We our our school administration, they're busy running the schools and helping our students. I see the school board having a role to play knocking on doors, having town halls, uh fielding emails and phone calls, helping to have this conversation and say, "You might not agree with what we're spending it on, but I assure you this is what it would look like if we didn't do this. These are the gains we've made since this program began. We're not where we should be, but we're much better off than we were before. And so, I think the core issue there with the money is helping people understand I, and as far as I can tell the rest of our colleagues on the school board, do not view it as a pot of money in the sky. That's just somebody else's money. It's your money and my money, and I'm treating it like as if it were our piggy bank and our bunch of our budget. If I see a $3,000 property tax bill like ours was for schools. That was the share we went to schools. Just to schools. I'm not taking it lightly the responsibility of spending the money for our children. And then, the last piece of this is looking outside of the local level. The state money coming in is generous, for sure. There is lots and lots and lots of money, as any legislator will tell you, the largest single item on the state budget is education, and they love talking about that. And it's it's it's worth being being mentioned. But, it seems disingenuous to me that we have so many legislators who are allowed to get away with saying things like, "We gave X billion dollars for state school state school funding. It should be enough." It seems to me like numbers that are that big don't mean anything to us. It's like, I don't know anything about roofs. I didn't know about roofs at all till our roof came time to be repaired and replaced. And the if you had told me, "Well, we gave you $8,000 for a roof. That's plenty." If I don't know about roofs, I'll think, "That seems You know what? You're right. Maybe someone did rip me off." But, if roofs really cost $21,000, unless you know how much a roof costs, you might be fooled into thinking, "Man, $8,000 generous. That was plenty of money." I'm kind of making those numbers up, but the point is we it's we're all so busy. It's hard to really understand it costs a lot of money to teach kids, especially kids who come from really struggling backgrounds. And we happen to have, for reasons that could be a whole different conversation, a high concentration of those students in this area. And so, I would point out that it seems to me that the fact that we have a lot more money per student being paid per pu- per pupil and much less achievement rate to show for it is more a function of the other circumstances outside of the school walls. I think the better we do at organizing and communicating with people, the better that our neighbors will have our backs and say, "Yes, Senator. Yes, Governor. Y'all need to send more money to these schools. It's not just that you gave them enough. They need more for these reasons." >> Back to Lily Brooks. First, she'll talk about her volunteer work with the Foundation for Excellence. Then, we'll get into her opinion about Clark County schools. >> Uh I was on the Board of Trustees for the Foundation for Excellence in public schools for Clark County. We offer grants to teachers for different projects. They have to apply for the grants, classroom grants, and then also we honor teachers. We recognize teachers for certain things. So, that was a really fun experience to be a part of that. And we also do a lot with the Teacher of the Year celebration. We kind of support the celebration every year, the the dinner that they have. So, yeah. >> And so, so we do have good teachers in the school system. >> Absolutely. We have some phenomenal teachers in this district. The teachers that have been in my kids' lives these last 5 years of middle school teachers have just been I mean, we've experienced some of the most phenomenal teachers. It has It has excited my kids in ways that I would have never imagined. Their interest in social studies and foreign languages and things like that has just really piqued through in their experiences with those teachers. And then the high school, the same thing. They They're truly teachers who truly care about these kids and and their success and all of this They also are teaching them like young adults. They are treating them like they are going to be in college very soon, and they they do expect them to be independent and and take care of their assignments and all those sorts of things. So, it is just a really It's been a really fun experience to watch my kids go through the system and experience the the dynamic teachers and the the I can't say enough about the teachers in Clark County. >> But, there was a candidate forum that you were at and I was also there. That was the only one I've been to, so maybe the other ones have been different, but I was kind of struck by the dire assessment that some of the candidates had of the school district. Like they're saying like our kids can't read. >> So, I I would I mean, if you look at the statistics, there are some statistics that point to some of our schools are in what's called a failing they were put into a failing category a few years ago. They have been giving given state by the support by the state and even the federal government to help come out of that. And hopefully this this testing cycle that they did the test the milestones they just took a few weeks ago are supposed to be the test that pull them out, hopefully, of of this failing status. But, yes, we have a lot of students who are passed along cuz I don't know if the at the forum this was also said and I might have been the one to say it, but we have a no fail policy. We do not fail our students. We pass them along even if they are not I think there are some summer school opportunities and some remediation opportunities, but it is not the same thing as them having to change repeat the grade and truly making sure that they understand what they need to know their basic knowledge to move on to the next grade. I have a teacher Sorry, I have a friend who is a teacher and she is a third-grade teacher and she says they are getting to her classroom without the ability to read and that should shock everyone. >> It It shocked me. I'll I'll I'll tell you. I mean, I I went through the Clark County school system myself. I think I turned out okay. >> Yeah, and I know many, many people who did and I and then that's the thing, and then that's what it boils down to is that we want these these students to have the the all the tools and all the things that they need to succeed in life and to make it out of okay, I mean for lack of a better term and just be able to take what they are given as part of their education and and be successful community members. They I don't I don't mean they all have to go to college. I don't mean they all have to go to any sort of post graduate, you know, post high school education, but just being productive members of society and being able the the the everything we do is based on our literacy of reading and writing and math. And those if those things are not there, we're not setting them up for success. >> I mean, are those things there though for I maybe not for every student, but like as a whole, do you think like our how bad are our schools? I guess is what I'm asking. Like >> Well, >> should we be so concerned as what they're kind of making it out to be? >> I wouldn't say that {quote} {unquote} our schools are bad. I would say we have students in our system that are not meeting the the standards. And so because of that, it looks like we are because there are schools, like I said, that are failing. We do have pockets that are not meeting the standards. And I but that is that is honestly I no to no fault of the teachers. It's to no fault of the students. It's to no fault of the parents, but it's it's a system it's it's a it's a it's a village type thing. It's something that we all kind of need to help out with and work on and make sure that these kids are getting what they need and if they're not if they're not getting the support at home, then maybe we piece in the help that they need and the the support that they need if they're not getting the support from home or if they're you know, if they need some extra work extra time for tutoring or something to make sure that they are reading on level, provide that for them and those sorts of things. So I would never I would I do not say that we are a bad school district. I don't cuz I don't believe that. I believe that we are a great school district that people just haven't seen all of. >> But but we do have some problems. So, I don't want to put this all on on your own the school board because I agree I think I agree with you. It is a village kind of situation. Um but but how can we start to solve this? And how can you start to solve this as a school board member? >> So, I think one of the biggest hot topics that we now we've spoken about and all those sorts of things is just the the literacy piece. The the literally making sure that they can read on grade level. And whatever grade level that I mean in Mississippi they have a third grade reading gate. They had that we that Mississippi is actually one of the states that we lived in for a short period of time while we were gone from Athens. And um third grade reading gate. So, if they can't read at third grade, you you don't pass them along until they are up to speed. So, but you also have to follow them and you have to make sure that they are on you get they make it to third grade, great. And then what what happens at fourth grade? Like do they continue? And hopefully once they get past a certain threshold. I don't know the statistics on this or any of the data or anything, but hopefully once they get past that threshold of being fluent in reading, hopefully and understanding, they they they can take that and and move along with that. But again, it's important that the teachers are putting forward curriculum and it's and the district is putting forward curriculum that that is meaningful enough to create that to to continue to sustain itself. But also parent involvement as in they're going home at night and they're saying, "Okay, how how was school today? What you know, what did you learn today?" Or and not and not even like that specific, but how how are you progressing and make and staying as as much on top of it as teachers are, parents should be doing kind of the same thing and checking in and making sure. So, then then you get to the end of the year or the middle of the year or whatever when you have these parent-teacher conferences and you don't say, "Oh, I'm sorry. They They can't read or they they are they are deficient in these areas or whatever." So, I think the the biggest piece right now is the literacy piece. And I do know that we have they have changed some of the curriculum as far as phonics. They've They've gone back to a more basic phonics phonics instruction these last few years. The The wheels are turning. It's and hoping we'll we will see some of the fruits of all of that in the next few years as as that is brought back to light. So, I would say the number one thing, the hot topic, is literacy. So, and then of course there was other things. There's there's absenteeism. There that that that that plays a part, too. And but then that also goes back into the parental involvement I'm talking about. Parental involvement means the parents, the family members, the community members making sure that those kids get to school not just to school but to school on time. Cuz if they're missing the first thing of the day and it's math lesson, then they've just missed an entire lesson on And if they do it every morning, that's a whole you know, that's weeks or weeks. So, it's um that's that's another item that can play into the literacy piece and just the the the whole building the students up in a way that is giving them the the basis, like I say, the the ability to take this education that we are giving them and be successful community members. >> And but if they don't get to school on on time, if they can't read, um I guess I'm hearing you say that they maybe should be should be held back. >> Yeah. I I think so. I think I I absolutely think that they should be held back because I think that they they deserve the chance to truly learn what it is. And if they are not truly learning, then there's another there's another step in there that we need to take. I don't know if it's a like I say, extra time with tutors and after school program or there's a lot of family involvement needed there to to support these children in a way that they can be successful. And so that is that is also a huge layer of it. And if and and I understand that that families do not have the structure that that support kit their their students in the most efficient way. But there that's why we lean on community members and we lean on things like the boys and girls club or or some a tutoring program or an after school program or something like that so that then if the parents are working until 5:00 and then they have to pick their child up from school, they have sat and at school, yes, they're sitting at school a little bit longer, but at least maybe they've taken that time to get a little bit of support in whatever subject they are um not doing well in or that they just need a little bit of extra time in. >> Back to Adam Shirley. What is the main way that you feel that you can help solve some of these problems you know, as a school board member? Like what are you bringing to the table? >> What I bring to the table is the understanding that it's not about me, it's about we. And as trite as that sounds, it really needs to be the mantra of everyone on the school board. I learned from the Board of Elections. I was one of five people. Not a single one of us could walk in and kick the door in and say, "This is how we're doing it, y'all. It's my way or the highway." It it doesn't work that way. Even if that person's idea was perfect, it's not about that. It's about getting everyone's insight, having each of us at the board at the school board table go talk to our neighbors, run it by them, and come together and organically build this idea, this initiative, this solution, whatever, and move forward from there. I think that understanding that I have sets me apart from a lot of folks who haven't had the experience. Six years ago, I would not have appreciated the nuance involved in that because I I I still sometimes catch myself thinking, well, this idea is just the factually best idea for something. We just need to simply say it loud enough and say it long enough and folks will just have to get in line. That's not right. There's the interpersonal component of this. There's the fact that we need to have human conversations with each other, disagree about stuff, agree, let it sit, come back next month and talk about it some more, and let it marinate more and just organically let let a consensus kind of coalesce around things. I think that's the one core understanding that I feel like I bring to the table as a school board member. And then also right behind that is better than anybody else on the school board, I would say I understand the frontline teacher perspective better than anybody else. Not that I have all the answers. Not that my perspective trumps anybody else's, but if it comes down to how will this new initiative look 8:00 in the morning when the kids come down the hallway at the middle school? I will have a better sense of that than any of the other colleagues on the school board, though they have expertise also, their expertise is not in the school classroom like mine is. >> Also at the forum, a lot of the candidates said that they wanted to if if there was like a failing student to hold them back a year. And then you gave kind of uh sort of a hesitant answer on that. Do you mind like repeating that answer for for the podcast audience here? >> Yes, I would be happy to and I'm thankful you brought this up. I understand the sentiment. I absolutely understand the sentiment. Um the the the question is do we do we retain students who are failing? If so, when? I believe was how they kind of posed it. And my response at the time was, I get it. I get the reason why you would, but the devil's in the details because let's say I teach eighth grade right now. Let's say the eighth grade class at Clark Middle or at Coile or BHL or Hilsman, if we had out of let's say 250 students in the eighth grade, if 100 of them are failing, I'm making these up. I don't know if these are the real numbers, but if 100 of them are failing, if we said, "You're back here next year." Or maybe go down to third grade. Someone was saying third grade as the as the sweet spot. If we bring them back next year, you suddenly have the same wing of classrooms with the same number of teachers with 100 new students that just showed up, functionally. Which is a logistical nightmare. I'm not saying we couldn't get there, but that to to know this in April when you have kids coming back in August, you have 4 months to find teachers, find room for them. And and maybe you could say, "Well, there's like you just slide them down because the fourth grade or the the next grade level will be have 100 fewer kids. We'll just slide some people around." Okay. Okay. Sure. But it kind of becomes chaotic and it kind of gets unorganized in a hurry. And maybe it's worthwhile. Maybe. I'm not saying no, never. I'm just saying, "Woo!" Again, the teacher perspective on the hallway. If you have those kids coming back the next year, is it good for the kids? Maybe. I believe the results The research is mixed on whether it actually helps to retain a kid. I totally get the message it sends because if I have that person come back next year, they will they will probably be a little more a little more likely to, you know, hunker down and get to work because they know that we're not playing around. And also the kids around them will know. They'll know that kid, they brought him back or they brought her back. We better be careful. They're not playing around. I get the value of that. But then is it really best for that student that got retained? Is there not something else we could do instead of retaining them? So again, maybe the answer after all this is, "Yep, retention is the least worst option." And I I would be fine with that if if the consensus could coalesce around that. I'm not the best for like, "Yes, this. No, this." because I just know that we're dealing with people. Right? There's just humans in the classroom and their parents and their home life. And if the teachers have been the right fit for them, and there's just so much going on for this picture to simply bring like an artificially simple answer is is just not fair to the the humans that we're dealing with. >> So. >> Yeah, I know I think there is there is a lot to it. Anyway, um is is there anything else that any other like really important issues in this race that we haven't talked about yet or anything else that you think voters should know before they cast their votes? >> I think that you've given me a chance to cover most of what I wanted to say. I think that what sets me apart is there is no other candidate that I've met going for this school board seat who has the combination of first-hand experience in the classroom. I was in the classroom today. I'll be there tomorrow. I plan to be there for the next 12 years. And somebody who also has experience with managing a local government. Like being being in some branch of the local government and having that sense of things are riding on you. Staff is depending on you setting the right policy and not micromanaging them. Uh I think that I have a foot in both of those worlds and I don't believe any other candidate in this contest does. >> All right. Well, thanks for coming on my show. >> Thank you so much. I really appreciate it, Chris. >> Back to Lilly Brooks to close it out. What's the main way that you feel that you can help solve some of the problems we do have and make our schools even better as a member of the school board? Like what do you bring to the table? >> Um the main way that I think I can help is just that I I bring so many different background. I've come from every angle of a parent, a teacher, and a community member. I've I The quote is I've seen it all. So, I've I've I've seen every angle of the school district and knowing all of these angles and knowing what it looks like for some of the kids that could that come to our school district who maybe didn't eat food all weekend or things like that. I I know that side of it cuz of cuz of my teacher side of it. The parent side of it, I know what my kids have experienced. So, I take what my kids have experienced. I've also and then my my volunteering and my community time, I take the what the experience that I have with the kids that I've worked with in those and and the district employees and the teachers and and staff members of all the schools that I've worked with. I know their experiences. I mean, I don't know their experiences cuz I'm not in their shoes, but I I know enough. I've been around enough to know I mean I mean I've been a part of Clark County School District for almost 10 years now as a parent and teacher and a volunteer. So, I I just feel like I've I've been doing this a long time in different roles and now I'm putting it all together and that's what I bring to the table. >> Okay. Um is there anything else that you think voters should know about you or about this election or just about in general any other topics that like important issues that you that we haven't discussed yet? >> Um one of my one of my platform pieces that I love to give a plug for is the Athens Career and Community Academy um ACCA and it is well, most people don't know that it exists. It is a program in high school that students can go to in 10th through 12th grade and there are pathways where they can get some sort of pre-college certificate really for some of them to have some base knowledge of any I mean, there are it's like teaching as a profession, cosmetology, biotechnology, entertainment, sports, and event management, firefighting. There are numerous, welding. I think they do welding at Cedar. But anyway, it is a phenomenal program that is available to students at Clark Central and Cedar Shoals and I just I think it is one of the best the most unknown secrets of the Clark County School District and I think that it it should be given all the support and all of the things that it deserves because it it it changes kids' lives. I think it gives them the opportunity to see what could lie ahead for them or even if it doesn't. There's also a culinary program. They don't necessarily have to be interested in going and cooking at a restaurant eventually, but just knowing those skills like learning how to cook a meal or and giving you the kind of the basic skills of what it might look like to work at a restaurant. So, it I'm just fast I've ever since I learned about it, I've been fascinated by it and I'm actually on the advisory board for the entertainment, sports, and event management. I always get I have to think about it. ESEM is the acronym. But, I I'm I'm I'm a huge proponent of it and I'm I just I think it needs to be supported and and spoken about so that more people can know about it. So, anyway, that is one of my huge passions of CCSD. So, thank you for letting me speak about it. >> Yeah, absolutely. And thanks for coming on my show. >> Yeah, thank you so much. >> Thanks for listening, y'all. This is the last podcast I'm going to be able to do before May 19th. I wish I could do more, but I am just one person over here and there were so many candidates this time. I really needed another week or two, but it is what it is. So, my job is over at least until the runoff. Happy voting. APN out.