Terry Tracy

What is your background?

Thirty-year resident of Ketchum. Master of education, University of Hartford. Bachelor of Science, University of North Carolina. Sixteen years of public and private school experience, including seven years as teacher, guidance counselor and varsity coach at Wood River High School. Two years as Peace Corps volunteer in Merida, Venezuela. Currently the director of parks and recreation for the city of Ketchum.

What kind of drug testing policy would you like to see implemented in the district?

I cannot, at this time, support drug testing in the school district. In addition to the legal ramifications and the privacy issue, I question the use of drug testing as a deterrent. Drug testing provides everyone involved—parents, students, and school staff—with a false sense of security. We need more communication and involvement and less dependence on artificial rules.

What is your philosophy regarding discipline for students who are caught using or dealing drugs and alcohol? What are some strategies that might help keep these students educated and on the path to graduation?

I assume there is a distinction between using and dealing. I support the district’s zero tolerance for selling drugs and would promote intensive counseling and relevant community or school service for those using or experimenting with drugs and alcohol. I believe that suspension alone rarely serves a positive purpose.

Strategies would include the involvement of faculty, counselors and staff outside the classroom or office, and the establishment of a faculty-advisor/faculty-mentoring program. We could also make use of students involving students and parents involving parents.

What efforts have you made to acquaint yourself with the entire district? If elected, how will you continue to stay in touch with the district’s students, staff, and teachers?

My present position, as director of parks and recreation, brings me in contact with a large group of parents, students and teachers. I’m planning to keep my day job and I will continue to rely on their input. I would also encourage more involvement on the part of media in the coverage of district business, meetings, school programs and agendas. This would help inform the entire community and, hopefully, involve more of the community in our schools.

Several major staff changes—including a new superintendent and a new middle school principal—in the district will bring change to the district. What ideas do you have that might help make this a positive time for the district?

Losing personnel presents a plus and minus situation. While you lose experience, you gain opportunity to take a fresh look at long-standing policies and curriculum. Now, more than ever before, we need to start to share the district’s vision and expectations with the entire community. And, we need to constantly reinforce that vision and those expectations with the students and faculty throughout the year.

What do you think about including a student on the school board, as several other school boards in the nation have?

Discussion of personnel and the need for executive sessions would limit a student’s participation on the board. This is an idea, however, that warrants consideration as a contemporary viewpoint is invaluable. Perhaps we could explore establishment of an advisory student committee to provide input as a regular agenda item. At any rate, I would hope that the board members would seek the input of students on a regular basis throughout the year.

How would you apply what you have learned from the Columbine tragedy to your leadership role in the district? What strategies do you have in mind for dealing with youth violence?