posted April 9, 2008
Joe Dumas, professor and acting head of UTC's Computer Science and
Engineering department, cited his experience as a UTC professor in seeking the District 2 seat on the Hamilton County School Board.
"As a faculty member who is in the classroom every day working with
students, I know that success in college and in life depends on
having a solid educational foundation at the K-12 level," said Dr.
Dumas.
"At UTC, we recruit more students from the Hamilton County schools than anywhere else. I want those students to be prepared to succeed and if my fellow citizens will place their trust in me as District 2's next representative on the school board, I will put my many years of experience in education to work to make sure that happens."
Dr. Dumas joined the UTC faculty in 1993 and was promoted to full professor in 2005. Since last May, he has been leading a department with 10 faculty members and an annual budget of nearly a million dollars. However, he said teaching and advising students are his favorite parts of the job.
"I live for those moments in the classroom or the laboratory when I see a student make a connection with the material. Sometimes you can almost see them physically light up when they 'get it'.
"I also enjoy mentoring students as they progress toward their degrees and, ultimately, find good jobs or gain admission to graduate school."
He said not all students who enter UTC are able to progress smoothly through their programs of study, however. In the process of advising entering freshmen over the course of his career, Dr. Dumas said he has worked with hundreds of students who have required remedial courses in English, math, and other subjects to prepare themselves for college level work.
"Having to take remedial courses can stretch out the process of earning a college degree from four years to five, six, or even longer. Unfortunately, some students never finish. They would have a much
improved chance of success if our K-12 schools did a better job of
grounding them in the fundamentals," Dr. Dumas said.
In order to accomplish that goal, he said he believes the Hamilton County school system must put more of its financial resources directly into the classroom.
"Mr. Tommy Kranz, the HCDE's chief financial officer, has told us that the benchmark of successful school systems is that 90 percent or more of their budgets are spent in the classroom. Currently after eight years of my opponent's time in office, including three as chairman our classroom spending is in the low eighties. That is just not the right way to improve our schools, and I think it is time for a change time to get our schools back on track. We need to cut non-classroom spending, especially in the central office, and put more of our money to work directly for the students. After all, they are the reason our schools exist."
Dr. Dumas has chosen to campaign on a platform of "SAFETY in Our Schools." He said SAFETY is an acronym for his six planks of Safety and discipline; Academic focus; Fiscal responsibility; Effective communication; Transparency and accountability; and Your schools, your voice.
"Students cannot learn effectively if they are constantly being distracted by troublemakers. We must discipline and, if necessary, remove those who are not in school to learn, for the benefit of those who are. And when discipline or other problems come up, we need to be open and honest about them and communicate them to parents and the public in an appropriate and timely manner just as we do when good things happen.
"The current administration has been too eager to sweep bad news under the rug and hope nobody notices. By contrast, I believe that 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' and, as a member of the School Board, I will insist that our system operate accordingly.
"And since communication is a two-way street, I will make myself available to hear what students, teachers, parents, and citizens from all walks of life have to say about how to make our schools the best they can be."
Joe Dumas holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern
Mississippi, a master's degree from Mississippi State University, and
the Ph.D. in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida. He and his wife, Chereι, live in Signal Mountain and attend Signal Crest United Methodist Church. Their two boys attended Hamilton County schools before going on to Middle Tennessee State University.
Dr. Dumas' name will appear on the ballot for the Aug. 7 election.
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