Hollywood, MD – Retiree Jim Davis of Leonardtown is one of two candidates for the St. Mary’s County Board of Education from District 2. His challenger on Tuesday, Nov. 8 is Justin Fiore.
Almost 50 years in age separates Davis from his opponent Fiore. Davis emphasizes his various life experiences in a recent interview at TheBayNet.com. He included education, business, engineering, fiscal management and community service as . The Maryland native served two years in the Army and then went on to get his Masters in Business Administration, run four successful businesses, became a registered professional engineer and go on to work with the General Services Administration (GSA) in Washington, DC. With GSA he was responsible for $1.5 billion in projects in the DC area.
During his life, Davis also taught flight instruction and also taught at the College of Southern Maryland.
Davis likens his age and experience to a recent flight back from London in which the co-pilot was young and the pilot was “a seasoned old guy.” He said he felt safer with and was glad the old guy was flying.
Now that he is retired, Davis said “I have a lot of time” and noted that the school board can be a full-time job.
Davis is satisfied with the quality of the school system, noting the graduation rates. He said when working with GSA he had a lot of interaction with the DC school system, which he said spends almost three times more per child than St. Mary’s, and is known as one of the worst systems in the country.
Regarding needed areas of improvement, Davis lists class sizes and helping disadvantaged students. Davis said he wasn’t the greatest student until he had a mentor take him under his wings and guide him.
Davis opposes Common Core curriculum, saying that the state and local governments are much better at making decisions for schools than the federal government. However, he is not opposed to all federal intervention; for instance, he supports federally funded head start programs.
Regarding disadvantaged students, Davis said some of their educational problems stem from their social background, which the school system is helpless to change. But he said the school system can support those students. That support includes the Chesapeake Charter School, after-school programs and Fairlead Academy. “Every child has a different need,” he said.
Davis has no problem with starting school after Labor Day as mandated by Gov. Larry Hogan. He just wants to make sure that students have enough time off.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com