Page 6
The Compass
April 29, iM
On the campaign trail. . .
PoUtichin
Bob Thorne promises a
‘commitment’ to schools
By Lisa Gregory
44
I
made a commitment
to education 23 years
ago,” said Bob
Thome. “It’s my life. I know it,
and I know it well.”
Thome, a veteran English pro
fessor at ECSU, is a candidate for
the at-large seat for the Pasquo
tank County Board of Education.
“Teaching has been good to
me,” he said, “and I would like to
share my experience with the
people of Pasquotank County.”
Thome has twenty years of
classroom teaching experience,
including secondary school tea
ching. He has a Ph.D in English
and education from Duke Univer
sity.
“The Pasquotank School Board
needs a professional educator at
this time,” said Thome. “I be-
Heve I’m the person to get the job
done right.”
Thome said he could under
stand many educational prob
lems unique to this area because
he is a native of North Carolina
and “a 16-year resident of Pasqu
otank County.” He is committed
to changing the educational sys
tem by improving drop-out pre
vention programs, drug preven
tion programs, school discipline,
extra-curricular programs,
school-sponsored tutorials and
teacher morale.
To help solve the dropout prob
lem, Thome beUeves the county
should create an alternative high
school. “We have a dropout pre
vention officer here, but he can’t
do it all by himself.
“If we could just keep every
kid in this country in school,
starting this year, we could retire
the national debt by 1992. That’s
how important drop-out preven
tion is. We can’t allow one fourth
of the next generation of taxpay
ers to be lost.”
If elected, Thorne said he
would work with other members
of the board to remove “an all too
frequent confrontational and ad
versarial relationship within the
board itslef,” and to improve the
public’s confidence “in the
board’s ability to act profession
ally in all matters.”
£
L
The Rev. Charles Foster, Director of the ECSU University Center, tells students of
his plans to improve educational facilities in northeastern North Carolina.
/ can t think of anyone better
to serve on the Board of Educa
tion than a qualified educator.
It just makes good sense
Bob Thome
Photos by Richard Mclntire
Photo by Richard Mclntire
ECSU English professor
Dr. Robert Thorne helps
his daughter Ashlee with
her homework. At right,
Thome feeds Fred, the
family’s dog.
Thorne also seeks a wider role
for citizens in the educational
process. “I want to put the word
‘public’ back into the term,
‘elected public official,’ and give
our electorate a more responsive,
more representative school
board.”
Although school board elec
tions are non-partisan, Thome, a
Democrat, admits that he op
poses some of the Republican
party’s stands on education, par
ticularly on funding.
“They are against seeking al
ternative funding for the public
schools,” he said. “They want to
immediately vote in a local bond
referendum, which Governor
Martin has been advocating.
That’s something that the tax
payers in this county can not af
ford.
“We need better schools, but
we need to explore every option
available to us before we commit
our children to an exorbitent pay
back.”
Thorne believes there are more
“creative” ways to raise money,
such as through the hospital’s
surplus funds, and other major
businesses entering into a part
nership arrangement such as
lease-purchase.
“There are a lot of good things
going on in this community as far
as growth and expansion are con
cerned,” he said. “They are
going to build an elementary
school in Providence Township,
north of Albemarle Hospital, and
remodel P.W. Moore. This plus
the school under construction in
Weeksville clearly demonstrates
the community’s pride in our
schools.”
Thome said he had an initial
problem running for the school
board. The only seat he was qual
ified to nm for was the at-large
seat, which was held by ECSU’s
Hezekiah Cooper. “I couldn’t run
against him, because he has
voted the way I would have voted
for the last year and a half,”
Thorne said.
“When Mr. Cooper decided to
run for the city seat, his old seat
vacated, so I decided to run. It
was his graciousness, along with
some serious doubts I have about
the present school board, plus
some influential people asking
me to run, that helped me de
cide.”
Thome has high hopes for the
Pasquotank Coimty School sys
tem. “I can’t think of anyone bet
ter to serve on the Board of Edu
cation than a qualified educator.
It just makes good sense.”
Thorne is married to Judy Guil-
let Thorne, the home-bound tea
cher for Pasquotank County. The
couple has two children, Ashlee,
16, and Anna-Barrett, 13. Ashlee
is a student at Northeastem High
School, and Elizabeth attends
Elizabeth City Middle School.
Thorne is listed in Who’s Who
in America, Who’s Who of
Emerging Leaders in America
and Cambridge Men of Achieve
ment.
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