Vance County Board of Education member Linda Cobb, seeking re-election to the District 5 seat, said the school district faces challenges common in many districts, and applauds leaders for their innovative efforts to provide a quality education experience for students and teachers.
Cobb was first appointed in 2019 to fill an unexpired term on the board of education, then was elected in 2020.
The county’s schools aren’t immune to challenges like bus drivers and attracting and retaining certified teachers, but Cobb said she celebrates successes like the creation of the SPARK lab to help students discover future career paths through hands-on experiences.
Her vision for the school system is “to lead and guide our students to success once they finish high school,” she said.
A couple of priorities she has on her radar include building community relationships and making sure students are “catching up” from COVID. “We can’t blame everything on COVID, but we need to make sure we have enough tutors in schools and teachers to teach the kids…what they need to know to progress to the next level,” she said.
Having been an instructor at Vance-Granville Community College for 20 years, she said she’s worked with students who are products of Vance County Schools. In close to 30 years in her role with the Department of Social Services, she’s worked with a variety of people, including children.
She continues that work in her role as a school board member, which includes strategizing “very carefully how we spend the money.”
“Our needs are growing,” she said, “but the amount of money coming to the district is not growing with the need.”
Money that comes from federal and state streams is usually already designated for particular budget items, and Cobb said she believes the district is managing those funds very well. “We just had a clean audit report,” she added.
Some of the stimulus money from the federal government was used for bonuses to employees and to other sustainable things, she said – not on one-off funding for seed money.”
“We always have to put the students first…(making sure) that they’re getting the very best education they can.”
Early voting is underway for the Mar. 5 primary elections.
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