1) Please tell a little bit about yourself.

My name is David B. South. I was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I am the oldest of six children of whom I helped raise after my father passed away when I was 15 years old. I helped my family continue to run our family owned sawmill, until I went to college at Idaho State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration/Business Engineering degree in 1968. I am married to Judy Lynne South and we have 9 children. My two youngest children graduated from Italy High School. I served on the school board when they were in school, and I am running now at the request of Mike South, my youngest son. I am passionate about education as I have played a huge part in all of my children’s formal education and common sense education. I am the owner of Monolithic Constructors, Inc., in Italy and the Italy Neotribune.

2) What ties do you have to the school district?

I have grandchildren going to school at Italy School District that is part of the Italy we are all a part of. Therefore we are all tied to the school, so what happens at the school is terribly important to us all.

3) Why are you seeking a seat on the school board?

One of my sons asked me to run for the school board. He thinks my past experience will be helpful.

4) What qualifications or experience do you possess that voters should consider?

In the early 2000s, I spent about six years on the school board. I have also built schools and dealt with school boards all over the country. I get to see the latest, the greatest and the worst. Hopefully some of that information will be of some help here.

5) What do you consider your primary responsibility as a school board member?

A school board member should help set the overall direction for the school superintendent and the administration. It is not his/her job to run the school; it is her/his job to get the best people to run the school.

6) What do you consider the most important issue facing our school today?

We need to help all schools provide first class training for our children, but Italy’s schools are our primary responsibility. School years shape the schoolchild’s life. It is very important that we give our students the very best experience. Budgets are always a huge issue. Italy is declining in enrollment a little bit each year. That creates more problems because the decline is never even, so you can’t just spend less. You still need all the teachers.

7) What do you consider the most positive and negative aspect of being a member of the school board?

I have an old friend who was on the school board in his town. He said, “The district patrons elect you to the school board so they can abuse you.” We all know better. The reality is we need the collective knowledge of the board members to help influence better education for the community.

8) What do you think should be the top priorities of the school board after this election?

The top priorities of the school board right now is to complete the selection of administrators and teachers for the next year and to lay out the budget that will allow the school to work on all curriculums to educate, enlighten and uplift both students and their teachers.

9) Are there any policy changes you would seek to implement at the school? If yes, which ones?

At this point and time, I do not have any specific policy changes.

10) What community services have you given the school or community in the past?

In addition to providing services as a school board member, through Monolithic, my company, I have supported the community in parades, shows and community activities. We have furnished the Neotribune to the community, at no cost, to provide positive news for the community. We especially have worked to have pictures and discussions that are uplifting.

11) Explain your position on hiring non-certified teachers.

I think it is terribly important that we hire the best teachers. The best teachers are not always certified. Sometimes they are people who come in from a different vocation. They have the knowledge, but they don’t have the certification. We want the best teachers.

12) How would you maintain a healthy balance between education and athletics?

Athletics are a vital aspect of schools but not the most important one. Athletics need to be kept in their intended realm. Athletics provide healthy, physical activity and can be a source of school pride. On the other hand, the school is not there solely for athletic activities. Schooling comes first. Forty years from now, a student might enjoy looking back and saying, “I played on the football team.” But is is far more important to be able to say, “I really learned my calculus in Italy schools.”

13) Title IX laws pertain to all state funded districts. How do you feel the Italy ISD performs in this area?

Italy High School, over years, has done very reasonably in its performance. Can we make it better? Absolutely! Are we going to make it better? We are going to try!

14) Because discipline is a nationwide problem, what ideas or changes would you like to see to continue to improve school discipline?

Discipline is a nationwide problem and not only in schools. The school board wants to and needs to help set policies with the administrators to help maintain a sensible discipline policy. They must also try their best to teach their community and members of society to be more disciplined, more uplifting.

15) With the current state funding crisis, what ideas do you have to keep the budget trim?

Over the last few years, I watched the school go from a negative position to a positive position. As school board members, we need to be very careful to keep it in a positive position. This will be more difficult if we lose more students, but it can be done. We just have to pay attention.

16) What positive changes within the infrastructure of our schools might be made to retain and/or attract quality teachers to educate our children?

It has been my experience that if you provide a good working environment you will get better workers. That’s true in business and in schools. It’s important to work with administrators to provide the best possible work environment.

17) In what ways can the district’s school board be more open to listen to teachers and parents about their concerns?

School board members are all members of the community. As they interact with the community, board members will get a public opinion on everything they do. The school board member needs to listen and be open to that information. It will always influence what is happening. The same goes for teachers that are also community members. We just need to listen to what people tell us. As board members, it is not our responsibility to do the day-to-day running of the school. That is for the administrators. It is our responsibility to get the best administrators we can and give them our direction and support.

18) What incentives, if any, do you think should be implemented to motivate students to improve their performance in the classroom?

This is a wide open question. I would like to say that we must be in the 21st Century. We must always look for better ways to do things. As school board members, we need to read the news and look at successful, new ways implemented in other areas. We need to be proactive and utilize 21st Century technology. We need to consider distant learning sources and be on the cutting edge of education. That means we need to study what is happening and look to follow the best.