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| Joe and Linda Payne |
After much thought and prayer, I have decided to remove myself from consideration as a member of the Greenville City Schools Board of Education. I will serve out my term and step down at the end of 2011. I understand my late decision prevents the Board of Elections from removing my name from the ballot. Even so, I simply ask the good citizens of the Greenville City School District not to vote for me. If by some fluke I am elected anyway, I will resign the position.
Five years ago when The Payne family moved to Greenville I never would have thought I would be serving on the school board. As the years went by, my passion and concern for our schools only increased. I knew, and still know today, that strong schools are not just good for our kids; they are essential for a strong community. When the position became vacant, I applied and accepted the call to serve.
While I still feel called to support our school district, I know my call as church pastor is my first priority. While the folks at First United Methodist have been extremely gracious and supportive in all I do, I have come to grips with the fact that I cannot juggle the demands of both unique positions at the same time, along with that of husband and father. I’m letting one of them go, and this is it. This is my decision and no one else’s, and I feel at peace making it.
What an honor and a privilege it has been to serve on the board this past year! It has given me a tremendous respect for those who have ever served in this capacity in the past, as well as those presently serving. I am honored to have worked with Ben, Cindy, Sue, and Jim. I thank them for appointing me to this unexpired term. I also thank Susie, Carla, Jon, Guy, Dave, Barb, and the whole team at the central office. The Greenville City School district is in good hands.
I am proud of the direction Greenville City School district is going. Our state report card has continued to improve. In just a few years we have gone from a “Continuous Improvement” Rating to that of “Excellent” this year. We have a solid administration in place. We also have a great plan to upgrade our infrastructure so that our children will have the facilities they need to succeed.
To Ms. Banta, and Mr. Matix: should you be elected, I ask that you serve as a team player along with the other members of the board and administration, that you not come with an agenda, and that you always, always keep the interests of the children first. I trust Jim Sommer will do this also.
I want to thank those who have supported me. I thank my church. I thank those who signed my petition. I especially thank those who took petitions so that others could sign. To my wife, Linda, I love you. To my kids, thanks for allowing me to be your dad. Finally, I want everyone to know that when it comes to Greenville City Schools, I will continue to be it’s number one fan.
Just a couple of weeks ago, a young man I know came up to me looking so proud. He wanted me to see his state report card. I know that in past years he had been struggling to keep his grades up. So when I looked at his marks I was amazed to see that most of them were at the very top. Ladies and gentlemen, this is just one child of many, and there are others like him. We have good teachers, aids, classified staff, and administrators. We are on the right track in supporting kids like this young fellow. I urge all of you to join me in getting behind our kids so that more of them can succeed.
