Dear editor:

I am writing on behalf of my friend, former coworker and fellow Troup County Teacher of the Year recipient Cathy Sargent Hunt. Although I no longer live in Troup County, I still care strongly about the system in which I taught for many years and in which my sons were educated.

I believe that anyone willing to put themselves forward to run for the school board does so because he or she cares about children and education in their community. However, sometimes concern, no matter how sincere, is not enough; it takes personal insight and perspective that can only come from time spent in the reality of the classroom.

As a former teacher, I can think of numerous occasions when I felt that the school board’s decisions didn’t fully support or adequately understand the perspectives, problems and needs of those of us who were in the classroom every day. These situations were not caused by a school board that didn’t care, but rather by a school board whose views didn’t properly reflect realistic classroom needs and requirements.

Troup County, like the majority of school systems, continues to struggle financially, while trying to create a rigorous curriculum and deal with behavior issues that are intensified in today’s social media climate. This translates into the need to make some tough choices. At the end of the day, what is needed is someone who understands, firsthand, how those choices will impact the lives of the community’s children and the teachers who instruct them.

Cathy Sargent Hunt is such a person. She is a respected veteran Troup County teacher of almost 30 years who has firsthand experience with what it takes to help students learn and achieve. Cathy has insight into the joys and the struggles of educating young people who come from diverse backgrounds.

When you combine that experience with the inherent characteristics of creativity and flexibility of an accomplished teacher, you have a school board candidate with the qualifications to be a strong advocate and voice for both the educators and the students of Troup County.

When you head to the polls for the July runoff election, choose the candidate who has a record of firsthand experience with the needs of teachers and children in Troup County. Choose the candidate who possesses the creative ability to look at the issues through the lens of a progressive educator – choose Cathy Sargent Hunt.

Ruth Anne Wilson-Jones

Hamilton, Montana