I am a native of Pensacola and a product of the Escambia County School System. My wife and I have lived in District 5 for 37 years. Both of our children attended school in District 5 and graduated from Tate High School. I was band director at Tate High School from 1971 to l987, and my wife taught at Tate from 1973 to 2006. After leaving Tate, I was an administrator at the district and school level until retiring in 2007. My main areas of concern are: 1. Give the people of District 5 the representation they deserve.  District 5 is the largest district geographically and must have a representative that will see to the

needs of all the schools. Your school board member must attend school board meetings, return phone calls and e-mails, and visit the schools to see what the school's needs are by meeting with principals, teachers, other employees, parents, and students.

2. Make sure that all schools and students are receiving the education they need to be successful in the future. I certainly believe in the need for all students to be able to perform at grade level, but we must make sure that students are given the opportunity to be involved in the other very valuable courses offered in schools. We must make sure that college-bound students are given a challenging curriculum to prepare them for post-secondary education, but we must also offer the classes that will prepare students for the world of work. Approximately 30 to 35 percent of the students in Escambia County Schools attend college, and we must make sure that all students are prepared to enter the work force.

3. EMPHASIZE THE POSITIVE. Our school district has many wonderful things happening, but we seem to hear only about the negatives. I will personally work with each school in District 5 to offer incentive programs for high-achieving students and for students making gains of any kind. I will work to promote the successes of groups and teams of students so that everyone in Escambia County will hear of the successes of District 5. My question will not be, "What is wrong but what can I do to help?" I will recruit individuals, clubs, and businesses to help honor the great students in District 5.

Bill Slayton
Candidate for Escambia County School Board
District 5

voteslayton@bellsouth.net