Ask the candidates...

I'm thinking of questions to ask each candidate running in the GOP primary for Stokes County commissioner and posting the answers on the BP... I get many hits from Stokes County so it might be a good way to reach GOP primary voters in Stokes. If you have a question that you would like to ask a candidate, feel free to e-mail your question to bullypulpit@triad.rr.com.

First Question: Define the official relationship between the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education in terms of operation and funding.

Ronda Jones:The two Boards are separate entities although they both do serve our community in ways that may overlap. The Board of Commissioners oversees the entire county and it's other entities. In terms of operation and funding they are also separate, however, there is funding through the Board of Commissioners. One such funding would be that of the Education Lottery. Generally, when there is a large purchase such as land for a new school it will be presented to the Board for review and consensus.

The Board of Education's main purpose is to oversee the activities of the educational community, as well as, it's buildings. As I write, they are working with an architectural firm to do an intense study for future schools. But let us not forget that the Board of Commissioners is active in getting our community college with some help from Forsyth Tech and Stokes Core.

So, to define the official relationship, I would have to say that it is symbiotic. It's about checks and balances with the ultimate goal being for the good of the citizens.