Candidate Profile: Thelma V. Hinton (Suffolk School Board – Whaleyville Borough)

Name: Thelma V. Hinton
Age: 67
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/thelma-v-hinton-for-suffolk-sc/home

Biography: My name is Thelma V Hinton, and I’m a lifelong resident of the City of Suffolk and a 1976 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School. I earned a BS in Social Work from Norfolk State
University in 1998. I served ten years as a Commissioner for the Suffolk Redevelopment and
Housing Authority. I served on the Suffolk Public School Board from 2009 – 2012 and as Vice
Chair in 2011 and 2012. From 2012 to the present, I have served as an advocate on the Board of
Directors of the Virginia Legal Aid Society. I love to read and spend time with my children in
my spare time.

Why are you running for this office?

I was elected to the school board in 2008 and served a full four-year term from 2009 – 2012. During my time away from politics, I have had the opportunity to observe the school board’s operations as an everyday citizen, and I know that I can better serve my community on the board.

What is the top challenge facing Suffolk Public Schools, and how would you address it?

Safety is the most important issue in Suffolk Public Schools. Safety is at the top of my list. Next would be closing the achievement gap and ensuring the finances are equitably, correctly, and responsibly applied. Safety is all-encompassing as it involves our school system’s students, staff, and workers. Instruction and education can only occur if the students and staff feel safe in our buildings. We must ensure that the teachers, staff, and other workers have a voice in how they think regarding safety. I have an open-door policy, and all teachers and staff should feel comfortable coming and talking with board members about concerns. Occasionally, teachers and staff can have issues among themselves, and they need to know that they can share when there is low morale or internal problems that need to be addressed. This is never intended to promote micromanagement. Students, parents, staff, and employees should feel free to come to board members, and board members should know where to send them. Since coming into the postpandemic era, mental health issues and social-emotional learning are at the awareness forefront. SEL and school safety are closely related concepts in creating a positive and supportive educational environment.

How will you still value constituents with whom you disagree with?

It’s always acceptable to disagree without being disagreeable. I would value them by listening to them attentively and weighing the pros and cons to see if we can come to a consensus over the requests whether it’s in their favor or my favor if it aligns with policy. Conflict is inevitable but it is possible to have “good fights” and then move on. The old politicians would say “kick it around a bit and see what happens.” This is how you build relationships. I am a positive person, and I want to have relationships rather than the conflict but this is how we learn from one another.

What is your view on the Governor’s Executive Order to ban cell phone use?

In 2012, I was a Suffolk Public School Board member. I voted against this same issue because I felt that it would be a distraction to the classes, teachers, and the children. I felt the children would take advantage of the situation and do everything except use the technology for instruction. Of course, cell phones were fairly new at that time. I served on the pupil personnel committee which was a disciplinary board, and we saw many children who were expelled by the administration due to cell phone use. Due to the overwhelming numbers of students being expelled, it created a double standard, and the policy was changed to allow a pilot program for a year at Kings Fork High School, but by then I was off the board to argue my point. I have no problem with what the governor proposes but more time is needed for a thorough review. But I understand the governor’s view.

Recently, Superintendent Dr. John Gordon said in a school board meeting that “I still don’t understand why we are now expected to share what new safety measures have been put in place.” This was in reference to questions from a news outlet, following the intruder inside Kilby Shores Elementary School on the last day of school. What is your reaction to Dr. Gordon’s comments? Should the superintendent share security information with the community?

Problem analysis deals with what, why, when, where, who and how. In a crisis like this there can be a lot of emotions that flair up quickly. In the heat of the moment, people want answers. This was unprecedented in our city. I understand his view but when there is a crisis, he didn’t have to give all the details, but something was owed to the community. The Kilby Shores Elementary School situation did not only affect the two abducted students, it affected the parents, community, teachers, and everybody in the KSES community which also spilled into the city. I appreciate his forthcoming and immediate response to working on the situation but to sleep on it was not a good idea. I believe he had good intentions, but I believe the chain of command did not work properly. The public relations officer should have been in the forefront then board chair or Dr Gordon. When I was a board member from 2009 – 2012 the public relations person was always in the forefront. It was her job to be there. In a crisis like this all board members should have been notified immediately.