Three Normanites will compete for the Norman Public Schools Board of Education District 3 seat in the Feb. 14 election.
Candidates Kathleen Kennedy, Annette Price and Gary Barksdale are running for the school board following the decision from Cindy Nashert, NPS Board president and Office 3 representative, last December to not seek reelection.
The NPS Board is composed of five members who meet at least once a month to discuss final approval on district hires and superintendent evaluations, and members serve five-year terms.
Kathleen Kennedy
Kennedy served as the executive director of communications for Oklahoma City Public Schools from 2007-14. She previously worked as the public relations coordinator for Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center.
Kennedy is president and CEO of the Center for Communication and Engagement, a public relations firm that helps schools with messaging and crisis communications, markets their programs and services and helps them engage with parents and the community.
If elected, Kennedy said she plans to unite students, parents and teachers through communication and cooperation.
“I am tired of the bickering from the far right and the far left,” Kennedy said. “I'm the candidate that represents the 90 percent in the middle … who are tired of that fighting.”
Kennedy said she wants to improve teacher experiences in Oklahoma by advocating for pay raises.
“We (need) to support our educators, teachers … (and) make sure that we have a high-quality workforce that wants to stay and teach in our community and live in our community,” Kennedy said.
For Kennedy, the core of her campaign is rooted in advocating for children, she said.
“Every decision that I make, and every vote that I take as a board member, is with every child in mind because as public schools, we accept every child,” Kennedy said. “We don't cherry-pick, we take everyone, and that's the beauty of public education.”
Annette Price
Price, public relations and outreach coordinator at OU, said she plans to increase transparency and respect for teachers, improve technology and classroom materials and promote accessible education for all students.
Price said her experience as a parent and former teacher at Moore Norman Technology Center and in Oklahoma City gives her a “360-degree view of education.”
Price worked at the Oklahoma State Department of Education under Joy Hofmeister, former Oklahoma state superintendent of public instruction, for seven years and served as president of the Norman Parent Teacher Association Council.
“As a parent and educator, I'm committed to bolstering family-teacher-district relationships to accelerate learning and bring respect back to the teaching profession, and to ensure schools are always looking toward innovation, equity and resilience,” Price said.
Price said she is dedicated to honoring teachers in Oklahoma.
“Teaching is really hard … so rebuilding trust in the education community is absolutely essential,” Price said. “We've got to honor both our teachers and our families with respect and dignity, and there should be no question in anyone's mind that the district is honoring its own core values of integrity, inclusion and collaboration,” Price said.
Price said she wants to build inclusive classrooms for students from all backgrounds, cultures and classes.
“Public education is for everyone,” Price said. “It's easy to lose focus that our kids are individuals, and they all learn differently, so we need to be honoring those kids.”
Gary Barksdale
Barksdale, an OU math professor, is seeking election for the second time after losing to Nashert in 2013.
Barksdale agreed to respond to a a list of questions by OU Daily regarding his campaign, then didn't.
Barksdale’s campaign website reads that, as an educator and parent, he seeks to represent parents first and foremost.
"My primary concern is for the protection, care and education of our children," his website reads. "I will represent the parents of those children, as they are a child’s most valuable relationship. We must defend that relationship and never undermine the parent’s role in their child’s upbringing."
Another candidate, Kini Vaughn, a 20-year-old student at the Moore Norman Technology Center, pulled out of the race earlier this month. They told the Norman Transcript they dropped out of the race due to a “family emergency.”
Vaughn’s name will still appear on the ballot along with Price, Kennedy and Barksdale because they did not withdraw from the race before the Dec. 9, 2022 deadline.
