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NAME: Coy W. Miller
CANDIDATE FOR: Cabell County Board of Education District 2 (unexpired term)
PARTY: Nonpartisan race
HOME CITY: Barboursville
HOME COUNTY: Cabell
AGE: 63
EDUCATION: BS Civil Engineering – WV Institute of Technology (1982); MS Civil Engineering (Water Resources) – University of Iowa (1990); Numerous Department of the Army Leadership and Management Training Courses; Registered Professional Engineer (retired status).
CURRENT OFFICE OR OCCUPATION: Retired Civil Engineer – Huntington District, US Army Corps of Engineers.
OTHER WORK HISTORY: Senior Hydraulic Engineer, Chief Hydrology and Hydraulics Section, Chief Design Branch, Senior Civilian (Chief Planning, Programs and Project Management Division); All positions were with the Huntington District, US Army Corps of Engineers.
CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS: Former Teen Youth Director (25 years), Currently Chairman of Deacon Board and director of one week summer teen camp all at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Ona.
FAMILY: wife, Janeese; sons, Adam (Kelsi) of Milton and Kevin (Sierra) of Wayne County; grandchildren, Lily and Hudson of Milton.
PERSONAL STATEMENT: My goal is to take the experience that I have gained as a practicing engineer, civilian leader of an organization of the size and complexity as the Huntington District, US Army Corps of Engineers and as a church youth leader to serve the students and citizens of Cabell County. I believe that diversity in leadership style and experience is critical to the success of any organization. My top priority as a member of the Cabell County Board of Education would be to ensure that all students in the county have the educational opportunity to be successful in life.
1. What should your role be as a member of the Board of Education?
The primary role is to focus on student achievement and implement policies that will ensure success for all students. Board members should be knowledgeable of governance processes and work with the superintendent in developing a fiscally responsible budget that aligns with the vision of the district. Members should strive to maintain open communication with parents and district staff.
2. How would you address the dropout issue?
The county graduation rate has improved; however, we are still below the state average. We should assess all programs currently in place and continue the positive actions like Communities in Schools while developing new initiatives such as a mentoring program for at-risk students. In addition, we should benchmark other counties that are above the state average and implement lessons learned.
3. What can the Board of Education do to encourage better communication between parents and teachers?
The county has done an excellent job of enhancing electronic media capabilities. However, while this is a convenient way to exchange information, it is not necessarily the best way to communicate. The board should support more opportunities for direct communication between parents and teachers while striving to increase trust on both sides.
4. How can you increase the standards of the curriculum to benefit students?
Since the standards are developed at the state level, the county/teachers can increase benefits to the students by implementing a curriculum that enables students to meet/exceed these standards. Teachers should then be given the flexibility to teach the curriculum in a way they have determined best meets the needs of their students.
5. What would you do to improve student achievement?
A primary way to improve student achievement is to determine and attend to the individual needs and goals of each student. The student requires attention and encouragement to help them perform at the level they are capable of reaching. The board must also seek ways to engage parents in student achievement by connecting home and school where practical.
6. What do you think schools should be doing about drug prevention?
Beginning in elementary school, we need to educate our students on the life changing impacts and dangers of drug use. This education process should continue to involve our police officers and first responders. In addition, recovered drug users should be incorporated in the education process. They can provide real life experiences to highlight the dangers of drug usage.
7. What is the number one priority for public education in the county?
Public education should provide a safe learning environment so that every student in the county upon graduation is prepared to either continue their education or enter a career field. This is accomplished by hiring and retaining high quality professional and service staff and by providing modern safe facilities that meet present and future student needs.
8. How would you assess the condition of the county’s school facilities? What improvements, if any, do you think should be the focus in the next 10 years?
It was evident from serving on the CEFP steering committee that the condition of county facilities is a mixed bag. The construction bond allows the county to address many critical needs by replacing 3 elementary schools and movement of the CCCTC to the mall. However, several schools still require future replacement or renovation, major maintenance, security improvements and ADA compliance.
9. How do you plan to minimize the draining effect of the legislation that encourages charter schools, private schools, and paid home-schooling?
By ensuring that Cabell County Public Schools offer the best available educational opportunity. The county is already making facility improvements, increasing the safety of students, making strides to hire and retain highly qualified teachers and service personnel and working to improve graduation rates. We must determine what other issues result in parents selecting alternative education avenues and address these areas.
10. What do you think are the most important safety issues in the county’s schools?
There are two primary safety issues in county schools: 1) facility security/planning 2) bullying/harassment. Addressing issue one, safe entrances; security cameras; communication equipment; resource officers at all schools and training of personnel should be provided. Concerning issue two, we need to build a positive school climate while setting clear student expectations and improve the communication between teachers, students, and parents.
Additional special election question
11. If Amendment 2 were to pass, how do you anticipate Cabell County Schools would respond to the loss of revenue?
Property taxes account for nearly one third of the district's projected revenue. Amendment 2 allows the state to take approximately 27% of county property taxes for their discretionary use - a potential $10M revenue loss. To offset this loss, consideration would have to be given to levy rate increases, personnel reduction, or extracurricular activity decreases. Therefore, I oppose the amendment.
