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The Candidate

Name

Con Shelton

Age

58

Address

Lakeview Road, Mocksville

Family

Wife, Raymonda Shelton; Sons, Haynes and Hunt

Education

Davie High School, graduated in 1982; University of North Carolina Charlotte, bachelor’s degree in political science, graduated 1986

Occupation

Residential home builder in Davie County since 1986.Company expanded to include commercial construction in the early 1990s. Shelton Construction General Contractors is a family-owned business that now includes a third generation. My father started the company in 1979 and our youngest son, Hunt, has joined after completing a degree in Construction Management from Appalachian State University.

In The Community

• Member, First United Methodist Church; taught Sunday School for many years with wife

• Member, Davie County Board of Equalization and Review for past four years.

• For many years, helped coach Davie Little League Baseball and New World GeneralsTravel Baseball

Why did you decide to seek public office?

Shelton: As a life-long resident of Davie County, I feel that it is vitally important to give back to our community. I am a product of the Davie County school system as are my parents and my children. I believe in quality public education for all students and I want current and future students to continue to have the same access to quality education that my family has experienced. I understand that schools, teachers, students and families have faced many challenges over the past two years while dealing with COVID and now, more than ever, schools will need a school board that will collaborate to support the unique needs brought on by the pandemic. My experience owning and managing a business for over 35 years gives me a skill set that will be useful in supporting our district when making decisions regarding budgets and the management of resources. I want to support our school system in continued excellence and be a part of finding solutions to the many challenges that schools, teachers, families and students might face.

What do you think are the most significant challenges facing the school system, and how do you intend to address those challenges?

Shelton: These are challenging times for schools in general. I feel that one of the biggest challenges facing our school system today is dealing with the learning loss due to time out of school. Students have missed face to face instruction for many reasons including remote learning, quarantine and illness due to COVID.

I am pleased that our district leaders made the decision to return to school last year while many districts remained remote for all or most of the school year. The fact that many of our students were face to face for at least part of their school week helped our students grow and our current data supports the benefits of this decision. However, we know that many students were on a hybrid schedule and some were also virtual due to quarantine which has created learning gaps that will need to be addressed. I feel that it will be vitally important to continue the opportunities that our district and current board have implemented including after school tutoring, summer camps and professional development training for teachers to support our students moving forward.

Another issue that will be facing our school district is teacher shortages. Davie County has always been a very desirable place to work and learn. We have had very little teacher turn-over in most of our schools but we know that fewer and fewer college students are majoring in education due in part to the state salary schedule and lack of compensation for advanced degrees. Our district and school board will have to be diligent in keeping our school system attractive to teachers and competitive with surrounding counties. Much of what attracts teachers to our schools are the supports given to teachers, safe schools and the opportunities for professional growth

What is your perspective on critical race theory? Do you believe there is an issue of Davie teachers promoting American historical events in a biased fashion that distorts the truth?

Shelton: My understanding of Critical Race Theory is that it is a framework to study perceived racial bias in laws and institutions. It assumes that racism is prevalent in all circumstances. I do not believe that this should be a focus of instruction in K-12 education. It is important to teach history so that we can learn from our past to improve our future. I believe that it is the role of our schools to teach history in a factual manner. Different perspectives can and should be presented but it is not the job of the schools to make anyone feel bad about themselves because of race.

I do not believe that Davie County Schools is teaching or promoting CRT. We should be diligent in supporting teachers in teaching the standard course of study and providing the materials to do so.

Other Issues

Shelton: I feel that I am a great choice to support Davie County Schools as a member of the Board of Education. My wife has taught in the Davie County School System for more than 20 years and we have supported the schools with our time and resources.

As a builder, many families have shared with me that they have chosen to live in Davie County because of the friendly people and the excellent reputation of our schools.

I believe in quality public education for all students.

Our schools work best when there is a partnership between parents, students, teachers and our district leaders. Parents and families are a vital part of their children’s education. I would make myself available to hear the concerns and challenges that parents are facing with regards to their child’s education and experiences in our schools. All children deserve the right to have an excellent education as I believe that education is the great equalizer. It provides an opportunity for our students to achieve their goals and dreams.

The role of our schools is to prepare our children to become upstanding citizens in our community who are prepared to serve and support the continued success of the community.