Following is a profile on one of six candidates for the Republican nomination for Davie County Board of Education. Voters will select four of the six in the March 5 primary, likely to be elected in November because no other party candidate filed.

The Candidate

Name

Jeff Plott

Age

53

Address

Polaris Drive, Mocksville

Family

Wife of 28 years, Angela Price Plott; son, Zachary Plott; daughter and son-in-law. Ashley

and Ryan Beaver; daughter, Allison Plott

Education

Davie County High School, Class of 1989; Forsyth Technical Community College

Occupation

Owner/Operator Zap It Laundromat in Cooleemee; Owner/Operator, Gene’s Auto Sales 64 in Mocksville

In The Community

• Work behind the scenes as an officer of the Davie County Republican Party as the Tech Chair

Why did you decide to seek public office?

Plott: Being a lifelong resident of Davie County, I feel very blessed to have been able to call Davie County my home. I am a product of the Davie County School system and so are all of my children and I anticipate future generations of my family will attend as well. I would like to be a part of continuing the legacy of excellent education in this county, for my family and for yours.

We live in a world today very much different then what most of us grew up in, some things are better and some things are not.

I believe the best investment that any community can do is to invest in our children, their future and give them the proper tools needed to be successful. Davie County has always been a great school system filled with a lot of dedicated individuals working towards educating the children of Davie County.

Unfortunately, like school systems across the nation a lot of unacceptable things have entered into our school system and our classrooms. It’s time to reclaim the classroom for the teachers who are there to teach and for the students who are there to learn. All others should be dealt with accordingly.

If elected, I plan to be a strong advocate on the Board to keep Davie County Schools teaching the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic.  I will advocate to rid our classrooms and schools of all this Marxist indoctrination that has entered the world of public education today, it has no place in the classrooms of Davie County Schools.

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

Plott: First, recruiting and retaining teachers for Davie County Schools. My thoughts on this issue are in the next question.

Second, Critical Race Theory (CRT) has no place in Davie County Schools and I will advocate with like-minded members of the Board of Education to help ensure that this is removed from our school system.

Third, the ‘furry’ movement has no place in Davie County Schools. If kids want to identify as a cat, dog, wolf, etc. please feel free to do it at home, but as a student of Davie County Schools it does not belong in the classrooms.  It is an unnecessary distraction and has no place in the school or classroom environment. I will advocate with like-minded members of the Board of Education to help ensure that it is removed from our school system.

Should the school system increase incentives to recruit and retain teachers?

Plott: I believe that the Board of Education should work towards incentives to help recruit and retain teachers within the Davie County School system. Those incentives may or may not always include monetary gain. The experts on the issues facing our teachers today are in fact the teachers themselves. I strongly believe that the Board of Education owes it to our teachers and staff to have a real open and honest face to face discussion on issues that they face in their classrooms today and work toward making it a better work environment for the teachers and staff of the Davie County School system.   

One additional thing I hope to accomplish is to work toward making the teachers and staff of Davie County Schools to feel free to speak without fear of retaliation as an employee of the Davie County School system. If there are members of the Davie County School Administrative staff who are part of the problem, I see it as the job of the Superintendent of Davie County Schools and the Davie County Board of Education to fully address these situations.  It greatly concerns me when I have spoken with so many teachers employed by our school system and how reluctant they are to speak openly and freely about the problems they face in the school in which they work. This should not be happening.

Other Issues

Plott: I believe that we need to adjust the starting date for the school year earlier so that the students of Davie County Schools who are required to take exams can take them before the start of the Christmas break and not have to wait until after Christmas/New Years to take them. Over a dozen school districts have made the adjustment in the school calendar here in North Carolina including Iredell and Yadkin counties. It’s time for Davie County Schools to do the same. I will advocate for this change on the board if elected.  I believe this is something that would be beneficial to the student directly, and I support this change.

If elected to the board, I realize that I am only one person. Each individual member should come into this office with a vision for improvement in the school system.  In order to achieve those visions, members must work together. I look forward to working with other members on the board to make changes that will benefit the students of Davie County Schools, which should be the main focus of our Board of Education.