Published: July 02, 2008 10:28 pm            

Murray school board candidate profile: Billy Webb

Jonathan “Billy” Webb says his top goal if he’s re-elected to the Murray County Board of Education is to help get the county’s new high school opened.

The high school is slated to open in 2010. That means the board will have to hire the staff and draw up new high school district lines in the next two years.

“We are searching for a new principal now,” Webb said.

Webb, 40, was elected to the board four years ago. But he actually started serving in the District 4 seat a little earlier than that. Deborah Singleton-Green, who had held the seat, resigned to run for tax commissioner. Webb, who was the only person who qualified to run for the position, was appointed by the rest of the board to serve the final months of Singleton-Green’s term.

Webb will face Greg Shoemaker, himself a former school board member, in the July 15 Republican primary. The winner will face Democrat Raymond Keener in November.

Born and raised in Chatsworth, Webb is a 1986 graduate of Murray County High School. He owns a chicken farm. He and his wife Christa have been married 20 years and have two sons, Derek, 17, and Brandon, 13.

“I’d just like to make sure they have the best education possible,” he said. “I have a love of kids. You don’t get on the Board of Education for money. You get on the Board of Education because you want to help kids.”

Some have questioned the number of times the school board meets. But Webb defends those meetings.

“I see it as necessary. There’s always something coming up,” he said. “We don’t have a meeting for nothing.”

Board members get $50 per meeting.

Overall, Webb says he’d give the school system a grade of B.

“But there’s always room for improvement,” he said.

He says the school system can do more to bring up graduation rates.

Webb pointed to the addition of night classes as one step taken by the system that should help improve graduation rates.

“We need to offer more opportunities,” he said.

In addition to providing more opportunities for classes, Webb says the school system needs to provide more extracurricular activities to help keep students interested in school.

        

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