Bill Hodges
Age: 65
Occupation: Retired as Douglas County School District assistant superintendent for human resources
Family: Wife, two children who attended district schools, four grandchildren
Residency: Has lived in Douglas County for 26 years
Political experience: None
Education: Bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s degree in human resources
Website: hodgesfordcschools.com
Why he’s running: Hodges said he thinks he brings a unique experience of working for 25 years in the private sector with AT&T, working in the district and for the last three years, helping start a financial company.
“I think that gives me some unique perspectives of business experience and having been part of the public education system for 10 years,” he said.
Hodges said he doesn’t disagree with some of the recent reforms of the district, but said the implementation of them has been terrible, such as the lack of reliability of the evaluation of the new pay-for-performance plan, which is too small of a tool. He also disagreed with the board turning the pilot program into the full-blown system the first year.
“In turn, staff and students have suffered, and I don’t think that’s right,” Hodges said. “This board and this superintendent and their staff pulled the trigger too early, and that’s not the way you treat people.”
Hodges said he also believes the current board conducts too much of its business in closed session and its business should be before the people since they’re elected officials.
He also is concerned with the decrease in instructional hours at the high school level due to budget cuts last year, and that the district now lacks rigor. He also said he wants more fiscal transparency, specifically about private donations to the Douglas County Education Foundation, such as paying $55,000 to consultant Bill Bennett. Hiring consultants is not the mission of the DCEF — raising money to put back into the classroom is its mission.
Hodges also wants to re-engage the public by conducting another district survey to make sure all concerns of students, staff and parents are heard, something the district has not done a good job of in the past year.
He also believes the board is too far “right” politically and has a political agenda that’s not good for kids or public education.