Politics & Government

Meet School Board Candidate Gregory Cox

This is Cox's first year racing for a board of education seat.

Gregory Cox is one of seven candidates running for five school board seats. All candidates have cross-filed on Republican and Democrat tickets. 

Note: This is part of a series of candidate interviews. Refer back to our previous interviews with , and .

Gregory Cox 

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  • Has received various degrees in electronics. 
  • Worked on nuclear weapons in the U.S. Military after high school
  • Attended the University of Cincinnati
  • Worked for Toyota for 9 years; training in Japan on production system
  • Current vice president of a company 
  • Married and has two children in the district
  • Member of the PTA, actively participates in various programs at

What is motivating you to run?

I believe that the school district has a great foundation, but right now we're having some problems. I started attending board meetings earlier this year, and addressed the board about a minor problem—teacher turnover rates in my son's class. I believe the district, the management team, is talking about finance, looking at the revenue side, and not so much the cost side. Teachers that are leaving the district are extremely high and the ratio in which they're vacant is a concern of mine. 

Find out what's happening in Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With the unemployment rate as high as it is, you would think there would be hundreds of people lined up. It speaks of the leadership and morale of the district, that is currently really low. I'd like to focus on correcting those issues. I run a company and I believe I could offer up services that help. 

What's the board's biggest issue?

Turnover rates and the morale. I read through (information regarding) the Peters Township Federation of Teachers Local 3431. The information was given to the board before it decided to allow Dr. Zetty's contract to be renewed by default for three years. 

Assuming you win, what would you like to accomplish during your term?

I would like to make sure the leadership chain is one that's easy to follow. Clear, concise goals. I would like the district to focus on lean initiatives. In this time, where dollars are being reduced because the federal monies are no longer there, coupled with the fact that the economy went through the worst recession in my lifetime, tough times are ahead. We can't continue to look at the revenue side of the financials, not being paid to the cost side.

Does it have to cost $40 million to run the school board? Is it just as effective at $30 or $35? That happens a lot, it's discouraging with the government in general—they don't have to report to stockholders. I want us to think that way. It's easy to do once you learn the systems about lean processes and how to eliminate wastes. 

There are several departments that have gone over budget entering in the fourth quarter of last year. What do we do about it? What's the root cause? With the right leadership team intact people are willing to follow. All along, the first goal is to the children—making sure they have everything they need. People get fearful when they hear the term "lean." They think it's directly related to education activity and that's not what I'm talking about. 

At this time, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the district? 

A strength is the people in general. The parents are as active, if not more active, in the education of their children. I've never seen that in any district in which I've lived. That's excellent. We have great infrastructure. It starts at the homes, and that's probably one of the better reasons why we have the highest graduation rate in the county. 

A weakness is the disconnect between the people and voicing opinions, or input to the decisions that the board makes. I had conversations in an open dialogue at the board meetings and nobody responded that they would do anything. It's frustrating to a lot of the citizens of the community. It goes back to leadership. Policing the financials, or looking at revenue versus cost is also a weakness.

Sidenote

I want to convey to the people that I don't have a hidden agenda about anything. I want to represent the people of the township. A ton of politicians have said that in the past—that's the guys on the street. If I am fortunate to become elected, I will always have an open ear and always listen to the concerns of the citizens, and try to do what's best for the children. People will want to come work here, our financials will be in place and clear goals will be set so that we can have a cost surplus. We've reached the apex in the district in terms of growth and the revenue side—that should have happened 10 years ago. 

I want to be on the board not for any personal agendas that I may have. I'm the VP of a company, I'm going to have my ideas, but I will run it with the best interest of the advocate in mind at all times. I will make decisions based on facts.

There's a Japanese term I learned, "Genchi Genbutsu," which means "go and see." Once you get your finger on the pulse, you can make well-informed business decisions. 

Read our full list of municipal election candidates for the May 17 primaries .


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