Singstock Runs on Safe Schools, Class Size Reductions

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Tim Singstock (Photo provided by the Singstock campaign.) Tim Singstock (Photo provided by the Singstock campaign.)

Tim Singstock is running for Prince William School Board Chairman; he has advocated for safer schools, class size reduction, competitive pay for educators and fiscal responsibility for the school division.

Tim Singstock served as Chairman of the Prince William County Schools Advisory Committee, which gave him insight into what needs to be done to keep schools safe, and made school safety a focus of his campaign. He wants to explore solutions for keeping students safe before and after school while students are still on campus. He believes that is a conversation the school board and community needs to have.

He also counts successes he has had with the council, believing the committee is now more responsive to the needs of the communities it serves

“We’ve planned two very success info nights on mental health and social media. We took that council to the next level, and I’m very proud of that.”

Class size

Like most Prince William citizens, Singstock recognizes that school and classroom overcrowding are the two biggest issues facing Prince William County Schools. He wants to start with middle schools to reduce overcrowded classrooms by hiring more teachers.

“If you look at the magnitude of the crowding problem, and you break down the data, you’ll see it’s in the middles schools where there are the highest average class sizes,” Singstock said, explaining that while PWCS high schools classrooms average 30.1 students, middle schools average 31.5 students.

“These are all transitional years,” said Singstock, believing a strong middle school experience can keep a student actively engaged as a high school student; however, a bad middle school experience can cause a student to tune out in high school.

He believes reducing class sizes helps educators as well. Having a smaller class size helps with classroom management, reduces a teacher’s work load and increases teacher morale. Ultimately, he believes smaller class sizes help to retain teachers within a district.

Singstock said he will continue to work with the Board of County Supervisors to reduce class sizes, and says 26.5 students, which is the average class size in Manassas and Manassas Park should be the goal.

Teacher Retention

He also wants to make teacher retention a goal.

“We’re not going to run out of teachers,” said Singstock, explaining PWCS receives ample applications per teacher opening. However, he believes it is better to keep qualified teachers in the county, rather than having them move on after 4-11 years.

Singstock realizes that some Prince William’s neighbors have a stronger commercial tax base and higher property values, all of which helps to fund their schools; but Prince William can offer teachers respect and treat them as professionals.

“Are we going to be able to offer the same compensation? Probably not,” he said.

However, yet he feels it is extremely important that PWCS stays competitive with its neighbors in terms of students receiving a very good education, so they can compete in the region's workforce. 

To facilitate this, Singstock wants to make sure Prince William educators are treated right at their schools. Singstock said he choose to work in the county for a quality of life issue: shorter commute. Many PWCS educators like working in Prince William for similar reasons, but PWCS needs to foster an environment of respect, and not make their jobs harder than it needs to be.

“We need to broadcast that message: that teachers are professionals.” he said.

Leadership Experience

Singstock believes his leadership on the council has prepared him for the role of chairman, along with other positions he’s held such as the Occoquan District Finance Chair for the Boy Scotts, and a Former U.S. Army Officers of the 25th Infantry Division and 101st Airborn Division.

“I had to make decisions and take responsibility for the decisions I have made,” he said.

Although he had been endorsed by the Prince William Republican Party, Singstock said his service would be non-partisan as it was in the other various leadership positions he has held.

“I have spoken with thousands of people. Maybe four or five have asked me which party I’m with. I tell them, ‘I will tell you which party I affiliate with: I want to reduce class sizes; I want to get more competitive teacher pay, especially those between 4 and 11 years; I want to make sure our schools safe and drug free.’ They say, ‘I guess it doesn’t really matter.’At the school level they all want to do the same thing."

Budget Committees

Singstock does want to be a fiscally responsible chairman. He likes how School Board members Alyson Satterwhite (Gainesville) and Gil Trenum (Brentsville) have created citizen budget committees over the years.

“That’s something I want to emulate,” he said. “I we can bring more people into the process, we can find more savings.”

He wants to have open and honest discussions with the community about the budget, from what the priorities are to where eliminations and savings can be found.

“Everything needs to be discussed. We can even look into the manditory part of the budget as well.”

Career Readiness

Singstock also wants to find more ways for students to enter the workforce. College graduates earn more money over a lifetime, so over the past few decades all students have been encouraged to aim for college. However, Singstock said we also need to provide career skills for those would prefer to pursue that path.

“If you are a parent or guidance counselor, it makes sense to encourage everyone to look at college.” Yet, he notes there are many alternative choices such as CTE (Career and Technical Education) that will also prepare students for a lucrative career.

Singstock wants to create more partnerships between the schools, business, organizations and universities. He believes it is a way to leverage resources especially for schools with a diverse community that many be lacking in resources.

Why Choose Singstock?

Singstock said he wanted to run for chairman since he grew up in the county and Prince William Schools has been a big part of his life. He's a graduate of Potomac High School. Prince William is where he and his siblings were educated and where his children are being educated.

“My family has benefited from PWCS and I’ve very excited by the opportunity to give back.”

While everyone running for chairman recognizes the issues, Singstock said, “The real question is: who can deliver? I’ve managed multi-million IT projects [in his position as Certificated Project Management Professional with a Master’s in Public Administration.]"

Singstock said he’s managed risk and worked with community members across all aisles, and thus believes he is the best person to lead the Prince William County School Board.

He also believes that having strong schools not only help students, it benefits everyone living in the county as it will bolster home values and bring in new businesses. Therefore, he invites all citizens to take part in choosing their school board members and voting in the November election. 

“We need a stronger commercial tax base and quality education will do that.”

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