By RANDY TATANO
Special to Atmore News
Students always remember their favorite teachers.
Perhaps that’s why Shaun Goolsby now works for Escambia County School Superintendent Michele McClung, who was his math teacher in the sixth grade.
The relationship that started long ago in a Mobile classroom now has Goolsby doing a different kind of arithmetic, as he works within the county budget to improve the system’s schools and facilities. As deputy of operations, he’s tasked with everything from re-surfacing parking lots to overseeing the construction of a new cafeteria at Flomaton High School. His current to-do list fills a huge sheet of paper hanging in his office.
Though one of his most important goals isn’t something that’s written down.
“I want to bring the schools in all three cities together, get them all on the same playing field by coming up to a high standard. Visually create the same environment for the kids.”
In other words, every school should be brought to the same physical standards when it comes to things like classrooms and cafeterias. A student who transfers from one school to another within the system should feel right at home.
Summer will offer a great opportunity for Goolsby to make improvements since everyone will be out of the way, and he’s already got things ready to go. Students who currently walk on carpet installed in some schools in the 1970s will return in the fall and find new vinyl flooring – which will not only be easier to clean, but cut down on allergens. Other schools will greet students and parents with LED signs. And, of course, basic maintenance never takes a holiday.
This married father of three is looking forward to changing things for the better. “It’s an opportunity to see the needle move when I’m done. To put my mark on something. Leave things better than I found them.”
Brewton resident Randy Tatano is a veteran TV news reporter and network producer, and is currently a novelist and freelance writer for the Escambia County School System.