School board: The voice of the people'

By By Lynette Wilson / staff writer
Sept. 22, 2002
Fred Wile serves on the board of directors of an operation with a $47 million budget and more than 1,000 employees.
Wile is president of the Meridian School Board. He was appointed by Mayor John Robert Smith in September 2000 and became president a year later. Now entering his third year, Wile shared his thoughts this week on public education and the role of the school board.
Wile said the school board's job is to find a way to make public education in Meridian exceptional again.
He said he's not happy with student scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, a state test that measures how well students know the curriculum set forth by the state.
Wile said it doesn't make sense to air the district's dirty laundry, but that "we can't hide and we have nothing to hide." Instead, he said it's important to open a dialogue and establish a rapport with the community but that's easier said than done.
Wile said the school board began holding its monthly meetings on school campuses rather than the central office to encourage people to attend in a more relaxed atmosphere. The board also added a public forum to the agenda.
Wile said he spends four to five hours a week on school business, and spends much more than that making phone calls, educating himself on public education issues and thinking about what needs to be done.