George knows best

By Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column

OPINION – Maybe I should run for office. If the man in the dress running for U.S. SENATE in Maine can say the reason he’s running for US SENATE is because, “I ran for office, I didn’t win. I’m a songwriter … and I write my own books” is all it takes to qualify to run for U.S. SENATE then I don’t see why I can’t run for something much more important and distinguished, such as CCS school board.

Why start small? Go for the gold.

What’s that slogan they all use on election year when they’re trying to get elected / reelected, “Putting children first.” Because what else would their slogan be? “I want to win” or “Actually I just want the $400 extra a month” so, it makes sense that it’s all about the students. That goes without saying…

They must all be rocket scientists. I can’t imagine anyone else holding such a prestigious office; except maybe little ole stupid me.

I’m no rocket scientist, (check out my awesome grammar I learned in school) but I did help set off fireworks at a 4th of July celebration several years ago and I still have all my fingers and thumbs, so if that’s not an accomplishment then I don’t know what is. I also graduated high school and ate at a Shoney’s Buffet one time and didn’t throw up. My list of credentials is long.

Forget the US SENATE seat; that’s for the birds. I’m going straight to the top: CCS School Board.

And I actually believe the voters are smarter than some candidates give them credit for, so I’m not going to say “putting our students first” because that’s the whole point … it’s all about students and the employees - I would think that would be obvious.

My slogan for my campaign is going to be, “Why the heck not?” Or maybe “What do you have to lose?”

Common sense themes… because why the heck not? What do you got to lose?

You’ve tried everyone else.

It might not get any better than it is now, but there's only one way to find out. (How’s that superintendent search going) And I’ll abdicate the CCS throne after just two terms (max), you have my word.

As President George Washington said in his farewell address, anyone who would want to serve more than two terms would want to be king. Washington believed that rotating leadership was essential to safeguarding American democracy. In his Farewell Address he explained that he was stepping down to ensure a peaceful transfer of power and avoid being "charged... with concealed ambition".

And while there’s no kings or emperors on the school board, there are a few marble statues, a couple of thousand fewer students enrolled than just 10 years ago, a plethora of resignations and thus a lack of teachers and a budget problem; but everything is fine. No need to change anything, Georgie Poo Dub. I guess you were wrong about the whole ‘rotation of fresh faces’ idea. We don’t seem to do that here. Apparently.

But, before anyone gets their feathers ruffled (those running for school board and their die-hard loyal supporters) please know that I’M ONLY JOKING. The last thing I’d want to do is be on the school board. I’ve already experienced a heart attack, why would I want to add school board to my list of “things I never want to experience?”

Plus, God tells us that you and I are important. This is just my opinion, but I don’t need to be elected to office to feel like I belong to something important. Matthew 10:31 says, “So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." Basically, this verse is tied to when Jesus instructs his disciples to fearlessly proclaim the truth, assuring them that despite facing persecution and all that mess, they are precious to God who cares for them and every little thing about their life.

And as for that life… Live or die, a heart attack only lasts a few hours or sometimes minutes, but a school board term is four years - and that’s an insufferable pain I couldn’t begin to imagine.

Because of that, I tip my hat to all school board members: The masters of masochism, the gluttony of all punishment. School board members take more crap than a porta-potty at a music festival, and it’s especially difficult on those that feel they’re called to serve for the right reasons.

I wouldn’t want that job if you paid me - well, I guess it’s about $400 a month or something, but if anyone is definitely underpaid and overrated (in their actual authority to do things), it’s a school board anywhere in America..

Read The Sunday Column, every week, only in The Shelby Independent.

The Sunday Column is sponsored by:

Copyright 2026 Chuck Thompson | The Sunday Column.

The Shelby Independent.