Welcome back, A.K. Hasan

It's unusual, to say the least, for a political candidate to bring experience and a new, fresh perspective to the post he's running for. It's like having the best qualities of both a veteran and a rookie at the same time.

Well, this is what A.K. Hasan, candidate for Richmond County's Super District 9 school board seat, brings to the table. He's 50 years old, but in the early 1980s he was one of the youngest school board members the county ever elected; also, from 1983-84 he served as the board's first black president. These were not easy years to be a trustee - they had to dig out of a multimillion-dollar hole.

Hasan also served for a while on the old Augusta City Council, but he's been out of politics for a long time to focus on his real estate career. Now he wants back on the school board because he thinks - as do we - that he can combine his prior experience with some new ideas in a way that will improve the education experience, and grades, of today's Richmond County students.

First, school security is a major issue with him. He is calling for more training of school public safety officers in order to spot and break up gangs before the thugs get a grip on their classmates.

Second, Hasan would push to develop more magnet schools. Magnet schools, he says, smash all the old education myths and prejudices by proving that kids from different races and backgrounds can learn, work and achieve together.

He would even do away with attendance areas to get children in magnet schools. Higher test scores will follow, he says, if young people are learning about what they're interested in and what they want to do in life.

Finally, Hasan believes the communications breakdown between the school administration, the board and parents must be repaired. He'd start by having the school board appoint a public relations spokesperson who'd be independent of the administration, accountable to the trustees and responsive to the public.

Hasan has two opponents in this special election, and though they are both good men, they lack Hasan's experience and his innovative perspective. This is why we believe, along with the Richmond County Association of Educators who also endorsed him, that super District 9 voters should welcome Hasan back to the school board on Tuesday.

A. K. Hasan