Name: Thelma V. Hinton

Age: 46

Profession: Home heath care provider for my disabled adult child.

Education: Bachelors of social work, Norfolk State University, 1998; STOP Organization School of Nursing, 1989; and John F. Kennedy High School.

What are your qualifications for this seat? My three years of experience serving on the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority has given me the knowledge of working with all types of families, including blended families and those wrestling with poverty or divorce. I’m familiar with local, state and federal policy and am involved in creating and approving annual budgets according to federal guidelines.

Why should people vote for you on May 4?

My qualifications, involvement, commitment and dedication to the community make me an excellent candidate to represent the Nansemond borough. I believe my moral support to the diversity of the community enables me to bring innovative ideas to the board that can only enhance the board’s efforts to better serve and make positive changes in our schools.

Suffolk Public Schools has traditionally had trouble recruiting teachers. What would you recommend that Suffolk do to attract and keep top-notch teachers?

I would recommend that we continue asking for salary increases for our teachers through City Council so that we can remain competitive with other school systems and implement training programs to help those teachers who need help with the Praxis test.

The nation recently observed the 5th anniversary of multiple school shootings at Colorado’s Columbine High School. How safe are students in Suffolk today? Does more need to be done to strengthen school safety?

Suffolk Public Schools needs to continue updating its security policies and staying informed on different security techniques through training workshops and collaborating with other school divisions.

Suffolk is one of the fastest growing school divisions in the state today. What steps do you believe the school system needs to take in order to keep up with the rapid growth?

We should be formulating data with statistics so we will be able to stay abreast of Suffolk’s continuous growth. This will allow us to be creative with our programs and ensure innovative ideals.

The City Council has recently expressed a strong desire to see more neighborhood schools in Suffolk’s future. But during a recent joint meeting between council and the School Board, Dr. Milton Liverman indicated that neighborhood schools would not be the most economically feasible way to grow schools. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Neighborhood schools are not a good idea. It will not be good for the children of today. Even in the workplace, we have a mixture of people who come from various neighborhoods. Children need to learn with other children from different social and economic backgrounds.

— Compiled by Allison T. Williams