Don R. Perine, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of South Alabama, has announced his candidacy for the Mobile County school board, District 3. He is running against Reginald Crenshaw and Fred Marshall in the June 3 Democratic Primary. No Republicans are running. LaVeeshia Pittman who is running as a write-in/independent. District 3 which includes Prichard and areas north to Mount Vernon has long been represented by Hazel Fournier, who is retiring from the board.
Perine said that if elected, he would support legislation to stop paying the school board members their $12,000 annual salary. He said that he would rather give his $1,000 each month to a different school. "It is time to change the whole environment of the school board and remove the negative impression of the citizens of Mobile County that the five-member board suffers from either ignorance or apathy, that they don't know what they are doing or don't care," Perine said.
School board members serve six-year terms. One or two districts come up for re-election every two years, with voting in Districts 3 and 4 taking place this year. Concerning the system's upcoming budget reductions, Perine said he thinks the system's top administrators should take pay cuts before teachers are fired and programs are lost. Perine said he also would like to provide more stability in schools that seem to switch principals every year. Perine is a 1972 honor graduate of Satsuma High School who now lives in Eight Mile. He has a bachelor's degree from Dillard University in New Orleans, a master's degree in chemistry from The Ohio State University, a master's degree in business administration from the University of South Alabama and a doctorate in chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University.
