Who is Bill?

I was born at the end of World II in north Florida. My Daddy worked for a civilian contractor (Philco) with the newly formed Air Force. We moved frequently. We lived in Florida a year or two, Texas a year or two, Nebraska a year or two and then settled in southeastern Missouri for a few years.

Our living conditions in Missouri were quaint. I attended a one room school my first three years. By the time I reached reached the 7th grade; we had moved to a suburb of St. Louis. For the first time, I had only one grade in my classroom (and an indoor bathroom at home).

College was interrupted when Uncle Sam wanted me to wear an Olive Drab shirt and pants. Kandy (my wife of 58 years and counting) and I had been married less than a month at the time of my induction into the Army. This was during the Vietnam War.

After training at several bases, I was assigned as an instructor at Fort Knox, Kentucky. My duty was teaching basic engine theory on armored vehicles (tanks & personnel carriers) to new recruits.

I worked hard at being a good instructor. Teaching gave me an opportunity to study Army manuals and take college courses (by correspondence). As a result, I was promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-6).

After my Army days we moved to South Florida and I completed my college, graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering. I did electronic design work and was awarded 6 United States Patents. I am a licensed Professional Engineer.

We moved to Ashton (northwest Colleton County) in 2006 and joined my son-in-law, building custom homes. I was a job manager. Although now retired, I do some back office work and consulting.

We homeschooled our children and they have homeschooled their children.

When I became aware the schools in Colleton County were not doing well, I just marked that up to people are always complaining. Then I decided to look at test scores on www.ed.sc.gov, the state Department of Education website.

One in particular broke my heart: middle school test scores showed 8th grade math with less than 9% of the students on grade level in Colleton County.

I wanted to think of some way I could change that. I made the decision to run for school board. I was not elected.

So, now what? I created this website to document my research to suggest specific ways schools may be improved.