LAKELAND — Among the topics during the informal forum, there were discussions on the progress of magnet schools, reducing standard testing, teacher retention and curbing disciplinary problems in classrooms.
And among those in attendance, concerns and questions which were addressed and asked included transparency, instructor salaries and charter schools for profit.
At an afternoon meeting of the Polk County Progressive Democratic Caucus on Sunday, five of the seven candidates running for spots on the Polk County School Board presented their thoughts on why he or she should be a member of that board.
Four seats on the Polk County Public Schools school board in Florida are up for general election on Nov. 6. A primary election will be held on August 28. The School Board has seven members who serve four-year terms and are paid $40,385 annually. They each have to live in the district they represent, but voters from all over the county can vote in all of the races regardless of the districts in which they live.
Polk County Public Schools district was the eighth-largest school district in the state for school year 2016-17, with more than 150 schools serving nearly 100,000 students, according to district figures.
The five candidates who attended the Caucus meeting and their districts were: Sarah Fortney, District 3; Kala Tedder, District 3; Lisa Miller, District 7; David Byrd, District 7; and Terry Clark, District 5. Two other candidates, Jennifer Savin and Lynn Wilson did not attend.
The candidate forum was held prior to the Caucus’ regular 1 p.m. meeting at the Village Inn restaurant at 3770 Lakeside Village Court. About 70 Caucus members and guests filled a meeting room there, listening as each candidate in five minutes presented their platforms and responded to five minutes’ worth of audience questions.
Fortney, a teacher for more than 33 years, said as a board member, she would “focus on the good, while we work on … change.” Among her positions are streamlining bureaucratic paperwork, opening up more alternative education opportunities and more support for HOSA-Future Health Professionals studies. Holding a ball she called “an energy sphere,” she encouraged residents to “speak up and speak out” and to “focus on what works and emulating those models.”
Fortney also said she’s a proponent of “community schools” with a focus on diversity in schools with a high proportion of low-income students.
“I truly believe in my heart and in my mind, we can succeed together to make Polk County schools top-notch,” she said.
Following Fortney was Tedder, a student dual-enrolled at Lakeland’s George W. Jenkins High School and Polk State College. She focused on charter schools for profit and House Bill 7069, passed in June, which requires elementary schools to offer daily recess, makes it easier for teachers to win bonuses and to lets charter schools get school district construction money to move into areas with low-performing traditional public schools.
“For-profit in education is not OK whatsoever. There’s already limited funding … without making a profit off of it,” she said.
As for financial gain from education, Clark called what was the public school system, now a “public school industry” which “lines the pockets of corporate testing companies.” He said the county needs to control charter schools, not corporations. He also lamented the state of teacher retention, micromanagement and school discipline.
“You always have challenges with students, but let me tell you, our teachers are frustrated,” said Clark, a small-business owner and part-time pastor. “Their hands are tied.”
The next 10 minutes were Byrd’s, who coordinated agriculture activities for Polk schools before retiring from teaching in Polk County in 2013. He said he thinks most teachers and staff are “overworked, underpaid and under-appreciated. He said his campaign focuses on teacher recruiting, retaining and “respecting all school employees.” Other campaign issues center on promoting from within, class size and step increases into salary budgets.
“I’m not worn out yet; I have a passion for education,” he said. “I’m a teacher first from the get-go.”
Lastly, Miller, a former teacher and active exceptional student education advocate, is challenging incumbent Tim Harris for the District 7 board seat. She said she feels problems with over-testing and ever-changing mandates take time away from teaching and have added to frustrations and teacher turnover. She said lack of funding has led to a lack of direction by the district and children are being “warehoused” in schools.
“What we’re offering at one school should be the same as at another school as one two miles down the road,” she said. “We have to take back equity and equality.”
The candidates’ messages resonated with parents who attended the Caucus meeting. Jared Berg of Lakeland has a 4-year-old daughter, Dakota, who will be attending Polk County schools.
“This helped solidify some of my opinions of the particular candidates; it was worthwhile,” he said.
Paul Catala can be reached at paul.catala@theledger.com or 863-802-7533. He can be reached at Twitter @pcat0226.