Residents had the opportunity to interact with the three candidates vying next month for the District 6 seat on the Palm Beach County School Board at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on Thursday, July 17 at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center.
Incumbent Marcia Andrews, who is finishing up her first four-year term on the school board, is being challenged by parent advocate Carla Donaldson and retired school district Chief Operating Officer Joe Moore.
The primary election will be held Tuesday, Aug. 26. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will face off Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the general election.
District 6 encompasses most of the western communities and the Glades.
While introducing the speakers, moderator Karen Wilkerson invited audience members to write questions directed toward all of the candidates, who would each have a minute to respond. In just over an hour, the candidates were able to answer 19 of the 32 questions submitted.
Andrews’ opening statement was first.
“I have been your voice and your face for the last four years,” she said. “I have been on the ground for you, for students, for families, for parents, for the community.”
Married for 43 years, with a daughter teaching in the district and five grandchildren, Andrews has been living in the western communities since 1985 and has been involved with the school district for the past 40 years.
“I have been a policy-maker,” she said. “I have been a teacher and an administrator. I have been there in leadership.”
Donaldson followed, emphasizing her experience as a parent who has spent the past 13 years advocating for the community’s children, as well as her own two high-school-age children, who have been in the school system since they were 3 years old.
“Our children are not being listened to. Our families are not being listened to. Their needs are not being met,” she said. “I want to give all of our children a voice, all of our families a voice, and our classrooms.”
Moore spent 30 years with the South Florida Water Management District before serving a decade with the school district as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. He retired three years ago. Moore’s wife has been a teacher in the district for 32 years, and they have two children who attended public schools here.
Over the course of the evening, the candidates were asked about their priorities, their position on Common Core, activities when their children were in school and their thoughts on the future of education in the district.
The audience wanted to know how the candidates felt about safety and security in the schools and on buses, college and workforce preparation programs, funding for charter schools vs. public schools, how to attract and retain the best teachers and more.
None of the three believe that Palm Beach County schools are ready for Common Core, now called Florida Standards.
“We need the voices of the parents, the voices of the school district, to weigh in on this,” Andrews said. “We’re not quite ready yet, and we need to pay close attention — teachers, parents, community — and monitor this.”
Donaldson and Moore find many problems with the program, which is based on state and federal requirements.
“We still have teachers who don’t understand Common Core. The state doesn’t even understand Common Core. We’re in a mess,” Donaldson said, who added that the Florida Standards are merely Common Core with a few additions. “I am opposed to Common Core the way it is written. It takes away instruction from the teachers.”
Moore also opposed the way Common Core changes classroom instruction.
“I am against anything that would constrain the way teachers teach in the classroom,” he said. “They know their students. Teach every student to their full potential. If you have a standard curriculum, how can you be doing that?”
All the candidates emphasized that parents should become more involved by attending school board meetings, talking to the teachers, watching recorded meetings and joining committees. Andrews reminded the audience about monthly advisory meetings in the community, where board members and parents are able to interact and learn about various issues.
Each candidate worked to point out his or her unique credentials and most important priorities for change.
Showcasing his financial background, Moore said he would tackle financing first, working to find budgeting shortfalls, and then shape the budget around the most pressing priorities.
Andrews believes that beginning the education process prior to elementary school is critically important, and that an emphasis should be put on career education starting as early as middle school, followed by an emphasis on both career education and college prep in high school.
Donaldson focused on literacy, stating that many children can’t read and fail the FCAT. Then, in middle school, some students don’t have elective classes, and only 76 percent of high school students graduate across the school district.
All of the candidates agreed that salaries need to be competitive and that teachers should be paid more to attract and retain the best talent.
“I believe that teachers need to be rewarded based on the type of work that they’re doing,” Moore said, who added that financial supplements to teachers would help to attract good educators to the Glades and other disadvantaged areas.
Donaldson rhetorically asked whether anyone makes enough money before noting that many teachers are leaving the classroom for administration jobs, since those pay more. “We need to give our teachers a fighting chance, and we need to have them want to come to Palm Beach County,” she said.
The candidates were all in favor of keeping guns and other weapons out of schools. Andrews emphasized the need for more counselors to assist with mental health issues. Both Donaldson and Andrews discussed the need for only one point of entry to schools, while Moore reminded the audience that most campuses already have guns — the school police officers carry them. However, he does not believe others should be authorized to carry weapons in schools.
The candidates also addressed the controversial topic of financing for charter schools, as well as charter school accountability.
Donaldson is against using county art funds for charter schools. “I believe they should be used for the public-run schools, not the charter schools,” she said. “There’s an accountability issue that’s of great concern. When those tax dollars go to the district, there’s actually a committee that oversees all of that, every single penny, to make sure it is given just for what the taxes are for. If that money goes to a charter school, there’s no one watching it and there’s no one supervising it. We have no idea where it’s going.”
Moore did not agree. “I think the funding should have been available, in some form or fashion, to charter schools,” he said. “Charter schools are public schools; they’re just run by a charter board. They come under the umbrella of the school board. I think the board should have been more deliberate about looking for a way to make those funds available to charters, but certainly the accountability needs to be there.”
Andrews said she favored keeping the status quo when it comes to art funding.
Candidates were asked about the financial ramifications should a charter school fail once it has already received public funds.
Donaldson was not happy that the district’s financial interests are not being protected.
“The accountability’s not there,” she said. “We’re not getting our money back once they get it.”
Moore also focused on accountability and awareness. “There are certainly problematic charter schools out there, but there are some good charter schools. There are measures in place to try to get charter schools to report on what they’re doing,” he said. “A charter school only survives because parents elect to put their students in that charter school because they think it’s a better choice for their student. I think that the school district needs to do a better job about making sure those parents are better informed about their choices.”
Andrews noted that there is a school district department that regularly checks with the charter schools to identify which ones are not working. “We have to work with the charter schools and make sure things are working well,” she said. “I think we’re doing better. We’re keeping track of the money and holding them accountable when they don’t come through with their budgets.”
After closing statements, the candidates spent some time speaking one-on-one with attendees.
ABOVE: Palm Beach County School Board District 6 incumbent Marcia Andrews with challengers Joseph Moore and Carla Donaldson.
