Thank you all for taking the time to weigh in on my candidacy for Walton County School Board. Now, I can't say that everything I've read has made me feel all that great today, but that's life!
Let me take a minute to tell you why I’m running, and to answer some of the questions folks have posed. I don't plan on posting here too many times...so let me say at the outset that you can always e-mail me any questions you have at
andrew@electandrew.com.
I’m running because I really think more people need to have their voices heard when it comes to the decision-making on the Walton County School Board. I’ve worked in public outreach and education policy, and I think that I can work in a positive and productive way to get folks involved and have their voices heard. For example, I think our school board should hold more meetings throughout the county, at times that are convenient to people who work and might not be able to attend meetings in DeFuniak. Just like folks are posting their views here, I think more people need to have their voices heard when the school board votes to spend their/our money.
This is the primary reason I'm doing this.
Here are a few of the other issues that are important to me.
TAXES - I’m running because I want to help pass a responsible school budget that doesn’t raise taxes. Since 2008-09, the property tax rates that have funded our schools have increased by nearly 40 percent. I am troubled that in addition to being very costly for taxpayers at a time when our economy is still improving, these increases in funding aren't making it to the classrooms – and teachers have faced wage freezes. Even the most recent contract negotiation was, in my view, a disappointment for educators. (Our millage rates went up nearly 13 percent in a year, and the most teachers got was a 2 percent raise...from state, not local, funds.) I think we need to bring taxpayers, teachers and school leaders together to identify ways we can save money. The people most involved in education (teachers) usually know where to help find ways to save costs.
GROWTH - When it comes time to build new public schools (which is inevitable...we're growing as a county), I want folks all across the county to give their input. Building new schools is an opportunity to increase student learning and put Walton County on the map for educational excellence. We need to figure out what types of schools we want to build, how many students they’ll serve, how these schools will impact traffic and our property values, etc. It’s also an opportunity to make sure that decisions regarding building contracts are done prudently and in the sunshine, so that we respect tax dollars.
CURRICULUM - I want parents and teachers to be more involved in the selection of curriculum and instructional materials, especially as Florida fully transitions to new state standards in the coming year. This is important because these decisions must be made with the full involvement of educators, who must teach this material every day, and also parents, who help their kids with homework. I have seen a lot of districts do this the wrong way, and the results are catastrophic. We can't afford to screw this up.
TEACHERS - I want to make sure we do a better job of listening to, and rewarding, our teachers. I am the son of a public school teacher, and I went to traditional public schools for my entire life – in addition to working to recruit teachers and encourage folks to enter the profession. Teachers are leaders, and they deserve to be treated with respect and have their voices heard
without threat of retribution. And, we absolutely need to find a way to compensate teachers in Walton County with higher pay. It’s wrong that taxes have increased so dramatically, without seeing the pay of our educators increase. Frankly, I find it insulting.
These are the reasons I’m running, and this is exactly what I’ll do if I’m elected. You may not agree with me, but that's OK.
Regarding my experience, let me share that I have worked in education policy for more than a decade. I’ve worked to recruit teachers for public schools, helped develop partnerships for teacher recruitment in more than a dozen school districts in Florida, and have helped educate and inform parents about the educational options they have for their children as an advocate for educational choice. As folks have pointed out, the work I do has supporters who are conservative, and supporters who are progressive; education reform is an increasingly bipartisan issue.
So, in terms of school choice, I do support quality, accountable educational options for families. I know that this issue can be controversial, but in my experience, what’s more controversial is to give parents no options for their children’s education. Most school choices are in the public sector (such as intra and inter-district school choice and public magnet schools), and when you look at the issue closely, families want options for their children. It's a mistake to think (or to infer) that school choice supporters, like me, are somehow opposed to great public schools or to teachers. For me, the opposite is true. I
want our public schools to be the schools of choice for families here. But I also recognize that kids aren't one-size-fits-all.
Regarding charter schools specifically (folks have brought this up here) the difference between a great, high-performing charter school and a charter school that doesn’t work is the charter itself (the authorizing documents creating the school), as well as the school’s leadership and oversight. If a new (charter) school is to be proposed in Walton County, I’d be the first person to demand a tight, accountable charter for that school so that if the school isn’t run correctly and doesn’t serve children and taxpayers, the district has the authority to
fix it or close it.
Also...let’s be clear on what a school board member can and can’t do. A school board member can’t privatize anything! A school board member can’t pass a voucher program (Florida’s private scholarship program is funded by corporate – not taxpayer - contributions, because of the state’s Constitutional Blaine Amendment prohibiting vouchers).
But, if you want to focus on profits, I agree that need to have a big, long conversation about contracting and consultants and administrative costs not just here in Walton County, but everywhere. This is where the “profit” problem arises in our schools, and not enough people are talking about it.
This is where a school board member can make a big difference – freeing up dollars that might be locked down in administrative and bureaucratic spending and directing it to our classrooms and to our teachers.
Finally, I want to share that I chose to move to Walton County because I love it here. I have family that has lived here since the ‘80s. I'm not going to confuse you by claiming I've lived here my whole life. I haven't. But that doesn't mean I can't serve our community well. I’m running because I chose to run, and I want to serve this community and everyone who lives in this community.
That’s pretty much it. Thanks for hearing me out, and thanks again for weighing in and for the spirited discussion. Because I don’t plan on commenting on the blog too often, please feel free to just e-mail me at
andrew@electandrew.com if you have any questions. Thank you again.
-- Andrew Campanella
