Mark D. Davis, Introduction

Hey Folks,

I wanted to post an introduction. My name is Mark D. Davis and I am running for re-election to the Walton County School Board in District 4. I have had the honor and pleasure of serving on the School Board since 1995 when Governor Chiles appointed me to serve the remainder of Ron Burgess' term who resigned to accept employment with the district. I was re-elected in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

You might be interested in my background. I am actually a Walton County native, though my family moved out of the county when I was very small and then returned when I was in the 5th grade. I graduated from Walton High School in 1980, OWCC in 1982 and from The Florida State University with degree in English in 1984. I went on to Law School at Florida State where I graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree in 1988.

My work background is varied. While living in Tallahassee during the time I was in school, I worked in the Florida Legislature in the Senate Rules Committee, the House Claims Committee (a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee) and with the Florida Public Counsel. The Florida Public Counsel is the consumer advocate/law firm for consumers and represents consumers before the Florida Public Service Commission. As a intern/staff person for the legislature, I particpated in bill drafting, bill history work and legislative scheduling. I truly enjoyed that experience. Also, while in Tallahassee, I worked for two law firms as a law clerk.

Upon my return to DeFuniak Springs in 1988, I began practicing law with Allan Ramey and we formed the firm of "Ramey & Davis." In 1995, I went to work for the North American Family Institute where I was the Program Director. We started the Juvenile Justice facility in DeFuniak Springs. That experience was educational to say the least. After leaving NAFI, I formed my own firm, now known as "Andrews & Davis," and have been practicing law in DeFuniak Springs since 1995. I am a BV rated attorney with Martindale-Hubbell, have served on the First Circuit Grievance Committee, am currently serving on the Florida Bar Bench Bar Professionalism Committee and have twice been nominated for a Circuit Judge position (though I was not appointed).

I have served on many boards including the Okaloosa Walton Bar Association Board, the COPE Center, Inc. Board, the Chautauqua Theatre Restoration Board. I am a current member of the Kiwanis Club of DeFuniak Springs and the Walton County Chamber of Commerce. Finally, I am an elder in the First Presbyterian Church, DFS, where I also sing in the choir. I am married and after a blissful 21 year marriage to my wife Susan, we were blessed with our first child, Jackson Douglass Davis, born January 25, 2007.

I have a very simple philosophy regarding school board issues. Simply put, our schools should be the best. Not the best we can afford, not the best in the area, but the best, period. We are not there yet, but, we have made great strides the last 13 years.

Let's start with facilities. When I joined the School Board back in 1995, our facilities were deplorable. In fact, they were so bad, I actually, in a moment of anger, wrote the Department of Education to complain about their state. Basically, I was told it was a local concern, so, when Ron Burgess' position came open I applied and immediately started to work on facilities.

Since I have joined the Board, we have built a new elementary school in south Walton, Butler; a new High School in south Walton, South Walton High School; a new middle school in south Walton, Emerald Coast High School (which should get a new building and site in the next three years); we have re-modeled and added onto Bay Elementary; we have built a new High School in Freeport; a new 7th Grade Building at Walton Middle; a new wing at the Walton Career Development Center; a new high school building, gymnasium, and auditorium at Paxton School. We are currently building a new high school building in DeFuniak Springs and a new elementary building at Mossy Head. We have remodeled other buildings and our facilities are the envy of the state. Our facilities maintenance staff is better and our schools, even the older builders, are cleaner.

As I said earlier, we are building a new middle school building in south Walton and I am real excited about that. We need to expand South Walton High School and make some further improvements in the stadium and fields around the school. I feel confident we can do so in the very near future. The new middle school building will alleviate much of the crowding problems we are having at Butler now.

Second, I wanted to focus on academics. Though I come from an athletic background, my father, brother and sister, were all high school coaches, I wanted to push for "rigor and relevance" in every classroom.

I am proud of the academic accomplishments of our students. One should never be satisfied by the academic performance of the students, but, we have made great strides in that area in the past 13 years. Although, I do not believe the FCAT is a true indicator of academic success, our scores on the FCAT have trended upward in every category the past 10 years. You probably don't want to get me started on the shortcomings of the FCAT and the school grading system. But, by that standard our schools have done well. As you probably know, we have been designated an A+ district for three years, were named in the top 11 districts based on academic and other performance standards and our current (2007 - 2008) FCAT scores, at least the ones we have received so far, are excellent and again continue the trend upward. Our entire district also received accredidation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, after a lengthy and rigorous examination.

However, the FCAT is only one measure and we can do better in areas the FCAT does not measure. For intance, our drop out rate is way too high. Of course, one student is too many, but, especially in the north end of the county, the drop out rate is too high. This is an area I really want to address in the next few years and I have some specific ideas on how to address.

Our other principle needs in the academic area are: (1) expanding our AP offerings in high school; (2) offer enough advanced classes (not necessarily advanced placement classes) so a high school students does not have to leave the high school campus to take academically challenging material, i.e., dual enrollment; and (3) continue to increase teacher pay and other benefits so we can continue to attract better teachers and staff for our students.

Third and last, I want our extra-curricular activities to be the best. Our athletic departments must be staffed with well-trained and caring coaches, they must be fully funded so the equipment they purchase is top notch, and they must have the best facilities for training and for competition. Our music, art, drama and club activities must be given the same consideration and not sacrificed at the alter of FCAT or budget constraints.

I feel like I have been a good steward of the taxpayers' dollar. I have come to believe, however, that you must invest in education to get a good return and you must demand accountability from the staff, teachers' and students for that investment.

I don't mind answering questions with one caveat. Because of privacy laws (FERPA), I cannot discuss student discipline or staff discipline.

Thank you for taking the time read my introduction. Mark.