Name: Randy Heimler
Age: 56
Marital/Family Status: Married
Where child/children attend(ed) school: 3rd grader Rosewood Elementary
Years living in Indian River County: 7
Occupation: Retired/part time Credit Card Processor
Civic Involvement (memberships, duration, positions held):
- State of Florida Volunteer of the Year for the Department of Education.
- Miami Dade County School District Volunteer of the Year.
- City of Miami Police Department Hero Award.
- Chairman Miami Dade County School District Strategic Planning Committee.
- Chairman City of Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board.
- PTA President Frederick Douglass Elementary.
- Sebastian Junior Charter High School Board Member 2012-2014.
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters 2000-Present
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What issue(s) prompted you to run for Indian River County School Board and how do you plan to address it/them if elected?
Now, that the Superintendent has announced her retirement, it is vital to have the ability to perform the task of hiring the right leader for our school district. I have the ability to come to a consensus with my fellow board members and ensure that we do our due diligence.
The District and Individual School Grades have gone down from an A to C. The morale of the teachers is at an all-time low. There is a tremendous disconnect between the District and the Public.
As a full time board member, I will be able to talk to the teachers, parents and students to address all of the issues. I will work towards avoiding all Impasse Hearings with the teachers and support staff, as the legal costs for the district cost the taxpayers approximately $22.00/student last year.
Parental and Community Involvement are two of my top items to address and improve.
Why do you believe you are qualified to hold a seat on the School Board?
My goal is to continue to help provide the best possible education for our children. Over the past 15 years, I have volunteered over 5,000 hours for the school systems in Florida. I have also taught two years of 5th grade math and donated my entire salary to help those less fortunate.
Amongst others, my two immediate goals are restoring teacher morale and fiscal responsibility. As a school board member I will active meaning I will be a full time board member. I will sit in classrooms weekly and communicate directly with teachers, administrators, parents, and students. I will work diligently to build a working trust with each of the above groups.
At the same time I will be a watchdog for taxpayers. I will keep a keen eye on fiscal efficiencies. Taxpayers, and I’m one of them, deserve no less.
Vital to the success of our school district is both parental and community involvement. I earned the State of Florida’s Department of Education’s Volunteer of the Year Award for my ability to bring the entire community together to help a Double ” F” Failing School to become a “C” school. It took a concerted effort and lots of parental involvement but in the end the effort paid big dividends for all involved and, most importantly, for the students.
As mentioned above, I will be a “full time” board member, which is essential to being able to interact and engage the entire community. I will have an open door policy and will be very transparent with all of the citizens of Indian River County, especially parents.
I have an 8-year-old going into 3rd grade, and he along with all of our children is my incentive to work every day to improve our children’s education.
Given the escalating numbers of shootings occurring on school campuses – from elementary schools to colleges – across the nation, do you believe the Indian River County School District is doing enough to protect its students and staff members or does more need to be done to secure the campuses? If more needs to be done, what would you propose?
No. The Raptor Check In System needs to be updated to be able to detect all serious criminals, not just Sexual Offenders. All of the campuses need to be secured in a much safer manner, as many are wide open to allow access from many areas.
A plan for each school needs to be in place to ensure that each campus is secure, in addition to what the district is improving on now.
Various school districts across the nation have considered and implemented policies allowing teachers and/or staff members to carry firearms with the intent of deterring school shootings. Is this a policy you would support at Indian River County schools – why or why not?
I would prefer to see Law Enforcement at our Elementary Schools on a much more permanent basis. The City Of Vero Beach Police Dept. provided two officers for both Rosewood and Beach Land Elementary during the morning and afternoons.
Teachers and Staff should not be burdened with this task. They are Educators who we need to be focused on teaching our children, without a gun on their hips.
I will reach out to our local Law Enforcement Agencies to help us provide security for our most prized possessions, our children.
The Indian River County School District, in the past, has been accused of being less than open with the community – whether it is criticism of discussion sessions not being televised and public comment not being allowed during non-business meetings or not alerting the community to potential safety issues at individual schools. Do you believe the criticism is unwarranted or do you feel the District should/could do more to invite the public in?
The District has caused this problem by not being transparent and open to our citizens here. The “Three Minute Rule” at the meetings needs to be expanded and discussion needs to happen between the public and the board.
I will be advocating for monthly meetings with the Board and the Public, without Staff and the Superintendent. The Board needs to be able to discuss items amongst themselves and also with the public.
In recent years, the School Board seemingly has improved its relationship with the county’s various charter schools. Do you believe the Board is doing all it can to support and encourage charters or can more be done? If more, what would you suggest?
There is still a lot of room for improvement here, as the Charters are performing at a very high level and are providing a great service to our community.
The sharing of the local tax base is also a very contentious issue, as the Charters have about a 12% overall student population of our students and feel that they should share in these dollars proportionately.
Though the economy seems to be on the mend, local government budgets are still tight and municipalities are looking for ways to enhance services without increasing costs. To that end, some cities have explored the possibility of partnering with local schools to provide community meeting space or make use of the athletic fields. Is this a partnership that you would support – why or why not?
I am in favor of generating revenue wherever possible. This is a good area to accomplish this.
With Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams’s retirement, how would you go about finding a new superintendent. The School Board, in the past, has searched nationwide as well as internally. Which route would you recommend and why? What qualities would you look for in a candidate for the post and what qualifications would you expect that applicant to have?
I would prefer to look outside of the district, as there are many qualified candidates with the experience of actually acting as a Superintendent. This also avoids any type of conflicts of interest that may arise from working together for long periods of time.
The candidates must be from a successful school district and also have great leadership skills. Educational and business backgrounds are essential as well. This candidate also must be able to work with our entire community and be able to bring our citizens into our school district.
How would you rate Dr. Adams’s performance as the Superintendent? With one year left for her to serve, would you propose any changes to how she conducts business on behalf of the School District?
I would like to see her really focus on educating our students and working on continuing to improve the district’s relationship with our community. I rate her performance as a C, the same as our District’s grade.
It has come to VeroNews.com’s attention that, with a new board seated, anyone on the board could raise the issue of the new administration complex and wellness center and request a new vote. This means the two projects might not be the “done deal” some have suggested. If elected, would you raise the issue of either project and ask for a new vote in an attempt to stop the project? If so, why?
The board has voted on these items and they are already on their way. It is time to move on and now focus on our children.
What do you want readers to know about you or your candidacy that they might not already know?
I have an 8 year old going into 3rd grade and he along with all of our students provides me with the incentive to improve our District and bring it to the top of the State.
Along with my passion for our educational system here, my classroom teaching, my 15 years of volunteering and my business background, make me the most qualified candidate for this position.
I will be Full Time Board Member and I will be able to improve the Parental and Community Involvement areas for our School District, as they are vital to the success of our students.
I have been endorsed by the IRCEA (Teacher’s Union), The Realtor’s Association of IRC.
