Voting by mail is already underway and early voting starts Saturday. Still, registered voters have until Aug. 28 to cast their ballots to decide who will serve on the St. Lucie County School Board. Each of the three incumbents up for re-election faces one challenger, meaning the race will be determined after polls close.
Incumbents continue to tout their experience and the gains the District has made over the previous years as reasons why voters should keep them on the board.
Their challengers, however, want voters to see a need for new, out-of-the-box, fresh-eyed members presiding over the District.
District 1 is represented by Deborah Hawley, who faces challenger Steven Allen. District 3, which covers St. Lucie West, is represented by Donna Mills. Mark Young seeks to replace her. And District 5 is currently served by Troy Ingersoll, though Felicia Bruce hopes to change that.
Hawley, 58, is a fourth-generation St. Lucie County resident who serves as a director representing District 21 on the Florida School Board Association, and is the current president of the Greater Florida Consortium of School Boards, representing 10 coastal Florida school districts.
Allen, 40, is an airline captain who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in aeronautics and has taught in a classroom setting on such subjects as meteorology and advanced aerodynamics. “I want to remain a contributor to the success of our students and teachers who have worked so hard to make our District shine,” Hawley said.
But it’s not the only reason she wants to stay on the Board. She said the District is rolling out Social Emotional Learning, which addresses the whole child – academics, safety and security, and physical and mental health. “I want to see this SEL initiative through to complete integration into SLPS.”
Allen has children who currently attend school in St. Lucie County, something he points to as lacking among others seeking or serving on the School Board. That and his career give him a unique perspective, he said. “My profession, as an airline captain, has taught me critical thinking and I am able to think outside of the box and challenge the status quo,” he said. “This is something that I believe is badly needed in the school system.”
Allen takes issue with the current School Board’s decision to purchase prime property in St. Lucie West to build what he calls a “Taj Mahal” administration building. He has questioned the price tag and the funding sources for the building.
District 3’s race pits incumbent Mills, who has served on the Board since 2010, against challenger Young. “Am I satisfied with all of our accomplishments?” Mills, 57, asked. “No, we still have much more to do. There is always room for improvement. Nevertheless, we are steadily moving forward and doing so at an amazing rate.”
Mills, a certified license childhood director and licensed real estate agent, said as a minority she brings a unique perspective to the Board.
She has worked with inner-city children for more than 30 years and has owned her own businesses and nonprofit organizations. Her four children graduated from St. Lucie County Public Schools and she has two grandchildren currently enrolled.
Her goal is to continue striving to make the School District the best in the state by addressing technology and early childhood education, remaining focused on individual student achievement instead of high stakes testing, and continuing to invest in career and technical education programs.
Young, 47, is the president of the St. Lucie County Foster/Adoptive Parent Association, serves on the Board of Directors and Finance Committee of Hibiscus Children’s Center, and serves on the Child Welfare Network of the Roundtable of St. Lucie County.
“I think our school system can benefit from a fresh perspective and new ideas,” Young said. “I will be a new voice, new energy, and a new connection with the community.”
While Young agrees with the efforts the District has undertaken to protect students, he is less supportive of the District’s decision to purchase land and build a new administration building. To that end, he said, he would have advocated for building on District-owned land on Edwards Road in Fort Pierce, where Central High used to be.
“I want the district to prioritize students, teachers and staff in the budget and to avoid debt,” Young said.
Incumbent Ingersoll has been representing District 5 since 2006 and faces opposition from resident Bruce.
Ingersoll, 44, is a State of Florida-certified board member who has served as a student minister for more than 20 years. Bruce, 69, is a retired teacher with 20 years experience in New York.
Ingersoll points to the District’s improvements and achievements and notes he wants to be part of its continued success. “We have come a long way from when I first started, and I desire to keep this progress continuing,” he said.
Furthering his point, Ingersoll said he does not need a map to find the District’s schools, nor does he need introductions to the schools’ leadership as he has been involved with the District for years.
Ingersoll noted that his challenger hails from New York, a place with different needs and different student culture. He also noted a difference of campaign financing between himself and his opponent, and urged voters to review campaign reports for themselves.
For her part, Bruce said she made a commitment from the outset to “stay on the high road regardless of distractions, criticism, misrepresentations, innuendo or inaccuracies raised by others.”
Being retired, Bruce said she’d be able to focus solely on the needs of the District without taking employment elsewhere. She said she has “been there, done that” and would bring a teacher’s perspective to the Board if elected.
Like other challengers seeking seats on the dais, she, too, disagrees with the Board’s decision to buy and build new an administrative headquarters in St. Lucie West.
“I will press the Board to reach out into the community and hold more frequent meetings in the local high schools to make it more transparent, easier, more accessible and more convenient for families to see their School Board at work,” she added.