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<\/p>\nCandidates answered questions on student achievement, teaching and learning, and state and local policies, with each explaining what sets them apart.<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Parents and students packed a community forum Thursday night to hear directly from seven candidates competing for three seats on the Duval County School Board.<\/p>\n
Voters in Districts 2, 4, and 6 will choose new board members in the Aug. 18 primary, with early voting running Aug. 7\u201316.<\/p>\n
The election comes as the district faces budget pressures, school consolidation decisions, and concerns about political influence in local education.<\/p>\n
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Candidates answered questions on student achievement, teaching and learning, and state and local policies, with each explaining what sets them apart.<\/p>\n
In District 2, Terence Myers said his time in the classroom and across the district gives him the edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what the parents have been asking. I\u2019m in the community. I\u2019m dealing with students. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to teach adults as well as children,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n
Fellow District 2 candidate Donna Westrich shared her focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI put students first, and I will always dedicate my time to making sure that students succeed,\u201d Westrich said.<\/p>\n
In District 4, Rhodesia Butler said her combined education and business background makes her the right fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think with the tenure of education, as well as business acumen and having large budgets, I think that it\u2019s just a huge fit for me to be able to take a seat,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Gracie Bell Kearse-McCastler said she\u2019ll bring knowledge and integrity to the role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll use the knowledge, the skills, my determination, and my integrity to do the best job possible,\u201d Kearse-McCastler said.<\/p>\n
In District 6, Clarence James said he\u2019s the one to clean up school safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am the guy that can get the job done to get the violence and put respect back into our classroom,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n
Robert Stafford said he challenged the district on construction costs, helping drive down the price.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what sets me apart,\u201d Stafford said.<\/p>\n
Michelle Petty said her ability to collaborate is her strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take pride in having a knack for being able to work with all types of people. I try to find what way works best with individual different personalities,\u201d Petty said.<\/p>\n
Students also spoke out about what they want from their next school board.<\/p>\n
Co-moderator of the event and rising 12th grader at Wolfson High School, Dylan Rolle, said he\u2019s concerned about cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of cuts to public education and a lot of cuts to stuff like magnet buses that we\u2019ve had to go against, and just I want to ensure that these board candidates know that we have concerns about these things,\u201d Rolle said.<\/p>\n
Saige Higgins, a recent graduate of Paxon School for Advanced Studies, said busing is critical for access.<\/p>\n
\u201cBussing is very important, allowing kids to get the best education, whatever school they choose. It\u2019s important that they\u2019re able to get there and get there on time,\u201d Higgins said.<\/p>\n
Riley Higgins, a rising 9th grader at Stanton College Preparatory School, said teacher support is key.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeachers they do a lot for students and I feel like they just need more like time and resources to really get deep into subjects that they’re teaching,\u201d Riley Higgins said.<\/p>\n
For many, the event was a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did see someone who will step out of their regular job to really try to be on the front line to advocate for students. We need community members who are passionate about making a change in the right direction,\u201d said Carol Mannings, an attendee.<\/p>\n
Remember, all registered voters may vote in the nonpartisan school board races regardless of party affiliation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Candidates answered questions on student achievement, teaching and learning, and state and local policies, with each explaining what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-360196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}