Open School Board seat draws 3 candidates

Aug. 17--Three men, all with much different types of experience, are vying to fill the District 3 seat of senior School Board member Bobby James, 71, a career educator who retires in November after serving 11 years on the board.

Eric Cummings, 49, a Florida Department of Corrections officer and local pastor, plans to use his experience to help the board address school security concerns and discipline.

"I don't like what I am seeing," said Cummings of why he filed to run for office. "The school system is constantly failing. We had a drop in the ranking from 57th to 61st. I think our school system is in a crisis situation."

Donnie Prophet, 27, a paraprofessional and teacher who has worked in the district for nine years, plans to use his experience to foster more support for teachers and students.

"With me, you have somebody who has been on the ground running," he said, referring to the fact he has worked with both special needs and gifted students. "I am a listener. I am will to get advice. I am willing to look at issues from all points of view."

And Ed Wilson, 59, a general contractor and education advocate, plans to use his experience to help the board make decision about capital improvements and textbook choices.

Wilson, who ran against James in 2014 and lost, said he was reluctant to run this year. After some urging, he decided to give it one more shot.

"I have been going to Tallahassee for many years working to improve the education system and to protect our rights," he noted.

School Board races are nonpartisan and elections are countywide, but members must live within the district they represent. Board members serve four-year terms and make an annual salary of $39,732, an amount set by the state.

The three candidates will appear on the Aug. 28 primary ballot. If one of the candidates do not receive 50 percent plus one vote, the top two candidates will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.

All candidates visited the Star-Banner of 30-minute interviews to discuss an array of issues. Here is a synopsis of the comments made by those candidates, who are listed in alphabetical order.

Eric Cummings

Cummings has worked for the Florida Department of Corrections since 1994 and is the current pastor of New Zion Missionary Baptist.

As a 1987 graduate of Forest High School, Cummings said he is vested in improving local education efforts.

"I got into this race because of my kids, my grandkids and, as a pastor of a congregation with many children in the school system," said Cummings. "We need to make some changes for the children of our county."

Cummings has noticed that many campuses are wide open. He met with Ocala Police Department officials about his concerns a few days before April's Forest High School shooting occurred.

Cummings said all campuses need fencing and one entrance.

"Single point of entry is great, but you have to secure the perimeter first," Cummings noted.

Cumming wants to promote programs that help both students and parents.

"Every kid does not come from a well-off family, so we need to find all the resources we can for them," he noted. "If a child is coming to school hungry, or not properly dressed, that makes it harder for them to succeed. All children need to be on a level playing field."

Cummings wants to find more support programs for faculty and staff.

"We need our teachers to know that they have our support so they can be the best role model or our kids," he noted.

Cummings said he will also be budget-minded. He believes that it is the board's responsibility to look at every line item to make sure the district is spending its $500 million budget wisely.

Cummings also believes that better communication and civility is needed among board members.

"As a School Board member, we need to stand up to the superintendent and say we may not agree with you on everything, but we do agree with you on some things," he noted.

Cummings said he does believe in homework: "Homework is just practice, but homework gives the parents a part of the process."

"The homework rule pushed the parents out," he said. "Students need to be challenged. When they get to middle school, high school and college they will have homework. Culture shock if they don't have it in elementary school."

Cummings said he is in the race to win: "It is much bigger than the school system. It affects us economically; it impacts who moves here and what businesses come here. It is extremely imperative, from an economic point of view, that we have the best school system in the state of Florida."

Donnie Prophet

Prophet, the youngest of seven children, said he has always loved education. Right out of high school, he launched his career as a paraprofessional. And since then he has obtained a bachelor's degree and is now a behavioral technician at South Ocala Elementary School.

He said his classroom experience is invaluable.

"I have been advocating for public education, in Washington D.C. and Tallahassee, for a while now," he noted.

Prophet said his three main priorities will be to fight for better accountability, safer schools and better working and learning environments.

He wants make sure that the large budget is being used efficiently, specifically helping students in the classroom.

"I am going to visit every school in the district before the end of my first year in office," said Prophet, who believes board members should be more visible. "When I am elected, I will host community town hall meetings."

Prophet said he strongly supports certified officers protecting students and employees. He will also advocate for single entries to schools and locked doors with buzzer systems.

"We have a community full of wonderful veterans and retired law enforcement officers," said Prophet, who supports limited armed employees to serve as guardians. "Good mental health care is also important to help identify at-risk children."

Prophet said he wants to implement a plan to provide more support to teachers, especially younger educators.

"Most are in the first five years of teaching," he said. "We must address turnover."

In terms of Evergreen Elementary School's academic struggles, Prophet said the state should have grandfathered in all schools before tightening the criteria. Evergreen had a plan to improve its D grade and was working hard when House Bill 7069 was passed. He also supports and overhaul of the state school grading system.

"The boat is turning around at Evergreen because of Principal Wayne Livingston," Prophet said. "I am truly frustrated at the state" for changing the rules midstream.

"We need to let the educational experts, those who know the kids, to teach so they can turn it around. Let the teacher teach," Prophet said. "Let the principal lead the school."

Prophet said he may be young, but he has a lot of experience in education.

"Since I turned 18 I have worked in education," he noted. "I have been to Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., to help improve education. I am passionate about this field. I am not jaded. Education is my career."

Ed Wilson

For many, many years, Wilson has been seen at School Board meetings and often speaks to the board.

Though Wilson has spent 30 years as a general contractor in Marion County, as well as many years volunteering in sports and Scouts, his love has always been education.

As a member of the Florida Citizens Alliance, Wilson has traveled to Tallahassee for past 14 years to advocate for better education. He has fought tirelessly to insure that textbooks are accurate and that school libraries do not contain books that could be viewed as being obscene.

"During my work with Florida Citizen Alliance, we have found some really atrocious material in some textbooks," he noted. He advocates that districts need to "do the right thing and get questionable books out of the library."

Wilson's top priorities are making sure families have school choice, safe schools and accurate, age-appropriate textbook and reading material.

Wilson also believes in less micromanaging: "Let teachers teach."

"We need to support them for the very important work that they do," he said.

Wilson also said the year-long battle between some School Board members and Superintendent of Schools Heidi Maier has been unfortunate.

"There is definitely a better way to handle it," he noted. "We should all treat one another with respect and dignity. You don't build long-term lasting relationships by being disrespectful to each other. Just need to be honest and respectful."

Wilson also doesn't like the "high stakes testing."

"We need to make some changes and Dr. Maier has been working on that," Wilson said. "Some of it has been good and some of has been bad. But she is trying new things."

He said open discussion is key.

"We have to be able to have frank, open, honest discussions about the issues," he noted. "That doesn't mean we will always agree. It is about the children and improving our education system."

Wilson plans to going to retirement communities and churches to find retired educators to help tutor children.

"I believe if children were allowed to experience the joy of learning they will do better in school," he noted.

Wilson believes homework is necessary.

"When I was a kid I realized that if I did my homework every day that I would make the honor roll," he said. "I think homework is a very important part of an education. I believe it is an important tool for teachers and for the students."

Wilson said his passion for education should speak for itself.

"I hope people will vote for me," he noted. "I have a long history of working to improve education, locally and at the state level."

Joe Callahan can be reached at 867-4113 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.

___

(c)2018 the Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, Fla.)

Visit the Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, Fla.) at www.ocala.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.