It Ain’t Broke

by Rhonda Linseman-Saunders

I’m relatively interested in who is at the Monroe County School District’s helm and thought I’d pollute page 2 this week with a few of my thoughts from the perspective of a regular, busy mom with a brood of children who attend or will attend schools in the district.

Monroe County is one of the few places left in the country in which the superintendent of schools is an elected official. So, this November we’ll choose to either keep our current superintendent, Randy Acevedo, or opt for his opponent, Fred Colvard. While party affiliation seems almost silly, Acevedo is running again as a Democrat and Colvard is running as a Republican. Neither has competition in their respective parties in next Tuesday’s primary election. The good news is that neither seems like a terrible choice.

Colvard has more school level experience, which probably accounts, in part, for his stance against additional standardized testing. That’s what teachers and parents want to hear, but with such a strong tie between the testing and the money in this state, it will be difficult to affect much actual change in that arena as superintendent. I hope I’m wrong about that.

At a minimum, I hope he’d work to create an environment where teachers feel less like dancing FCAT monkeys and more like professional educators who have the training and drive to create an optimal experience for their students, even without the implied (and actual) threat brought by the weight of their students’ FCAT scores.

Of the two candidates, Colvard seems to be running the nastier campaign, launching more direct accusations about his perceived failures on the part of the current administration.

Perhaps he’s just that passionate about change, or perhaps it’s because he knows how difficult it is to oust an incumbent when there’s no actual scandal. And believe me, if there’s scandal to be uncovered, you’ll hear it here first.

Acevedo had a brush with scandal last year when school Culinary Advisory Committee member Richard Tallmadge lead a witch hunt that resulted in the firing of popular Key West High School teacher Holly (Brozi) Bell. Many believed it was a case of Bubba doing whatever he wants without explanation, but under intense scrutiny from the community, Acevedo allowed KWHS Principal John Welsh to rehire Bell.

The school board has implemented a no-politicking policy, presumably to prevent administrators on school property from endorsing a particular candidate and intimidating or influencing school employees. In keeping with the policy, school board members will not use their public access to help or hurt any candidate, but it seems clear that some of them are ready for change.

John Dick is among the most vocal about what he seems to perceive as Acevedo’s fiscal irresponsibility. Some believe he may oppose Acevedo because Acevedo supported Dick’s opponent when Dick last ran for election. Who knows.

And who cares, really, because love him or hate him, we need intensely observant people like Dick on the school board. I hope he’ll remain as critical no matter who is superintendent after the November election. I think he will.

Like Dick, many Colvard supporters rally behind the idea that Acevedo is fiscally irresponsible and that the administrator-to-student ratio has gotten out of control on Acevedo’s watch, citing that Monroe County has the highest ratio in the state. But we have geographical challenges, among others, that may merit a thicker administration.

Even still, the administrator count has actually gone down under Acevedo. In 2004 when Acevedo was elected, there were 67 administrators and three deputy superintendents. Acevedo consolidated the construction and maintenance departments and has only one deputy superintendent.

With the retirement of Frankie St. James, the current deputy superintendent, Acevedo says he will fill that position with a current administrator, but will not fill the administrative position left vacant by the new deputy. Those changes, along with the 2008-09 cuts that sent four additional administrators back to the classroom, will bring the administrator count down to about 57. I hope appropriate slashings will continue.

Acevedo worked as Executive Director of Business and Fiscal Services in charge of the budget before becoming superintendent, giving him extensive insight into the district’s various funds, revenues, expenses, and balances. That experience may have been a factor in helping to reduce the district’s 2008-09 budget to a level below the rollback rate without eliminating teaching positions. In fact, while many city and county employees live in fear of losing their jobs, our teachers received a raise that keeps them the highest paid in the state (as it should be, given the cost of living in our county).

Out of curiosity, I asked both Colvard and Acevedo what they thought of longtime school board member Andy Griffith’s proposal for consideration of allowing limited alcohol sales at non-school related events that are held in the county’s high school auditoriums.

Predictably, neither will publicly support the idea. Boosting the rental and usage of the auditoriums in this manner is one of those perfectly discussion- worthy ideas that may not see the light of day because, especially in an election year, leaders are more concerned with pandering to the prudish than with making prudent decisions.

Overall, I’m inclined to stick with Acevedo. We not only have an “A” district for the third year in a row, but we have the highest GPA of any district in the state. That accomplishment may or may not be a direct result of Acevedo’s individual efforts, but whatever the circumstances, we have a relatively successful system and a first-rate school district under Acevedo’s leadership. As much as I love to stir the pot, I don’t favor messing much with it at this point.

Acevedo isn’t perfect, but he seems responsive, flexible, and willing to learn and compromise. As the adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In this soccer mom’s humble opinion, it ain’t broke.

Rhonda@kwtn.com

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Comments

[Curious soccer dad]

Interesting synopsis. With declining enrollments,possible tax payer reform revolt in November, obvious nepotism issues, and even with your cheery view of the admin size down town. You still back the Bubba. Wow. You KWTN people are wrong on Fred Colvard. His resume shows he has the ability to run the school district cost efficient and help the tax payers too. The current route over Sonny and Dixie shows how we are fed up with a big tax roll. Even if you want to whine "its for the children"! I know Colvard can better the machine and make it run more effeciently. 88,91,94,96 million...and still climbing. I guess I will be moving out of my home if taxes as threatoned are raised.

[Bob jones]

Editorial
Dr. Fred Colvard is best suited to manage our schools

As interested and supportive observers these past few years, we've learned a thing or two about what it takes to manage a school system successfully. Dr. Fred Colvard looks to us like the whole package.
Six years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush appointed John Padget to fill the unexpired term of Superintendent Mike Lannon. Padget is a successful business executive, an entrepreneur, an innovator. He plunged into the task with earnest commitment and zeal. He advanced some praiseworthy ideas and led a successful effort to pass a referendum to split tax revenues between capital projects and operations, thereby enabling substantial pay increases for teachers.
Nevertheless, Padget's full-throttle management style consistently irked the bureaucracy, as well as a couple of members of the School Board. As a consequence, he was rejected by voters when he sought election to the office.
Padget was succeeded by Randy Acevedo, who is now campaigning for a second term. Acevedo is a hard-working, personable man and, as some would say, a good politician. But he is simply ill equipped for this particular job. His expertise is in information technologies (computer systems), not education.
He has gone over-budget four years in a row, piled on overheads, diminished reserve funds 50 percent, engaged consultants and invested heavily in computer systems. He also blundered into two bad and costly real estate deals. To his credit, he increased teachers' salaries at the entry level and at the bottom rungs of seniority to help offset the punishing costs of living in Monroe County. But in the face of a diminishing student population and slumping tax revenues, he remains unconcerned about yet another year of red ink that will further deplete reserves.
The bottom line is that today, Monroe County's costs per student are the highest in Florida, but student achievement is nowhere near the top.
So, what is it we have learned about what it takes to manage a school system successfully?
To our way of thinking, what it takes is an experienced educator with a track record of success.
Fred Colvard is the man with all the right credentials. Over the course of a 36-year career as an educator, he has been a teacher, principal, athletic director, football coach and superintendent -- the latter position three times in two different states. In short, he has been there, done that. He won't have to learn on the job; , he will bring hands-on expertise to the job on day one.
On the campaign trail, Dr. Colvard has been candid and explicit about his intentions and beliefs. First and foremost, he is an advocate for the teachers. He passionately believes the only pathway to improved learning is in the classroom. That means giving teachers the tools and support to do what they know how to do (e.g., teach). He understands the limits of standardized tests, like Florida's FCAT, as a measure of student achievement and he abhors the practice of "teaching to the tests," which robs teachers as well as students of valuable time that could otherwise be invested in real learning. He has carefully examined the current budget and has identified line items that can be cut in order to put more resources into the classroom.
He makes a lot of sense to us. And we are further encouraged by the fact that as a superintendent his administration never once ran over budget.
-- The Citizen

I guess its broken!

[Rhonda Saunders]

Not really. Some people are just suckers for Colvard's dirty campaign tactics. And don't get me wrong--it's an absolute blast to watch it all unfold (now Acevedo needs to unspin Colvard's spin on Acevedo's allegedly spun numbers). Can you imagine what the Colvard camp would say if the district's numbers were actually bad?

Again, I love to watch mud-slinging, but if Colvard actually wins, a lot of people will need to work with and for him. Frankly, he seems pushy and shameless (traits I would otherwise admire).

Listen, do you think it was easy to endorse the same Bubba that was endorsed by the Ostrich at Conch Color? It wasn't. It isn't. But Acevedo does not need to be replaced, from my perspective. I have taught in the district and have five children that attend or will attend schools here, so while I fully expect continuous improvement, the mix of competencies among Acevedo and the current school board members is somehow working. FCAT scores (and ours are near the top in the state) are only one component in determining a district's GPA. Our district did, in fact, beat out all others in the state. We are number one. The man deserves to keep his job.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and by “sharing your thoughts” of course I mean “copying and pasting from the Citizen.”