One candidate focused on cronyism while the other focused on what happens inside the classroom during a debate Monday night.
State Rep. Janet Adkins and current Nassau County School Board Vice Chair Dr. Kathy Knight-Burns are the Republican candidates for superintendent of schools. They faced off at Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Nassau Campus and will vie for the Republican nod in the Aug. 30 primary election. Libertarian candidate Cheryl James chose not to participate. She faces either Burns or Adkins in the Nov. 8 general election.
Debate moderator Marcia Ladendorff asked the candidates about speculation that James is a “planted candidate” to close the primary and asked how each would regain the trust of disenfranchised voters who are unlikely to have a real vote on who will be the next superintendent. Speculators believe James will drop out of the election after the primary.
“It does make you wonder, doesn’t it,” Burns asked. She added that she grew up in a democratic family and appreciates unions. She added that nearly 2,000 voters have changed their voter registration in recent months. Voters can change their party affiliation through Aug. 1 and can again change their registration by Oct. 11 for the general election.
As to James, Burns said, “I hope perhaps we’ll see her after Aug. 30.”
Adkins responded to Ladendorff’s question by saying she has been accused of a lot recently, including plans to privatize custodial and cafeteria services and eliminate music and the arts.
She added that she has no plans to do any of that.
As for James, Adkins said, “I do not know Mrs. James. I have nothing to do with her campaign. I have nothing to do with her candidacy.”
As a rebuttal Burns simply stated, “I thought the question was about candidate James and disenfranchising Democrats.”
Her comment was met by laughter and applause from the audience.
When asked about whether any campaign donors would expect returns on their investments, Adkins defended contributions from outside the county – which total $75,386 of her $101,346 in reported contributions through July 8.
“I have worked with a lot of people and I am grateful that so many of them have been willing to support my campaign,” she said.
As for financial donations from charter school advocates, she said she supports all forms of education.
“I believe it’s the parents’ right to choose which school is right for their child,” Adkins said, adding that charter schools form “typically in larger urban areas.”
She also attacked her opponent’s action as a school board member regarding the Wildlight Elementary project in Yulee, saying the construction directly benefits her campaign donors, since local businesses – some who have donated to Burns’ campaign – benefit from the project.
“Let me tell you, I am not for sale,” Burns said.
Most of her $62,481 in campaign contributions are local. Of that, $7,645 is from donors with addresses outside Nassau County.
Adkins contends that Wildlight is a misuse of taxpayer dollars.
“We’re building a Cadillac school that our children are not going to be able to use in that planned community,” she said.
Burns cited the school’s value as a hurricane shelter for island residents when storms hit and reminded Adkins and the audience of the open enrollment bill recently approved at the state level, allowing school choice in and outside assigned school districts.
“Your students will be going to that school,” Burns said. “You have to be more concerned about the open enrollment that state legislators approved for all of our schools.”
Adkins touted her experience in Tallahassee and later added that Nassau schools need to be represented at the Capitol.
This led Ladendorff to ask, “You’re the voice for Nassau County. Have you not been advocating for Nassau County? Do we need to hire a lobbyist?”
Adkins replied that representatives from several school districts came to her with requests, but none from Nassau.
“Every other school has been at the table, and if you’re not there, you’re on the menu,” she said.
Burns replied, “I don’t know if we would’ve been welcome.”
She added that the school board counted on the state representative to advocate for her local school district. Adkins serves as chair of the House’s K-12 Education subcommittee.
Adkins contends “lavish spending” occurs under the current district administration, citing stays at Ritz-Carlton Orlando and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago – hotels with conference rooms where local educators attended education seminars.
As one teacher said post-debate, “The hotels offer discounted rates for the conference attendees and you stay where the conference is held.”
Burns atte-sted that educators travel to these summits to evolve their teaching skills to meet ever-changing state standards. Those standards ha-
ve changed three times since 2011.
Addressing a $1 million renovation labeled “superintendent’s office” on the district’s general ledger, Burns said the project included all the buildings that comprise the district offices.
The project was originally funded and advertised in 2008, but placed on hold as the economy tanked. It was then completed in 2011.
“We have an impeccable record in Nassau County for construction,” Burns said.
Cronyism was a word Adkins used frequently during the debate. She said promotions for friends and family outweigh merit promotions. She added her contention that bids are awarded in the same manner for projects facilitated by the school board.
“We will absolutely have a policy that we will not have any nepotism,” Adkins said.
Earlier she said, “There’s a lot of cronyism that’s present in our school system. … It undermines trust.”
Adkins reiterated that promotions occur based on last names and “who you know” and that she will put a stop to family-linked hiring and bid awarding.
The school district is full of legacy teachers where education careers span from one generation to the next and often parents and their children and husbands and wives teach within the same school.
Chapter 287 of the state legislature outlines regulations for awarding contracts. Burns said district audits always show the school board to be in compliance with those laws.
Throughout the debate, Burns emphasized the importance of success in the classroom.
“If it’s not happening in the classroom, nothing else matters,” she said, adding that the adoption of Common Core is a high concern among teachers and parents alike.
Adkins said the Florida Department of Education adopts the state standards.
“It is up to our local school board and teachers to decide how to teach Common Core. This is called curriculum,” she said.
“Yes, we do choose the curriculum, but we have to teach for students to perform on the tests,” Burns rebutted. “When you have to have five ways to solve the same math problem, that is confusing to teachers, students and parents alike.”
Burns advocates STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education – and noted the success of West Nassau High School’s robotics program. She said while the program focuses on engineering the robots, it also emphasizes the importance of writing skills.
“You have to be able to write informational papers about it. You have to be able to write instructions,” Burns said.
Adkins said students spend too much time on the computer and logging into the school’s Focus program to see grades is not adequate.
“When you’re spending all that time on the computer, you’re not learning to write,” she said. “You’ve got to have that feedback loop in place so you know what to improve on.”
Adkins said she personally objects to use of a textbook that she said teaches about Islam. She then touted the importance of emphasizing “the community’s values” in schools, but could not outline specifically what those values are.
“I guess the voters will decide what those values are,” she said.
Burns said she would like to know which textbook this is and whether it’s used in a dual enrollment program, which the district does not have control over since books are assigned by professors at the collegiate level. Parents sign a release allowing their children to enter the dual enrollment program with the caveat included that the local district does not control the course material.
As for the values her opponent touts that the school district should teach, Burns disagrees.
“We’re responsible for teaching values and personal beliefs in our homes,” she said. “I believe our teachers are doing the right thing and they are teaching our curriculum and the values should be taught at home.”
The candidates were in agreement on one topic – transgender student restroom usage.
“For the safety and privacy of all students, girls should use girls restrooms and boys should use boys restrooms,” Burns said.
The candidates also fielded questions on standardized testing, teacher retention, public records and bullying.
The Nassau County Record and the News-Leader co-sponsored the debate. For a full video, visit www.nassaucountyrecord.com.