Rick Pavelock
CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
What goals do you have for your time in office?
There are many.
- Implement a comprehensive financial literacy program for every Nassau County school. Implementation would involve forging a partnership with local financial firms that offer learning programs for school-aged kids. I have outlined the specifics on my website (RickforNassau.com)
- Implement a comprehensive safety plan that minimizes the possibility of Nassau County schools joining the infamous "school shooting" list. See specifics on my website (RickforNassau.com).
- Stop paying members of the school board. (Currently, board members receive over $34,000/annually with an additional $10,000(approximate) in benefits, which includes a state retirement pension. I am unaware of any current board member who doesn't have another full-time job or retired from a full-time job. If taxpayers pay salaries and benefits to school board members, the expectation should be full-time work. The overwhelming majority of school boards in America consist of UNPAID board members. There is no shortage of parents and community members voluntarily sacrificing their time for the benefit of the schools.
- Stop bullying in Nassau County Schools. No child should be subject to harassing behavior. Administrators and parents of bullies need to be held accountable. There should be no hesitation in expelling bullies. Allow their parent or guardian to address the behavior, and if they cannot, assist them with enrolling the bully in the Florida Virtual School learning program. Show bullies the door.
- Form a citizen's budget advisory committee comprised of local current and former business owners. The goal is to utilize the knowledge of business-minded individuals to provide insight into budget and business management.
What do you see as the biggest hurdle to quality education for kids in Nassau County?
Lack of innovative thought by school leaders; It is content with the status quo. The longer people serve in office or leadership positions, the more likely they accept the status quo. Therefore, we must maintain an environment where we encourage continued leadership with fresh perspectives and new ideas.
Nassau County has not been immune to the recent surge in teacher resignations. How will you work to address this issue?
One of the first things I'll do when I take office is to review every teacher exit survey over the last two years and identify the most frequent reason(s) provided for leaving. Currently, I am not privy to this information. Suggesting solutions before identifying a problem's root cause isn't constructive.
"Don't Say Gay" has taken effect. How will you support teachers and students through this controversial change?
Political rhetoric often distorts reality. The Parental Rights in Education bill states "Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students per state standards.” The content of the bill is different from the provocative headline. The intention was to create a political divide on the matter, and that succeeded. The bottom line is that if parents of young children want to have these conversations with their kids outside of school, they are free to do so.
What role do you think race and gender play in public education?
Every child, regardless of race or gender, deserves respect and should be treated equally. If any public educator treats a child differently because they are of a certain race or gender, there is no place for them in Nassau County Schools.
The Nassau County School District is already an A-rated district, placing second out of all the school districts in Florida. How do you think it can improve?
Nassau County's stack ranking of Florida school districts varies among different sources because each uses a unique "weighting system.” However, there is no question whether Nassau County Schools has the potential to be the best. Our goal shouldn't be to be the best public school system in Florida; the goal should be to make Nassau County Schools top ranked Nationally. I want Nassau County to be a leader in redefining the criteria(s) of what makes a school great. Addressing school bullying, school safety, and a comprehensive financial literacy program are opportunities for Nassau county to lead the way. A detailed action plan is available on my website.
What is your plan to address growing classroom sizes as more families move to Nassau County?
There is no question that Nassau County is a tremendously attractive place to live, which will result in continuous rapid growth. As a result, building additional schools are inevitable.
How will you support education support personnel such as bus drivers, food service workers, and custodians?
Every employee deserves recognition for exceptional work. The school board has to create this environment.
Why do you think transparency is critical in how a school board operates?
Transparency is the only way to conduct business when dealing with other people's money (taxpayers) and other people's children or grandchildren. Without transparency, there is no accountability, which is essential. Last week, the school board voted on forming a citizen's budget advisory committee, which would've increased transparency. Unfortunately, the board voted against it (including a NO vote from one of my opponents). Cynthia Grooms was the only school board member to vote in favor of it. If elected, I will take a stand with Cynthia on this matter.
How will you ensure schools are safe places for kids?
When I think about school safety, I see it in two parts.
- Safe from mass school shootings
- Safe from school bullies
Keeping kids safe while at school is critical. Every candidate wants schools to be safe. However, having the desire to do something is useless without a plan to do it. Therefore, I ask every voter to do their research on which candidates have actionable steps. I have created a comprehensive school safety plan; the details are available on my website. I have discussed the plan's specifics with various security experts, including a former counter-terrorism department head at the FBI. He described it as "the best possible proposed solution he has seen." I provided an overview of the plan to Nassau Sheriff Bill Leeper and asked if he would be open to supporting it. He replied, "I am for anything that makes our community as safe as possible, which includes keeping our schools, students, and teachers protected." (On a side note, I also attempted to reach out to FB Police Chief Mark Foxworth using the "contact us" option on the FB police website but never received a response.)
Again, all the candidates want to keep children safe, but I am the only that has a written plan with actionable steps. (Visit RickforNassau.com)