RCPB School Board Candidate Forum
On July 23rd, the five School Board candidates from Districts one and five that are Republicans introduced themselves to our members. They are all on the ballot for the August 20th election.
We also used this meeting to award this year’s Anne Roberts Scholarship. See: Scholarship Winners.
From north county’s district one, which is mostly north of Northlake Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens we had Matt Lane and Page Lewis. From south county district five, which is mostly Boca Raton, we had Gloria Branch, Suzanne Page and Mike Letsky. (Left to right in the above photo.)
First up, Matt Lane went through his extensive list of endorsements and relevant experience as a public official (Palm Beach Gardens Council) and manager. His priorities include getting back to basics (reading, writing, math), not DEI and CRT. He would prioritize spending to hire and retain the best teachers, promote technical education, and insure the health and safety of the students.
Next was Page Lewis who listed some of her life experiences that have molded her worldview. She ran a restaurant, lived on an island, and has survived hurricanes. In order to fund her non-profit that teaches remedial reading in places like Belle Glade she started selling houses. She says she is in the race for the families and is not a politician.
Jumping down to district five, Gloria Branch listed her endorsements, the boards she has served on and her non-profits that she started. With a background in banking, she is a substitute teacher and like Matt would prioritize the basics in the curriculum.
Suzanne Page, a college professor with a doctorate in Economics, also has a background in banking. She would challenge the school district budget and asks where all that money really goes. In 2020 she ran for this seat against incumbent Frank Barbieri and achieved 40% of the vote. One aspect of the pandemic she mentioned was that as students worked from home, their parents got a look at what was going on in the classroom and didn’t always like what they saw.
Mike Letsky, an enterpreneur and engineer has kids in the district. He sees the schools system as a business and points out the problem of high teacher attrition. He would focus on school safety and the budget, and has filed a records request to examine the budget in detail. He notes that test scores are lower than pre-pandemic and thinks students should master basic math before using laptops for all their work. He would structure pay to encourage retention of experienced teachers.
After a short Q&A session in which all the candidates participated, we had our open mike session for other candidates.
At the end of the meeting, we heard from:
Anne Roberts Scholarship Winners
At our regular lunch meeting on July 23rd, the Anne Roberts scholarships for the 2024-25 school year were awarded to two deserving students by our Scholarship chairman Bette Anne Starkey.
William Hernandez is attending Palm Beach State College to study aeronautical engineering. Joining us for the meeting, he shared with us his interests and goals, which also include computer engineering and game design.
Graduating this year from Park Vista Community High School in Lake Worth, he has been active in the community as a volunteer for Women Impacting the Nation, and the FIRST Robotics competition and as a judge for the First Lego League competition. In politics, he worked in his mother’s 2022 campaign for HD92 and went door to door for Governor DeSantis.
Nate Waldstein graduated this year from Jupiter High School with academic merit. A cello player, he is a member of the Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County, and the National Society of High School Scholars. In the community he did an internship at an assisted living facility and performed on the cello there and other similar facilities. He has also authored several books on living through the pandemic as a teen.
Headed to the University of Central Florida in Lakeland to study business marketing, his interests include improving the lives of residents of senior care facilities and he would like to ultimately own and operate such businesses.
Nate was unable to join us for the meeting but sends his thanks. His grandparents Marla and Gary Werner represented him at the meeting.
The Anne Roberts Memorial Scholarship is available to any resident of Palm Beach County who is a full or part time undergraduate or graduate student seeking to further their education. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or above and plan to attend an accredited college. Applicants must be registered (or pre-registered under 18 yrs. of age) Republicans. Current members of our Club may refer applicants for this scholarship.
William Hernandez (third from left) with his parents and club leaders:
The club has been awarding these scholarships since 2009, with the following winners:
- 2024: William Hernandez, Palm Beach State, aeronautical engineering and Nate Waldstein, Univ of Central FL, Lakeland, business marketing
- 2023: Grace Templeton, Southeastern, Lakeland – sophomore
- 2022: no scholarships
- 2021: no scholarships
- 2020: Keelie Hanley, Embry Riddle Aeronautics, AZ, Soph and Rileigh Hanley got a full ride to USAF Academy, CO
- 2019: Jenna Calderaio-FSU-Senior, Jessica Blakley-Belmont University -Senior, Ben DeHaan-PBAU Junior, Rileigh Hanley-Embry Riddle Aeronautics -Freshman, and Keelie Hanley-Embry Riddle Aeronautics-Freshman
- 2018: Jenna Calderaio – FSU; Lauren Staff– UF and Jessica Blakley –Belmont University
- 2017: Jenna Calderaio – FSU, Lauren Staff – UF, Ryan Walker – Stetson Law, and Madison Andrews—PB State
- 2016: Dylan Brandenburg-FSU, Jenna Calderaio – FSU, Lauren Staff – UF and Ryan Walker-UF
- 2015: Dylan Brandenburg-FSU, Daniel Kozell-FSU, Hanna Matry-UF, Ryan Walker-UF, and Aaron Mejias-PBAU
- 2014: Dylan Brandenburg-FSU, John Clark-FSU, Jason Ferrara-Alabama, Daniel Kozell-FSU and Hanna Matry-UF
- 2013: Dylan Brandenburg-FSU, Elizabeth Cayson-Walden Univ., John Clark-FSU, Jason Ferrara-Alabama, Daniel Kozell-FSU, and Danielle Madsen-PBAU
- 2012: John Ryan Clark-FSU, Jason Ferrara-Alabama, Daniel Kozell-FSU, Shirley Schaff-Northwood Univ., and James Shackelford-FAU
- 2011: John Ryan Clark-FSU, Jason Ferrara-Alabama, Kimberly Twoey-PBAU, and Shirley Schaff-Northwood Univ.
- 2010: James Schackelford-FAU, and Cindy Morris-PBAU
- 2009: Nicole Vega-FAU
School Board Candidates on the Challenges and Opportunities of the 2024 Education Legislation
Challenges and Opportunities in the School System
SB1 candidate Matthew Lane
SB1 candidate Page Lewis
SB5 candidate Mike Letsky
SB5 candidate Suzanne Page
SB5 candidate Gloria Branch
At least until November, when ballot amendment one will decide if they remain that way, the School Board races are non-partisan. The candidates who are registered as Republicans tend to let you know that by advertising in the wire and appearing at clubs and the REC, and we have asked them to participate in our forum on July 23rd.
In district one, the far north part of the county and heavily Republican (R+17), Matthew Lane and Page Lewis are facing Democrat Francesca Wernisch.
In district five, which is the far south part of the county mostly south of Clint Moore Road and evenly divided (R+0), Gloria Branch, Suzanne Page and Mike Letsky will face off against Democrats Mindy Koch and Charman Postel.
In both districts, all the Republican candidates have agreed to join us.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in August, a run-off with the top 2 will appear on the November ballot.
Besides hearing the candidates present their value proposition – why they are the best choice, we have asked them to comment on some of the legislation passed this year that affects K-12 education. That includes for example, a focus on courses supporting the building trades (HB917), the introduction of chaplains (HB931) and presentations by patriotic organizations (HB1317) and the teaching of the history of Communism in the curriculum (SB1264). There were also enhancements to school choice (HB1403) and the school guardian program (HB1473), and the use of Artificial Intelligence to improve classroom effectiveness (HB1361). We would also like to hear their views on Amendment one which would make their races partisan.
We will also be awarding our 2024 Anne Roberts Scholarships at this meeting.
Please join us for what should be an interesting event!
Program Noon – 1PM, Buffet starts at 11:30AM
Cash Bar Available
Palm Beach Kennel Club – Paddock Restaurant
1111 N Congress Ave
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
MAP
$28/Members $35/Guests
Pay at the door.
Make sure you submit your RSVP in advance by clicking on our link below:
Republican Club of the Palm Beaches
213 29th Street
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
(561) 855-0749