RCPB School Board Candidate Forum
Posted by Fred Scheibl on July 25, 2024 · Leave a Comment
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:
