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Pearson is the only sitting candidate in the race for school board, her nonpartisan voice is needed

Pearson is the only sitting candidate in the race for school board, her nonpartisan voice is needed

Public education is about teaching facts. Without facts, you can’t have truth; without truth, you can’t have trust. Shared reality is necessary for democracy, and campaign messages matter.

Florida law requires that school board elections be nonpartisan. This means that the party preference of candidates is not on the ballot. The intent of nonpartisanship is to create unbiased, balanced policies and decisions. Such intent follows state and federal constitutional principles without discrimination based on a person’s religion, race, sexual identity, age, or socioeconomic status.

Since the 2022 local election cycle, Governor Ron DeSantis has promoted members of Moms for Liberty to positions on the Florida Board of Education and as candidates in local school board races. The far-right organization has engaged in anti-student inclusion activities and identifies itself as part of the modern parent rights movement.

The governor’s actions have thus introduced bias into the roles of public education leaders.

The District 3 school board race is between two candidates who are registered Republicans — incumbent Cindy Pearson and former Moms for Liberty chapter leader Rebeccah Nathanson. I have received a lot of negative mail from Nathanson through one of her three support PACs, something I have never seen before for a school board race.

The initial mailing stated that Pearson “refuses to call for the removal of sex offenders from the classroom… (she) looks the other way.” Such campaigning can only be intended to stoke fear and distrust of Pearson. However, a recent report by the interim principal has revealed the truth about the removal of teachers from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

The history of incident reporting involving multiple leadership changes at the school, administrative, and school board levels was reviewed, going back to 2006. It was up to the interim superintendent and current school board members to organize the necessary investigation, accountability, and resolution of cultural and personnel changes at Douglas Anderson, as well as accountability to students and parents.

Pearson should not be blamed for the inaction of her predecessors. She listens to many constituents and works pragmatically and collaboratively to change the district. This helps ensure that patterns of misconduct and potential harm to students and/or teachers are mitigated (and avoided) in the future.

Her performance on the board demonstrates that she embraces broad community values ​​and seeks solutions that emphasize the importance of personal identity and representation in all aspects of the public school educational experience.

There is no place for negative campaigning in a school board race. It is no way to teach our students to act with integrity and truth. Nathanson’s supporters are using inaccurate and insensitive representations of her opponent. One has to wonder why she is now dropping her affiliation with Moms for Liberty.

Can we also trust that she will listen to hours of public comment and then formulate policy without partisan bias?

Who’s on the ballot: August vote could fill 4 seats on Duval County School Board

With a board member limit of two four-year terms, the school board is challenged to maintain institutional knowledge that may change every two years. Seats for Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 are on the ballot for the Aug. 20 primary.

Pearson, who represents District 3, is the only incumbent in the race. At least three seats are filled by new members who have much to learn as they vote on issues of great importance.

Letters: With Trump, common sense has disappeared in the US and also in Florida

All registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, may vote for nonpartisan municipal candidates in a primary. In a contested nonpartisan race, any candidate who wins a majority of the vote (more than 50%) in the primary is elected; if no candidate for office wins a majority, the general election serves as a runoff between the two winners.

Two actions citizens can take to influence the leadership of our public schools are: 1) Support Dr. Christopher Bernier as he begins his role as superintendent and wish him well. It is to our benefit if he is successful. 2) Retain Cindy Pearson, an experienced and effective school board member who is running for re-election in the August 20th primary.

We want all board members to understand the decisions that need to be made for the future of Duval County Public Schools.

Marion Tischler, retired volunteer and community advocate, Jacksonville

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.