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Polk’s incumbent school board member, Allen, faces a challenge from Brandt

Polk’s incumbent school board member, Allen, faces a challenge from Brandt

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Vaseline

Four years ago, William Allen ousted a first-term incumbent from the Polk County School Board.

Now Bernnie Brandt wants to do the same with Allen.

Brandt is challenging Allen in District 1, which includes 22 schools in the Lakeland area. Voting takes place throughout the county, although candidates are required to reside in the district.

Mail-in ballots have already been sent out for the nonpartisan primary, one of three School Board races held this year. Early voting begins Aug. 10, and traditional voting is Aug. 20.

Willem Allen

Allen, 49, defeated incumbent Billy Townsend by 4.6 percentage points to win the 2020 election. Allen, a Bartow native, is an associate professor of interactive and game design at Florida Southern College.

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He is married and the father of three children. He received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Pensacola Christian College, a master’s degree in fine arts from the Academy of Art University, and a doctorate from the University of Central Florida.

Allen declined an interview, referring The Ledger to his written responses to a candidate questionnaire.

“With more than 17 years of experience in higher education, I recognize the collaborative nature of a school system intensely focused on preparing students,” Allen wrote. “My active voice in shaping our strategic plan gives me an advantage. Now our work focuses on implementing that vision, which is arguably more challenging. That context sets me apart from the competition.”

When asked about the most important issues facing the Polk County School Board, Allen responded, “From my perspective, our top priority is to give parents confidence that the educational paths and options their students are exposed to through Polk County Public Schools provide the rigor to prepare them for a successful future.”

Like other school districts across the country, Polk County has seen an increase in chronic student absences since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allen cited measures taken by the school board, such as the approval of a dropout prevention program in primary and secondary education and the increase in funding for a community outreach program, including the appointment of seven community outreach workers.

“Going forward, we must ensure that these programs are implemented effectively and continually evaluated for impact,” Allen wrote.

Speaking about disruptive student behavior, Allen praised the district’s Positive Behavior Intervention program and wrote that he expects schools to participate more in the coming school year.

“The district has also taken stronger steps to equip administrators with the knowledge to enforce the student code of conduct more consistently and fairly,” Allen wrote.

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The Florida Legislature has passed measures to raise starting salaries for teachers, but advocates complain of “salary compression,” with some veteran teachers earning little more than newcomers.

“Since 2021, this board has increased the Advanced Diploma Salary Supplement contributions, placing Polk third in the Central Florida School Board coalition,” Allen wrote. “Continued efforts are still needed, and I am committed to honoring our experienced staff.”

Anecdotal reports suggest that Polk County is losing teachers to neighboring districts that offer higher wages. Allen said Polk’s veteran teacher retention rates exceed the national average, though he said the district needs to work on improving its retention rates for new teachers.

“Given that over 30% of our teaching workforce has been in office for five years or less, this is a significant undertaking,” he wrote.

The Polk Education Association, a union for teachers, has advocated for a special property tax to fund teacher pay raises. Some surrounding counties have such revenue sources.

Allen, the current school board chairman, wrote that he does not support “asking to raise tax rates to a level higher than those of our neighboring counties.” He said he supports Polk County’s half-cent sales tax for school construction and maintenance, which was first approved by voters in 2003 and renewed in 2018.

Amid growing scrutiny of school library books from conservative groups across the country, Polk County Public Schools has received numerous challenges to certain titles. The school board adopted procedures for reviewing appeals in 2022 and revised the policy this year, largely in response to new state laws and Florida Board of Education rules.

Citizens Defending Freedom, an organization based in Polk County, filed a lawsuit against the county in March over its handling of book challenges.

“While I am generally pleased with the district’s current process, I am open to refining it to ensure it is transparent, fair, and consistently applied,” Allen wrote. “It is important that we balance the diverse viewpoints of our community while upholding the educational integrity of our school libraries.”

Allen has reported $36,844 in campaign contributions. His supporters include members of the prominent Story and Harrell families, Cassidy Holding Group and related entities, retired Publix executive Barney Barnett, Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz and former Polk County Public Schools lobbyist Wendy Dodge.

Bernie Brandt

Brandt, 34, grew up in Winter Haven and lived elsewhere before returning to Polk County in 2019. He has an associate degree in criminal justice from Tallahassee Community College.

The married father of a 17-month-old son, who works as a security supervisor, said becoming a father motivated him to run for school board, as did hearing friends’ complaints about problems with their children’s schools.

Brandt said he finds Allen decent and intelligent.

“I have nothing, nothing negative to say about him as a person,” Brandt said. “As a member of the school board, I feel like — at least openly, the side that he shows to the public — he’s not passionate about things. And I believe that to be in a position where you’re one of seven people representing decisions that affect the children of a county of 700,000 people, there have to be things that you’re openly passionate about, things that excite you.”

Brandt also criticized Allen for voting with a majority of school board members last year to end the tradition of issuing proclamations for causes such as Black History Month and LGBTQ Pride Month.

To raise the salaries of longtime teachers, Brandt suggested taking a close look at the district’s budget to see if any money is being misallocated. He said he’s open to a modest increase in local property taxes, with the proceeds used to raise salaries for all district employees.

Brandt said the school board needs to address low attendance rates among some students.

“Absenteeism is a problem that, in my opinion, stems from students and their families not seeing the motivation to stay in school,” he said.

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The district should identify which groups of students are frequently absent, and counselors should talk to their families about the underlying reasons, he said. Schools should give students an incentive to attend and graduate, even if they have no plans to go to college, he said.

When dealing with unruly students, school administrators must keep in mind that children’s brains are far from fully developed, Brandt said.

“Administrative staff needs to support teachers in disciplinary decisions,” he said. “But before it ever becomes a major disciplinary issue, I would like to see an expansion of the mental health resources that are available to our schools so that if you have a behavioral problem, instead of ‘Hey, you’re in trouble,’ it’s ‘Hey, you’re having a rough day. Here’s a mental health professional.’”

Brandt said he would push School Board and district leaders to be more available to the public. He noted that some residents have difficulty getting to the district office in Bartow on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. for School Board meetings, and suggested holding meetings at different locations and times, including Saturdays.

Brandt promised that if elected, he would be accessible to residents, mentioning scheduling coffee house meetings and giving citizens the ability to call him directly with concerns.

“And when there’s an important issue on the ballot, I’m going to actively seek input from the community before I vote on it,” he said. “I’m going to listen to the voters because at the end of the day, you’re one of seven people representing the county, and I believe that board members need to be accessible so they understand what people want them to do as a representative.”

Brandt has reported $4,337 in campaign contributions. His supporters include Kathie Sutherland, former executive director of the Polk County Democrats, former School Board member Sarah Fortney and Kay Klymko, a Democrat running for the Polk County Commission.

Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

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