A Q&A with District 1 candidates for Marion County School Board
- by ocalagazette
- Jun 14, 2024
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Posted June 14, 2024 |
The two candidates vying to represent District 1 on the Marion County School Board are both experienced at the role, and it’s up to the voters to decide in November which to choose.
Allison Campbell is running for reelection for her current seat on the school board, while former school board member Beth McCall challenges her in an attempt to rejoin the board.
Campbell has served on the school board since she was first elected in 2020. With three children enrolled in Marion County Public Schools, she aims to be the “voice of a parent” on the board. She recently earned her doctorate in strategic communication from Regent University
Campbell’s time on the school board has been marked with navigating the pandemic, updating the interlocal agreement among the school board, county and its municipalities, and reinstating impact fees to fund construction after a 13-year hiatus.
McCall served on the school board in the District 2 seat from 2016 until her resignation in June 2021. Since she has worked as the director of talent development at the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership and served on the board of a number of nonprofit organizations, including as executive director of the Marion County Children’s Alliance.
McCall earned a master’s degree in management and leadership from Webster University. She received a bachelor’s degree in education and music from Eastern New Mexico University.
McCall moved homes and now resides in District 1 where she is running for office.
The “Gazette” asked both candidates a series of questions about their qualifications for office and professional history. Their written answers are included here verbatim.
Q&A with Allison Campbell
Q: What do you count as your greatest accomplishments during your first term as a school board member?
A:
Approved new district brand, and mission, vision and strategic plan with measurable objectives, because higher expectations produce greater results.
Approved new evaluation tool for the superintendent that aligns directly with the strategic plan.
Approved complete overhaul of district policies to align with state statutes. Policies had not been updated annually and were only approved piecemeal before. We have since updated at least annually, aligning with state law changes.
Ensured budgeting and staffing plans increased funding to schools, where the students are. Q: What do you hope to accomplish if elected to a second term?
A: My life motto is to effect change. Our superintendent often says, “what’s best for students if often really hard for adults.” I understand change is hard, but we have come so far in the four years since I was elected. Yet, there is still so much left to do.
While student success and achievement rates are on the rise, we still have areas to improve for students to choose their future pathway (employment, enlistment, enrollment or entrepreneurship). New career programs, acceleration opportunities, a focus on gifted instruction, as well as continued literacy enhancements will be areas of partnership with the superintendent and the Board.
As the largest employer in Marion County, we continue to need improvement in job recruitment and retention as well as increased job description analysis and evaluation alignment. These are strength areas for me, and I will continue to provide the oversight needed to assist. Additionally, identifying waste and enhancing operational inefficiencies remain. I have a record of asking tough questions and not approving of everything put before the Board. I will continue to be that taxpayer voice of accountability.
In recent years, Marion County has become a positive voice with decision makers in legislative policy development in Tallahassee. Prior to my serving as the legislative and advocacy liaison on the School Board, we did not have that influence. If re-elected, those relationships can only be enhanced to support students in Marion County schools and across the state.
I’ve always been steadfast that I wanted to be on the School Board for two terms. If I am afforded the opportunity to serve another four years, my youngest son will be a high school senior in my eighth year. Being a mom on the School Board has been one of my biggest desires, because I am not the typical “politician.” With my children in schools today, I see how education is delivered very differently than when I was in school and understand where gaps exist. I know how social media and cell phones impact my own teenagers and how student mental health challenges are more prevalent today than ever before. My valuable perspectives add unique context to present-day education delivery, and I hope to continue being that parent voice.
In School Board meetings we read a statement that includes “we will leave a legacy of success.” Since joining the Board, I have had a clear vision and a clear voice for Accountability, Budgeting for Student Success, and Common Sense in Education. If chosen to continue to serve, this board will leave a legacy of success.
Q: Implementing impact fees again after a 13-year hiatus and voting to put a half-cent sales tax on the ballot had to create some political headwinds. Do you think this is why you drew an opponent?
A: The reason I drew a challenger is not for me to answer.
This School Board’s goal was to begin building new facilities to help overcrowded schools and replace aging schools that have been neglected without a solid capital income stream. To help raise those much-needed dollars, the impact fee conversations became a much larger debate than I had hoped.
Very soon after I was elected in November 2020, I began asking staff about intergovernmental meetings with other local elected officials. I publicly began asking in April 2021. There hadn’t been one since 2011, and I was grateful we all came to the table in November 2021 to start collective conversations about growth, school infrastructure and capital needs. Those meetings were the precursor to the revised and renewed interlocal agreement that then led to impact fee conversations. It is unfortunate it took as long as it did to get the impact fees reinstated, but we are finally about to restart the suspended collections on July 1, 2024.
This School Board and superintendent have the desire to improve our schools, and that includes facilities that have been neglected for far too long. Understanding budgets and funding mechanisms for capital, we have some significant challenges ahead. However, as we continue to illustrate the needs of our students, our community will respond. Our students deserve the best, and it’s time we start providing it for them. This board has every intention of being a part of the change that has been needed within our school facilities for decades. Students and staff need all we can give them to help them succeed.
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