Five questions with Santa Rosa District School Board candidate Elizabeth Hewey

Early voting is underway in Santa Rosa County and will continue until Nov. 2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Below are Elizabeth Hewey’s answers to our questionnaire:

SRPG: Remind voters about your platform and your main focuses if elected to the school board.

The first priority is academics. Our families expect us to maintain our A-school district ranking so students can be competitive with many opportunities in life. Average teacher salary is 50th in the nation. Veteran teachers are leaving teaching due to compression. Pay and insurance are the top retention issues. My third priority is budget transparency. In addition to my education degree, I have a master’s in accountancy and believe the public needs to know fiscal spending.

SRPG: If approved, Amendment 1 would make school board races, like this one, a partisan election in the future. What are your thoughts on that?

Santa Rosa County is an at-large county where every registered voter votes on every school board member. I have heard much support and agree with our families backing the at-large, non-partisan concept where all the families get to vote on school board members. Our families want the school district focused on students and academics not politics. They want all the families in our school district to have an opportunity to vote on school board members.

SRPG: Would you like to see metal detectors? And, are there other security measures you’d like to see added to our schools?

[Our] security budget is $4,277,390 which includes a Safe School project, off-duty deputies, the Guardian program, and security resource officers in every school. In addition, we have cameras, door security and classrooms are locked. Plus, we have added a new position the safety specialist in compliance with HB1473. Metal detectors require two additional staffers per unit (up to 60 positions), which would need to be funded. Security is our school board’s top priority when utilizing available funds.

SRPG: How do you measure success for our school district, and which metrics will you emphasize when considering whether progress is being made?

According to the Santa Rosa School District’s press release dated July 8, our test scores for assessments rank: Algebra – 3rd highest in the state; English (ELA) – 4th highest in the state;Math – 5th highest in the state; Biology – 6th highest in the state; US History – 6th highest in the state; Geometry – 9th highest in the state. With these test scores, we will remain an A-ranked school district where students can prepare for future opportunities.

SRPG: How can the school district effectively teach students about the benefits and challenges of emerging technologies, like AI, while ensuring they develop critical thinking skills and don’t rely solely on their phones for answers?

Our teachers are excellent at integrating new technological ideas into existing curricula. They realize technology is a strong factor on the educational horizon, and our students need to be prepared to use it effectively. The school district is supporting the use of technology by providing hardware, increasing connectivity, and improving technology literacy for students and teachers. Training is essential in shifting the paradigm. The school board is in a supportive position of letting our teachers teach.