Sarasota County School Board District 1: Teresa DeWitt

Age: 56

Current occupation: Licensed Community Counselor of 23 years. 

Sarasota County residency: 9.5 years. 

Describe, specifically, what you see as the primary role and functions of the school board?

1. Budget Management.
2. Managing, assisting, and hiring the CEO (Superintendent of Schools) 

Why are you running for office? 

I am running for Sarasota Schools to address fiscal responsibility, increase literacy rates, protect the promote student enrollment, increase teacher support, and increase mental health services for students, and maintain safety of schools. 

Have you ever run for public office before? If so, for what office?

No. 

Why are you the best candidate? 

I am the best candidate due to my business background of 10 years, the Independent Living Coordinator for the State of Maryland for six counties for Foster Children, operating two pre-schools for seven years, working with students and families for the last 23 years in hospital (children's unit) and school-based therapist in five different school districts across the nation, and private practice working with families and school districts along wit custody cases, participated on the SAC Committee for Southside Elementary, Superintendent Selection Committee, conducted research for school board curriculum, budget, and strategic plan, speaking at school board members as a parent and community member for over five years. 

Do you have (or have you ever) had any children in any public or private elementary, middle, or high school? If so, what school(s)? 

Yes, one daughter in public education for 13 years, 9 year old twins attended Lilly School for disabilities and attended kindergarten in Sarasota County Schools. 

What are the top three issues facing Sarasota's public schools, and how should they be addressed? 

Issue 1: Budget: We need to activate our auditing tools and increase transparency to taxpayers, create a top down approach to evaluating salaries and programs. 

Issue 2: Literacy Rates: Our 3rd grade proficiency is 70%. We have 30% of our students who can not read on grade level. We need to reevaluate our curriculum in place. Phonics needs to be a central focus with our district. Create a parents/community volunteer program to create a buy-in to the need of early intervention within the classroom. 

Issue 3: Decreased Enrollment: We need to stabilize our enrollment for to the fact we have lost 1,444 students in four years. We need to create an aggressive marketing strategy to promote our districts's benefits and strengths, and focus on academics instead of politics. 

What grade would you give Superintendent Terry Connor — A to F ... and why?

• B in Academics.
• C in Budget Management due to lack of transparency and lack of internal audits.
• B in Marketing for Enrollment.
• A in Accessibility and Openness to adjusting strategies.

What grade would you give the school board for managing the district's tax dollars — A to F ... why?

C. For Board Management of tax dollars. The current board is divided and politics has been the focus. We have $43 million deficit. 

What would you change to improve the district's fiscal management?

• Timely Audits by the Audit Committee.
• Televise all Audit meetings.
• Increase school board meetings to address fiscal irregularities. 
• Televise the Financial Committee meetings led by the Superintendent. 

What would be your priorities if elected?

Refer to question #9. 

What is your position on the state's school choice laws?

I believe Parental Choice, School Choice laws should always put parents in the driver's seat. 

How should the board's 'public to be heard' part of the school board meetings be changed — or not changed at all? Why?

• School meetings should be changed back to 6 p.m. to allow working parents/taxpayers to attend. 
• Meetings should increase to 2x a month due to the budget and number of agenda items.