Collier County voters will have the opportunity to vote for three school board seats on November 8, 2022.
Seats in Districts 1, 3, and 5 will be decided between the primary and the November general election. Voters may select one candidate in each district, regardless of what district they live in. The four-year terms are staggered, with a total term limit of 12 years. In addition to appointing the superintendent, the five-member board is responsible for making decisions that affect the daily operations of the public schools in the district. For more information on the role of a school board member, visit www.collierschools.com/Domain/101 or read What Does the CCPS School Board Do?
School board seats are decided in a nonpartisan race. Florida Statutes define a nonpartisan office as “an office for which a candidate is prohibited from campaigning or qualifying for election or retention in office based on party affiliation.” Nonpartisan candidates campaign without reference to their own or their opponents’ party registration. Nonpartisan candidates list no party in their campaign advertising disclaimers.*
Attending school board meetings, which are open to the public, is a great way to be involved with your child’s education. Upcoming meetings and agendas are posted on www.collierschools.com.
Voter Registration Deadline/Book Closing: October 11
Vote-by-Mail Ballot Mailings: September 24 (UOCAVA)/September 29-October 31 | Ballot Request Deadline: 5 p.m. October 29
Early Voting: October 27-November 5 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Election Day: November 8
Visit www.colliervotes.gov for more information.
Below are profiles of the candidates running for the Collier County school board. The other 2022 candidates were eliminated in the August primary. The information for this article was submitted by the candidates and does not represent an endorsement by Neapolitan Family magazine. Submissions were edited for space and clarity. One candidate did not respond to our request for information. All candidate websites can be found below.
DISTRICT 1
Lely Elementary, Lely High, Manatee Elementary, Manatee Middle, Marco Island Academy, Marco Island Charter Middle, Parkside Elementary, Shadowlawn Elementary, and Tommie Barfield Elementary.
Jory Westberry
Jory Westberry (Incumbent, Vice-chair, seeking second term)
Background and Family
My husband, Paul, and our son, Ryan, and I moved to Naples in 1989, and we both started teaching in CCPS. Ryan was an avid athlete at Lely High School and graduated from the University of Central Florida. He is the coordinator of middle school and high school science in CCPS.
Experience
I was an elementary and middle school teacher (Golden Apple recipient), Assistant Principal of the Year, principal at Tommie Barfield Elementary for 14 years, mentor for new teachers, elected to CCPS school board in 2018 (currently vice-chair), earned Distinguished Board Member status, and board member of Florida School Boards Association.
Platform and Goals
My goals are to:
• Continue forward progress: Ensure that our school buildings and buses have tight security in coordination with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
• Continue to expand career and technical education and workforce development.
• Increase the graduation rate, currently at 92.6%.
• Maintain the checks and balances of multiple audits conducted annually and address concerns.
• Examine teacher/staff shortage issues and implement strategies to recruit and retain the best.
• Review the procedures from the recent pandemic and revise as needed.
• Continue to achieve being debt-free in 2026, which will save approximately $40 million for taxpayers.
• Advocate for pre-kindergarten services/teachers and promote the need for early learning sites.
• Maintain A status awarded in 2017.
• Increase the number of and accessibility to academic competitions.
• With the implementation of the New Florida Standards, investigate more stream-lined approaches to provide training for teachers.
Jerry Rutherford (Challenger)
Jerry Rutherford
Background and Family
I am a father, grandfather, and devoted husband of 39 years. I served in the U.S. Marine Reserve and U.S. Air Force as a medical material specialist. I have served in prison ministries. I have worked in insurance and as a painting contractor. I also show up to speak on behalf of those who could not or would not attend school board meetings.
Experience
I have more than 35 years speaking at school board meetings with advocacy of key issues. I have collaborated with many school board members one-on-one to move specific concerns forward for the benefit of the students. I served on the state textbook committee in 2005-06 and put the national motto back in schools in 2005.
Platform and Goals
As a school board member, I will promote the Florida B.E.S.T. Standards, morals, and ethics as established in the student conduct policy, and the study of original source documents.
I will listen to parents and uphold Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law
I will work to eliminate sexually explicit materials in classrooms and media centers.
I believe that there are five things needed to provide a good education and develop good citizens and great leaders:
1. Discipline is needed to form good work habits and study habits for reaching the goals of life.
2. Textbooks that are free from bias, censorship, and rewritten history.
3. Morals and virtues are necessary to build strong character, good citizens, and great leaders.
4. A good understanding of our founding documents and our form of government.
5. Respect for self, others, property, and authority.
We need a return to American culture in society, and this begins in the classroom. We need a return to unity, while embracing diversity; equal rights, not special rights; basic education, not indoctrination; ingenuity, not promiscuity; morality, not sexuality. Our goal is to produce educated citizens, capable of thinking for themselves, with a firm appreciation of American exceptionalism, who will not be easily swayed by Marxist, communist, or socialist ideologies, and who are equipped to take their place in American society.
DISTRICT 3
BridgePrep Academy of Collier, Calusa Park Elementary, Golden Gate Elementary, Golden Gate Middle, Golden Gate High, Golden Terrace Elementary, Gulf Coast High, Laurel Oak Elementary, Mike Davis Elementary, Oakridge Middle, and Vineyards Elementary.
Jen Mitchell
Jen Mitchell (Incumbent, seeking second term)
Background and Family
Jen Mitchell is the current chair of the Collier County school board. She is a local Realtor and mother of four children, all of whom have attended traditional Collier County public schools. She has lived in Naples for 25 years along with her husband, Chris.
Experience
Jen graduated from Purdue University with a degree in elementary education. She taught at Naples Park Elementary before making the decision to stay home and raise her children. This allowed her to spend the past 18 years volunteering in classrooms and serving on PTO boards and SAC committees, as well as district-level advisory groups. In 2018, Jen was elected to the school board.
Platform and Goals
• Increasing student achievement: With great teachers and targeted instruction we must continue to work to improve reading and math proficiency. Recently, we achieved a record-high graduation rate of 92.7%, outperformed the state for the first time ever in all 21 tested areas, and maintained our “A” district rating.
• Expanding career and technical education: 30% of our students do not go on to college. We must ensure that those students have a career pathway when they cross the stage at graduation. We recently received $5.8 million from Governor Ron DeSantis to open the new ITech Glades facility for this very purpose.
• Ensuring comprehensive school safety: We must continue to work with our law enforcement partners and community health providers to ensure our schools are safe and student mental health issues are addressed.
• Maintaining strict budget oversight: We are on track to be debt free by 2026 and are paying cash for the new high school currently being built to save taxpayers $41 million in interest. We must continue to look for ways to be efficient with your tax dollars.
• Attracting and retaining great teachers: This is an issue nationwide. Teachers are seeking more autonomy in the classroom and better pay. During my time on the board we have increased pay for all employees, across all salary schedules, by 16%. We are currently working on a creative solution to address the workforce housing issue that our teachers face, as well.
Kelly Lichter
Kelly Lichter (prior CCPS School Board member 2014-2018)
Background and Family
Kelly Lichter is a wife and mother of two school-aged children. Professionally, Kelly works in real estate and community association property management. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Baldwin Wallace College and a master’s degree in social studies education from Nova Southeastern University.
In her spare time, she enjoys competing in local 5K races, triathlons, and tent camping with her family. She also volunteers her time coaching boys basketball and helps a local animal rescue by fostering homeless dogs until they find their forever homes.
Experience
Kelly is a former teacher, and the founding board president of Mason Classical Academy, Collier County’s highest performing public school. Her successes in public education have been remarkable. Kelly has volunteered her time for over 10 years at MCA, and her efforts have been recognized by the Florida Department of Education, U.S. News & World Report, and Eagle Forum. Most recently, the Florida Department of Education ranked Mason Classical Academy #1 in Collier County and #8 out of 3,392 schools in the state of Florida for 2021. U.S. News & World Report has ranked the academy #1,021 nationally.
Platform and Goals
1. Establish a knowledge-based curriculum, which will improve academic outcomes.
2. Eliminate the unnecessary burdens and stressors placed on our educators, so they can truly focus on what is most important, our students.
3. Provide our children, faculty, and staff with a safe and secure learning environment, which is as important as the academic instruction.
4. School board members must represent “We the People,” not a massive bureaucracy and its self-serving interests.
5. In order to rein in runaway government spending, the school board must develop a five-year budget plan that includes a 5% shift each year from administrative expenses to teacher salaries and student-related expenses, and freeze the property tax millage rate to the current rollback rate for three years.
DISTRICT 5
Bethune Education Center, Big Cypress Elementary, Collier Charter Academy, Corkscrew Elementary, Corkscrew Middle, Cypress Palm Middle, Eden Park Elementary, Estates Elementary, Everglades City School, Highlands Elementary, Immokalee Middle, Immokalee High, Immokalee Technical Center, Lake Trafford Elementary, Naples Classical Academy, Palmetto Elementary, Palmetto Ridge High, Pinecrest Elementary, RCMA Immokalee Community Academy, Sabal Palm Elementary, and Village Oaks Elementary
Roy Terry
Roy Terry (Incumbent, seeking final term)
Background and Family
I graduated from Western Maryland College in 1963. After teaching in Baltimore, Md., for two years, I taught in Sarasota for two years. I coached football at Colorado State University, University of Louisville, and Morehead State University for eight years and then was the athletic director at California State College in Pennsylvania for two years. I moved to Naples in 1978 with my wife, Helen. Our son, Roy, and daughter, Kathy, both are graduates of Naples High School. I have four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Experience
I have been a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal, principal at Lely and Palmetto Ridge high schools, and am currently serving on the school board. I have been serving Collier County for 44 years.
Platform and Goals
I want to maintain the positive direction this board has been taking the past 10 years under Dr. Patton. The board functions well, and we are getting a lot done for students and teachers. We will be opening a new high school in 2023, and that will require rezoning in high school and at the same time in elementary school. We need to continue focusing on safe schools and our strong partnership with law enforcement. We also need to increase career and technical education opportunities. And last, but definitely not least, we need to develop strong recruitment and retention programs for our teachers. We need to pay them more and cut down on mandated paperwork so they can fully concentrate on their job, teaching!
Remember … experience matters.
Additional District 5 Candidates
Tim Moshier (Challenger)
https://timforcolliercountyschools.org
*From the Collier County Candidate's Handbook on Colliervotes.com.
Read more: https://neafamily.com/what-does-the-ccps-school-board-do/