Ray Sansom (https://voteraysansom.com/)
1. What do you see as the top issues affecting the Okaloosa County School District in the next four years? As the leader, I will create a culture in which the mindset of every employee in the district is that their job, either directly or indirectly, supports teachers, thereby, supports the education of our students. The focus would be on the interaction/relationship between the teachers and the students and then radiate out from there.
2. Why do you want to serve as our School Superintendent, and why are you the best choice? The vast majority of teachers chose a career in education because they wanted to inspire and pour into young people. They arrive on the job educated and certified, with a plethora of talents, ideas and a strong work ethic. I aim to create a culture that puts a stop to micromanaging the learning process/methods. I would eliminate the constant barrage of the latest trends, sold at seminars which are attended by non-instructional, district-level personnel. I would encourage the exchange of new ideas to be naturally occurring and teacher driven. I will guide the district and school personnel to set our seasoned teachers free to use their knowledge and talents to create their own unique learning environment in order to teach the state standards. This will promote the inter-collegial sharing of ideas and methods to less experienced teachers. Teachers will tell us that no two groups of students are the same. Our teachers deserve the respect and freedom to tailor their methods to each group. Teachers deserve our confidence in their ability to tweak and refresh as they see fit.
3. If elected/re-elected, what is your top priority for your term? My top priority for my term as Superintendent will be to build back the trust of the community for our school district. The core reason that I am running for Superintendent is that my leadership approach is vastly different than that of my opponent. The experience of leading should be difficult and challenging because leaders should move toward the difficult issues, not away. Discipline must be addressed in the Okaloosa County School District. Too many instructional minutes are being lost to classroom disruptions. Yes, solid classroom management is expected, however, the lingering issues that interrupt the flow of learning are acting as a chain on our teachers. I am aware that teachers spend many hours planning purposeful, engaging lessons, only to be derailed, many times by the same small group. I will give teachers relief. They cannot simultaneously teach the required state standards, communicate with all of the stakeholders, do the essential recordkeeping, manage their classrooms AND take care of most of the discipline. Also, I will ensure that teachers feel supported with safety procedures. I will invest in smaller classes for struggling students and/or assistance in those classes. In my opinion, we simply cannot continue to tell teachers that we cannot afford essential educational programs and personnel. These are vital elements that will directly improve the learning process.
4. What are your qualifications for office? My greatest strength is the experience that I bring to the table. My experience as an Okaloosa County Commissioner gives me insight into the importance of transparency between the board members and the Superintendent. This gave me many opportunities to lead through good times as well as turbulent times, all while communicating directly to the public without using a spokesperson. I believe that the voters deserve to hear directly from the person they placed in office. As a member of the Florida House of Representatives, I filed legislation to change the unfair education funding formula which placed Okaloosa schools at the bottom of the state in per student funding. Because of my legislative experience, I know how to fight for Okaloosa Schools in the Florida Legislature. While in the legislature, I was also serving as Director of Community Affairs and Executive Director of the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation. Under my leadership for six years, 2,900 mentors were recruited and trained, 4,000 students across every school benefited from 60,000 hours of mentoring and service and more than a million dollars were raised for scholarships for disadvantaged and deserving students.
