Lynn Wilson is running for the District 6 seat on the Polk County School Board.
1. Why are you running for this office?
I grew up under difficult circumstances in a low income environment so I know, first-hand, how life changing a good education can be. I want to see every child in Polk County have an opportunity to achieve their dreams and goals through a quality education.
Over the years, our school district has struggled, at times desperately, in managing its finances. There were years when our school district was routinely cited by auditors for numerous and serious financial infractions including mis-management of tax dollars.
The current projected capital outlay budget has been referred to, by both a local newspaper and a school board employee, as “bleak.” This year’s annual debt service will exceed $19 million.
These issues are directly attributable to financial management. We have a responsibility to ensure that tax dollars find their way into the classroom where teachers teach and students learn.
It is important to have educators on our school board; however, our school board lacks balanced over-sight on the financial side of the equation. If we cannot get the financial part of the equation right, we will not get the education part of the equation right. Clearly, it is important that we have educators on the School Board; however, it is equally important that we have balance on the School Board.
I have a master’s degree in business with a concentration in accounting and finance. I am a Certified Public Accountant with over thirty years of experience including extensive experience working with education budgets. I will bring badly needed balance to the Polk County School Board.
2. Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate for the office?
The School Board has two responsibilities:
- Provide quality education in a clean and safe environment.
- Prudently manage the finances of the school district.
According to the Department of Education, this year, 86 percent of students graduating will require remediation and will not have 12th grade skill sets. That means that most of our students are not receiving a quality education.
Further, because of the financial woes of our school district, many of our students are not receiving an education in a safe and clean environment.
In addition to my background and experience in accounting and finance, I served 16 years in the classroom at Polk State College where I taught accounting, finance and business. Most of that time, I served as department chair where I was responsible for a program that saw over 98 percent of graduates gainfully employed in Polk County. Many of these students were the same students that came out of the Polk County school system unprepared.
As a School Board member, I offer a proven solution to the 86 percent challenge that our school district faces.
3. If you are elected, what will be your top priorities?
1. I will work to ensure that the school district's finance are managed in a prudent manner so that tax dollars find their way into the classroom where teacher's teach and students learn. Not only do I have the desire to see tax dollars directed into the classroom, I have the background and experience to make sure that it actually happens!
2. In Polk County, we do a remarkable job of educating our traditional college-bound students and it is important to continue promote those programs. However, we need significantly more focus on pathways for those individuals that are not traditional college-bound students. I bring a proven plan for addressing the needs for those students that are not traditional college-bound students.