Rival questions school board candidate’s teaching credentials

School board candidate Ed Viltz is misleading voters when he implies he’s still a certified teacher, Manatee County School Board District 1 rival candidate Gina Messenger contends.

But Viltz said he just let his certificate expire in June because he has retired from teaching.

In a post on her campaign Facebook page Sunday, Messenger posted an image of the Florida Department of Education’s teacher certification look-up page, where members of the public can look up any teacher in the state to make sure they hold a valid license.

Viltz and Messenger are the remaining candidates in the Nov. 8 election for the seat, beating out Linda Schaich and Xtavia Bailey in the August primary. The District 1 seat is held by Bob Gause, who decided not to run for reelection.

“He is claiming to be a certified teacher. I am assuming he is doing this because; I am a certified teacher and he recognizes the value in being one. However, he has never held a professional teaching certificate in the state of Florida nor is he currently certified in any subject areas,” Messenger wrote in a statement.

Viltz did have a Florida teaching certificate, however. According to the Florida Department of Education, Viltz’s certification expired on June 30, 2016, after he retired from working at Team Success.

“There was no reason for me to renew my certification when I knew I wasn’t going to be teaching again. I’ve never claimed that I was still currently certified,” Viltz said Monday.

Messenger said she was aware Viltz had a certificate that expired, but said her point still stands.

“The way he’s saying it is implying something that’s not true and that’s not fair to the voters,” Messenger said Monday. “It does make a difference. He did not say he was certified. He is implying that he still is certified. There is a big difference. When you let a certification lapse you can no longer say you are certified.”

Expired certifications come down from the certification look-up page almost as soon as they expire, according to DOE.

While campaigning, Viltz has repeatedly stated that having a certified teacher on the board is important. He also touts his business experience and working on nonprofit boards as a qualifications that make him a good choice.

In response to the post, Viltz said he is growing “more and more concerned about these baseless attacks that may be driven by a lack of comparable credentials and experience.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Rival questions school board candidate’s teaching credentials."