Manatee’s newest school board member shares her goals for the future

Mary Foreman moved to Bradenton with her husband and two children in 2001. Little did they know, Foreman would unseat longtime school board member Dave Miner nearly two decades later.

Foreman and her husband, Gary, raised two children in Manatee County. Their daughter took a mix of classes at Bradenton Christian School and Florida Virtual School, while their son later transferred from BCS to Manatee High, a traditional public school.

The experience allowed Foreman to see education from a public and private perspective. Each option was better suited to their individual needs, Foreman said, highlighting her strong support for school choice.

“We chose Manatee County and one of the reasons was the school system,” Foreman said. “Even though our children at that time, they went to Bradenton Christian, we just felt it was an indicator of a strong community. And in 2001, we had good school systems.”

She gained a better understanding of the local school system after joining the advisory council at Manatee High, where her son later graduated. Foreman, who worked as a certified public accountant for several decades, gained an even deeper understanding of the district after 2013, when she joined its Audit Committee.

The district formed the committee after a financial meltdown in 2012, hoping to provide more oversight and prevent future turmoil. While she joined the Audit Committee to offer her financial expertise, Foreman said she gained intimate knowledge about not only the district budget, but also its operations and culture.

As meetings became less frequent and her job became more difficult, Foreman grew concerned that oversight was dwindling. The experience played a large part in her decision to run for school board, and on Tuesday evening, more than 112,000 voters showed their support.

With a lead of nearly 18 percentage points, she unseated Miner from his District 3 seat on the Manatee County School Board, a position he held since 2012. Foreman will officially assume the role during a reorganization meeting on Nov. 17.

In an interview on Friday morning, Foreman shared her priorities and her opinion on upcoming school board topics.

Should the school board continue its district-wide mask requirement?

The school board voted 4-1, with Chair Gina Messenger dissenting, to implement an emergency mask requirement on Aug. 11.

The emergency action will soon expire and the board will decide on Tuesday whether to permanently include a mask requirement in Policy 8450, “Control of Casual-Contact Communicable Diseases.” If approved, the board could activate and continue the mask requirement during COVID-19 or any future pandemic.

Along with social distancing and regular cleaning, the use of face coverings became crucial in the district’s battle against COVID-19. It also became a hot-button issue that continues to divide parents and Manatee County residents.

And though the board will make its decision before Foreman is seated on the board, she could be faced with a vote to deactivate or reactivate the policy in the future.

“I hear a lot of passionate parents who are against the masks,” she said. “I would definitely vote to continue the masks. I don’t think the board really has any choice. If they don’t have a mask mandate and you’ve got someone who is critically injured or dies from COVID-19, I think the district would bear responsibility. And in turn, if there are lawsuits, the taxpayers have to pay.”

“I think we need to continue it until the CDC says otherwise,” she continued.

Foreman also pointed to the need for mask breaks and clear expectations for when students can remove their face coverings.

The board policy allows for breaks under certain conditions, and it specifies that “no face covering is required during physical education classes, recess, or other outdoor activities as long as social distancing practices are in place.” However, it was unclear if every school was operating the same.

“For the students who are having trouble wearing a mask, I fully understand,” Foreman said. “I don’t think any of us like wearing a mask for very long.”

Does Foreman support the district’s one-mill tax referendum?

Manatee County voters approved a one-mill increase on property taxes in March 2018, supporting better salaries and academic programs in the district. The levy is set to expire June 30, 2022.

The board recently held a discussion about the renewal vote, and three of five members said they preferred an election in November 2021. Foreman said on Friday that she had mixed feelings about asking residents to continue the tax hike.

While she was not opposed to the renewal vote, she hoped to see the board plan better the second time around. In the years following its passage, the referendum caused debates about how much charter schools should receive, whether “contract” schools — such as Just for Girls — should receive a cut, and whether the money could be used for construction or new technology.

“They never did any planning before it was passed,” Foreman said. “And they just went with one mill because that’s what Sarasota had and that was the maximum they could do.”

Foreman also hopes to see the district implement competitive salaries that are funded as much as possible by the district budget, not a referendum that expires every four years. She believes the school board should have that conversation in tandem with the renewal discussion.

“I think that would possibly help the public be willing to go for another four years, if they see us heading in that direction,” she said. “If they see the district relying on passing a one-mill every four years, that’s not going to sway the public.”

Would Foreman renew the superintendent’s contract?

Superintendent Cynthia Saunders’ contract runs through June 30, 2021. The agreement could be extended if Saunders and the board make a decision by Dec. 31.

Foreman said she preferred — at least as of Friday — to conduct a national search and invite Saunders to apply. When asked if she would support a contract extension, she was hesitant to give a firm answer.

“I don’t know that I can categorically say yes or no,” she said. “Circumstances change, but I’ve been very vocal about my criticism of the superintendent. I’ve also been vocal about my criticism of the board for not conducting the national search they had promised the public.”

Sometimes board members arrived at meetings without all the knowledge they needed to make an informed decision. It fell on the superintendent to fully brief the members before they were asked to consider a proposal, Foreman said.

Foreman was also concerned about findings by the Office of Inspector General at the Florida Department of Education. According to a 2018 letter by Pam Stewart, then the education commissioner, Saunders “fraudulently inflated graduation rates” when she worked as the executive director of secondary schools.

“Respondent improperly instructed district employees to code withdrawing students as ‘withdrawn to home education’ when neither the students nor the students’ parents had any intention of home schooling,” the letter states.

“Internal audit did a review of it,” Foreman said on Friday. “I saw their report. I saw the inspector general’s report. There’s no question that it was going on.”

How would Foreman direct more money to local classrooms?

Foreman often points to the need for fewer administrative positions and more classroom resources.

A good starting place, she said, is to give school principals more control over the budget and curriculum at their campuses.

“I’d like to see them gain more control over those decisions so that perhaps we won’t need as many curriculum specialists downtown making decisions for the schools,” she said. “Every school is going to have slightly different needs based on their population.”

What can the school board do to increase transparency?

A group of approximately 30 people began to protest outside the district administration building in downtown Bradenton on Oct. 28, after many were denied entry to the school board meeting.

The school district was only admitting a small group to allow for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several protesters said the district should find a way to safely accommodate all residents who want to attend in-person board meetings, and Foreman agreed.

“I think the current situation is unacceptable,” she said. “What happened was totally wrong last meeting. They need to move the meetings to a school auditorium. They accommodate hundreds of people so you can definitely social distance. I would suggest setting up one school auditorium for that purpose so you can move all the media stuff over there. Let’s do that until COVID is over.”

The district previously said that 15 people would be admitted to the board room and those who wished to make a comment were expected to wait outside if the room was at capacity. The district has since updated its website, and as of Friday afternoon it said the board room would open at full capacity during Tuesday’s meeting.

The recent episode was another example of the access and transparency issue at board meetings, which existed before the pandemic, Foreman said. General public comment was moved to the end of board meetings last year, meaning residents have to weather long meetings and late nights to make a three-minute comment.

“I want people to reach out to me and I want to talk to them,” she said. “And if it’s a district employee who is reluctant because of possible retribution, I want them to know I’ll respect privacy. I don’t think the board can be effective if they don’t have a good feel for what’s going on.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.