Santa Rosa County School Board Member, District 2 (Nonpartisan Office)
Job Description: The elected School Board members set policy for the district school system. They shall provide
for the proper accounting for all students, for the attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the welfare of students.
Term: 4 years
Salary: Full-time; set by State Statute according to county population. $ 32,450
Candidate Biography and Questionnaire
Joseph Monroe Pool
candidate for this office? (100 words)
Biographical information:
Occupation: Medical Sales with Ecardio Diagnostics
Age: 49
Family: Wife Maria of 21 years. 7 children- James
19 at Auburn University, Pre-chemical engineering,
Anna 17 a Senior at Milton High School, Jonathan 15
a Sophomore at Milton High School, Josiah 13 in 8th
at Hobbs Middle School, Joseph 12 in 7th at Hobbs
Middle School, Joshua 9 in 4th at Berryhill
Elementary, Joshua 4
Community Involvement: School Advisory Council
(SAC) secretary at Hobbs Middle School, City of
Milton Sorts Authority Committee, Church Sunday
School youth teacher, Church Royal Ambassador
director, coached youth soccer and baseball teams for
the past 12 years.
Education/Degrees: BS Animal Science, University
of Florida; BS Building Construction Science,
University of Florida
Contact Information: cell 850-485-5829
[email protected]
Questions:
#1. What are your top priorities for this office and
how would you address them? (100 words)
Budget concerns. We cannot control the economy but
there are factors that we can control. First and
foremost is to hire the most expertly qualified
candidate for the position whether it be for teaching,
administrating, or support staff. Hard working,
ethical and moral professionals beyond repudiation.
I plan on being a liaison to the taxpayer within the
schools to partner with administration in order to
insure the county maintains the highest standards
among its employees.
#2. What qualifications make you the best
I have 7 children. I am also a 10 year veteran Santa
Rosa County educator in a local high school and have
been in the private industry for the last 12 years. I
have also been very involved with the schools my
children attend, meeting with teachers, volunteering
classroom assistance on special projects and a
member of a local middle school advisory council
(SAC) for the last three years.
In addition to my work history, I will bring new ideas
and a fresh perspective to a school board seat that has
been held by the same individual for the past 20 years.
#3. Please assess the role the FCAT plays in
determining classroom instruction. (100 words)
There currently is an evaluation tool in place and is
utilized by administrators on a yearly basis and is then
coupled with the teacher's Value Added Model (VAM)
which is waited 50% from student FCAT and End of
Course (EOC) exam scores that the teacher supposedly
comes in contact with. This evaluation tool has little use
in determining classroom instruction since many
teachers are being "graded" on students they have no
contact with.
There are core teaching standards already in place and
have been used by Florida teachers for many years.
#4. What is the impact of charter schools on the local
public school system? (100 words)
There are two charter schools in our school district, The
Learning Academy of Santa Rosa (grades 6-12) and The
Capstone Academy (PreK-K). The Learning Academy
is an alternative education program for a specific group
of students and has close ties with the school district.
#5. What proposals can you offer to improve our
public schools? (100 words)
I would propose that School Board members spend time
in the classroom setting so they are more in tune as to
what is really occurring and I would propose that high
school and middle school teachers are given back their
individual planning periods.