Name: Elizabeth Hewey, *CBM
Office you're seeking: Santa Rosa County School Board Member, District 2 (Incumbent)
Occupation: High School Teacher, Community College Administrator, and VP/Research & Market Development Executive (retired)
Education: Master of Accountancy, Accounting/Professional Accounting, University of West Florida
Bachelor of Science Business Administration/Professional Accounting, University of West Florida
Bachelor of Arts, Secondary Education degree, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
August primary ballot is set. Nearly 100 have qualified to run for local elected offices
Why are you running for this office?
A parent said it best: “Elizabeth, you are a perfect public servant. It is obvious you are doing this for the students and not for yourself.”
Since being elected in 2020, I’ve knocked on 6,213 doors listening to the families of Santa Rosa County i.e. we redistricted 10 schools to open the new Wallace Lake K-8 school. I walked my neighborhoods updating families to help them prepare students for new schools. One teacher calls this my “boots on the ground” approach.
My first priority is Academics. Our families expect us to maintain our A school district ranking so students can be competitive and experience many opportunities in life. In District 2, our students are attending A and B tested schools thanks to our teachers, staff, administrators and families. I volunteer in 5 schools (Berryhill, Central, Chumuckla, Jay, and Wallace Lake K-8) helping students and teachers.
Next, I am the first School Board candidate to complete my petitions (1,457qualified) where I engage with residents personally. Further, I am happy to announce that, I am honored to be endorsed by Santa Rosa Professional Educators (SRPE) for the second term in a row. Another parent observed, “Teachers are in the trenches, and they know who is doing the job.”
What experience do you have that makes you qualified for this office?
My expertise is on both sides of the desk. As a high school teacher, I understand the daily classroom management challenges because students are at different levels. Teachers have to assess where they are and bring them to where they need to be. Teachers are working seven days a week grading papers, writing lesson plans, attending parent meetings, and looking for those moments when they see student progress. I told one of my teachers that it is a symphony to watch her bring the students into educated harmony.
In the corporate world, I managed staffs and multi-million dollar budgets in research and market development. After 21 years, I retired and returned to community college administration to direct divisions using two state financial systems: South Carolina and Florida.
Director Florida School Board Association (FSBA) representing Santa Rosa School District, member Financial Committee; * Awarded Certified Board member distinction which entails 96 hours of training: Boardsmanship; School Finance; Policy Governance; Bargaining; Curriculum and Instruction; State/Federal Legislative Processes, and School Law. (Renewed Jan. 1, 2025)
Only 20% of Florida school board members hold this distinction.
In your view, what is the role of public schools?
To educate students so they have many opportunities to choose pathways, be productive citizens, take care of their families, and help their communities grow.
What do you believe should be changed about the school district, and what specific steps you would take to implement those changes?
During 2023-24, I had the privilege of being on the committee reviewing the seven- period day. That effort should be renewed because it enhances our ability to offer more accelerated advanced classes and career technical courses for our high schools.
Adding back the 30 minutes a day instructional time gives our students more opportunities. It helps us provide additional remedial time in elementary and middle schools to improve gains for students in our lower 25%.
In high schools, student safety could be increased by adding one period a day for teacher duty. Teachers would teach-five out of seven classes. They would have a planning period and be competitive with our neighboring counties that teach a seven period schedule. This could be a teacher recruitment and retention benefit.
What do you believe the school district is doing right, and how would you improve it?
As an A rated School District, the more that we let our teachers teach, the better our students will perform. Since I was teaching high school, the paperwork load has increased. We should relieve teachers of those burdens so they can devote more time to their students. Teachers indicate that much of the paperwork is redundant. That observation should be studied, and waste should be cut. High School Administrator stated it succinctly : “Empowering our teachers to teach is essential to student performance.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Elizabeth Hewey for Santa Rosa County School Board Member, District 2 | Candidate Q&A
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