Candidate: MELISA W GIOVANNELLI

Melisa is a born and raised Lee County native that has spent the last 17 years successfully building a business in the local Real Estate Market while raising two children and supporting her husband, Craig, a law enforcement officer. She is a 26 year, active member of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Fort Myers and supports the Young Life and Wyld Life Christian youth programs. She gives freely of her time to various organizations including Blessings in a Backpack, Education First, and the Edison Festival of Lights, just to name a few. Melisa is dedicated to her community and the future of our neighborhoods. She is also a Gulfshore Life 5 Star Winner for 10 years. Melisa has first-hand knowledge of our local education system, as a product of it, as a parent currently in the folds, and as a business person whose income in generated based on the local economy. Melisa believes that our teachers and students need to be the priority for the education system, transparent budgeting and spending for resources that support the teachers and students above all else. She values the asset that our teachers are and plans to focus on teacher retention. She knows that communities that invest in their schools provide better opportunity for success and wants to bring back neighborhood schools that provide a higher standard of education consistently. Students have the right to equal education opportunities, regardless of where they live, and should not have to travel to get it. Bring education home.