Candidate: Elizabeth Hewey

Home (heweyforsrschoolboard.com)

Questions and answers LWV Forum, July 17, 2024

What do you suggest for recruiting and retaining qualified, credentialed teachers?

·        In 2020/2021, the legislature allocated 80% of the raise monies for beginning teachers and 20% for veterans. School achievement awards and Best & Brightest monies were eliminated to pay for this plan which started compression.

·        A first day and nine year teacher’s salary are the same on the salary schedule. Veteran teachers are leaving due to compression.

·        Now we have four categorical that were swept into the Base FEFP.  According to RUTLEDGE-ECENIA 2024-2025 (FEFP) First Calculation: “This action vastly inflated the increase in the Base Student Allocation (BSA) in 2023-2024, and the size of the BSA in the 2024-2025 FEFP.  Any increase in the costs of these mandates beyond must be paid for from any BSA increase.”

·        So the categorical monies and the additional liability both move to the BSA.

·        Currently, SRC’s FEFP first calculation is 5.59% or $10.5M for maintenance of the 2023-24 increase and 1.07% or $2.02M for 24-25 increase.

Ø As FSBA Director, I listened to legislators discuss the compression issue. They have caused compression and stated it is their top priority to solve.

Ø Also, I have discussed with legislators the prospects of putting school districts on state insurance plans which drives down costs and increases coverage.

Ø In 2024, the legislators added college and university professors to state plans, and I would propose adding school districts as a retention device. Headlines have touted that Florida has a $2B surplus in tax revenue this year.

What did you do to prepare to be a school board member?

In 2016, I was finishing my UWF Master’s Degree in Accounting when I heard that there was trouble in Santa Rosa County Schools.  I finished my last exam on a Tuesday and went to the School Board meeting on Thursday.  That evening, the superintendent, supported by the school board, overruled a magistrate on teacher pay raises. This action led to an impasse settled with a small raise; however, the teachers were denied retroactive pay. I started walking neighborhoods listening to SRC families to get new school board members elected.

Before running for office, I attended school board meetings for three years, budget negotiations for two years, volunteered at Chumuckla Elementary, and joined the SRC, Jay, and Gulf Breeze chamber to network in the local community.

When I ran for in 2020, the school district was projecting bankruptcy, business was conducted behind closed doors, DOE fined the school district $650,000 for lack of instructional hours, teacher layoffs, and the Superintendent was spending $4.5M on remodeling Hwy 90 administrative building.

Also, the developer impact fee lawsuit was initiated: four state court judges decided against the school district which cost over a million dollars in legal fees.

When the new school board took over in November 2020, we had to immediately put in $3M into operations so the teachers and employees would have a raise.

School Boards have fiduciary responsibility. What are your qualifications for fulfilling your responsibility for financial oversight?

Since SRCSD is the No. 1 county employer, fiscal knowledge is key to navigating growth i.e. FCR fluctuations, budget encumberments, DOE projections and deductions, function trend analysis, and $3.7M operating insurance costs transferred into capital. Further, I managed college divisions in two financial systems South Carolina and Florida.  

In addition, I have earned my FSBA Certified Board Member distinction. Only 20% of Florida school board members hold this distinction. I completed 96 hours of education and training: School Finance; Policy Governance, Bargaining, State/Federal Legislative Processes, and School Law.

Since budget transparency is a priority, I spend hours developing spreadsheets and crunching numbers to ask the tough fiscal questions from the dais. Further, the Supervisor of Election lists the net worth of candidates including cash flow (bank accounts, savings, CD’s), assets, and liabilities. Since school board is a fiscal oversight position, voters can compare net worth to assess how well candidates handle their own money.

Advanced budgeting, accounting, and fiscal expertise is key to keeping the school district solvent; otherwise, SRCSD could easily revert to business behind closed doors and projected bankruptcy as previously reported.  Credentials count.

SOE information provides valuable insight on candidate fiscal management.

Hewey, Elizabeth Qualifying Forms 2024 (voterfocus.com) Form 6: Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests - Print - Electronic Financial Disclosure Management System (floridaethics.gov)

Education (heweyforsrschoolboard.com)

Experience (heweyforsrschoolboard.com)

Locklin, Oscar Qualifying Forms 2024 (voterfocus.com)

Member Profile – Oscar J Locklin – The Florida Bar