Hixon would bring a valuable perspective to at-large board Seat 9

Broward County voters must decide on Nov. 3 whether they want Debra Hixon or Jeff Holness to represent them on the School Board. They emerged from the August primary as the two with enough votes to compete in the runoff for this countywide seat.

Hixon got 41.6% of the vote; Holness got 25.9%. The other three candidates split the rest. If a candidate fails to win more than 50% of the votes, those who finished first and second compete in a runoff.

In the primary, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board endorsed Hixon, 53, and we endorse her again now. Holness, the cousin of Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, is a fine candidate, but he lacks Hixon’s impressive educational resume built over 31 years as a teacher in the school system.

Also, Hixon is the widow of Chris Hixon, the athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was murdered in the 2018 massacre. That tragedy will affect School Board discussions and policy for years to come and Hixon’s perspective would be invaluable.

But Hixon brings much more to the table than her tragic tie to the Parkland school shooting. At South Broward High School, she’s also the coordinator of the Maritime/Marine Science & Technology magnet program. When she took over the program four years ago, the program attracted few students, she said. It now has a waiting list. She’s also been a swimming coach during much of her teaching career.

Hixon wants changes at the school district. The School Board is “dysfunctional,” she told us during the endorsement interview for the primary. “It’s hard to watch” the long and inefficient board meetings.

In her questionnaire, she said she will work with other board members to “make the changes necessary to keep our schools safe, not only from active shooters, but from bullying and over testing.”

For Holness, this race is his fifth attempt to win public office. He’s run for the Plantation City Council three times and the Sunrise City Commission once. He’s never won.

Holness has a solid background in education. He worked for the school system for 17 years as a social studies teacher. He has two sons who attend Broward public schools and noted during his Sun Sentinel interview that “I would be the only father on the School Board.” The nine members of the School Board are women.

Holness, 48, has a Ph.D. in education from Nova Southeastern and a bachelor’s from Florida Atlantic University in sociology. For the last five years, he has owned and operated a math and reading training franchise. He says his combination of business and teaching experience makes him particularly well qualified to serve on the board.

In this election, Holness may benefit from the growing political power of the county’s Black voters, who displayed considerable muscle in the primary. Black candidates won most of the county’s high-profile races. Holness’ uncle is a political force in the Black community and the three candidates who failed to reach the runoff were Black. They accounted for 32 percent of the vote.

In our follow-up email exchange after the primary, Hixon told us that one of those former candidates — Jimmy Witherspoon — is supporting her in the runoff. She said another former candidate — Narnike Grant — is supporting Holness.

Hixon said her campaign “continues to gain support from people across the county as can be evidenced by the more than 400 unique donors that have contributed.”

In our follow-up email exchange with Holness after the primary, he sent basic campaign information and asked that “reporting for the runoff be as fair, balanced, and accurate as possible.”

Both candidates have been busy collecting endorsements. They are listed on their campaign sites — debbhixon.wixsite.com/ broward and votejeffholness.com.

Voters would be wise to choose Hixon, an FSU graduate who seems professional, no-nonsense and reasonable. Unlike many people linked to the Parkland tragedy, she is not intent on firing Superintendent Robert Runcie. She said he’s done well “ensuring that the district celebrates differences in our community and schools.”

But she says that the school system suffers from low teacher morale, that its response to the pandemic has been muddled and that its $800 million program to repair school buildings has been botched. She wants those problems fixed.

School board members serve a fouryear term and are paid $41,233 a year.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Dan Sweeney, Steve Bousquet and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.

Hixon

Holness