Hixon reacted heroically since Parkland tragedy

Five people are running for the Broward School Board at-large seat, but one of them is easily the most qualified: Debra Hixon.

The other four are fine candidates in the Aug. 18 election, but only Hixon has taught in Broward public schools for 31 years and has directly experienced the horror of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killings. Her husband, Chris Hixon, the school’s athletic director and wrestling coach, was murdered that day.

Debra Hixon, 53, doesn’t deserve your vote because of her misfortune; she deserves it because of how she’s responded to it.

“I didn’t have the option of not being connected to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting,” she said during an online interview with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board along with two of her competitors. But, she said, she could decide how she was going to respond to what happened to her.

“I decided I was going to do something for the community,” she said.

The winner of this countywide seat will need the kind of resolve Hixon has demonstrated. The new board member will be replacing Robin Bartleman, who is resigning to seek a Florida House seat.

Bartleman has been an independent voice on the board and, at times, a blunt critic of the administration. The longestserving member, Bartleman has been frustrated by misspending and mismanagement, a lack of answers from school board staff and a failure to hold poor performers accountable. At a recent workshop to discuss the maintenance department, for example, she couldn’t get the board to discuss the case of a maintenance supervisor indicted for taking bribes from a vendor.

Based on her interview and questionnaire, Hixon clearly wants changes at the school district. The School Board is “dysfunctional,” she told us. “It’s hard to watch” the long and inefficient board meetings. “Decisions need to be made in a timely manner.”

That’s particularly true as the district grapples with how to teach more than

270,000 students come August as

COVID-19 rages through Florida. Hixon’s connection to the shooting has given her insights into school safety, student mental health and other issues that the other candidates don’t have. Since the shootings, she has served as president of the Chris Hixon Athletic Scholarship program, which awards three $2,500 scholarships to high school students each year.

Debra Hixon is a board member of Stand with Parkland, which promotes safer schools, better mental health and responsible gun ownership. She’s also vice president of 4FNOW, which organizes voluntary gun buy-back programs, as well as other civic organizations.

Most importantly, she has had a distinguished career as an educator. She’s the coordinator of the Maritime/Marine Science & Technology magnet program at South Broward High School. 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.

“I will work with the board to make the changes necessary to keep our schools safe, not only from active shooters, but from bullying and over testing,” she said on her questionnaire. “I will work to provide teachers with adequate pay and the resources and policies they need to help students succeed as well as to increase mental health services in our schools. I will build open and positive relationships between schools and their communities. I will bring stakeholders, community leaders, and educators together to develop policy, be open and accessible, be understanding and compassionate, and continue to treat everyone equally and with respect.”

Hixon got a bachelor’s degree in education and biology from Florida State University. She has raised more than $56,000 for her campaign.

Her opponents are worthy candidates. Jeff Holness, 48, has owned a math and reading training franchise for the last five years. Before that, he taught social studies in Broward public schools for 17 years. He has a Ph.D. in education from Nova Southeastern and a bachelor’s from Florida Atlantic University in sociology.

He has two sons who attend Broward

Hixon public schools and noted during the endorsement interview that if he were to be elected, “I would be the only father on the School Board.” The nine members of the current board are all women.

Holness has been active in civic affairs for a long time. He serves on a long list of community boards, including the county’s Consumer Protection Board. He’s run unsuccessfully for the Plantation City Council three times and the Sunrise City Commission once.

He contends that his mix of teaching in the system and business experience running his learning center makes him the best candidate. He has about $60,000 in his campaign account and a long list of endorsements.

Candidate Narnike Grant, 43, is another inspiring story. During her interview, she praised her high school English teacher for encouraging her to pursue her education even after she gave birth to her first child at age 16.

“She told me ‘this is not the end of the world,’” Grant said. Today, Grant is the president of the Heron Heights Elementary PTA and the mother of five children. She works as a substitute teacher in the system and has an impressive grasp of the challenges facing the district.

She said she is seeking the office because she “has a servant’s heart.” She also has $58,000 in her campaign account.

The other two candidates are Jimmy Witherspoon, the 38-year-old pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, and Joyce Williams-Bryan, 76, who in 2016 became the first Black mayor of Margate. Both completed the Sun Sentinel questionnaires, but were unable to participate in the online interview for legitimate reasons.

Witherspoon has worked for Broward public schools for 17 years and currently is a counselor at Dillard High School. He said he’s seeking the seat because he believes the board needs to do a far better job “reaching across the aisle” to build a consensus among parents, teachers and district staff to improve the system. He has raised about $10,000, according to his questionnaire.

Bryan also has experience with the school district. Since 2007 she has served as a substitute teacher and support professional at a variety of schools. She has a bachelor’s degree from Nyack College in New York State and has about $3,000 in her campaign account, according to her questionnaire.

The candidates agree on most issues – teacher morale is low and they should be paid more; parents need to be provided both online and in-school options when schools open in August; the $800 million bond issue to repair schools has been bungled.

They differ to some degree on their assessments of Superintendent Robert Runcie.

To her credit and unlike some Parkland parents, Hixon isn’t intent on firing Runcie. He has strengths and weaknesses and “has done a good job ensuring that the district celebrates differences in our community and schools,” she said.

When asked if she would have voted to fire him shortly after the shootings, she demurred, saying she didn’t have the information the board members had at the time of the vote.

“I have talked to the superintendent and assured him that I am not running on a platform to get rid of him,” she said during the interview.

Holness, Grant and Williams-Bryan expressed high praise for Runcie. Holness cited the often-disputed statistic that the system’s high school graduation rate stands at 95% if you remove charter schools. (He’s wrong on that. The figure also omits district-run alternative schools.)

Bryan agrees. “His strengths are his quiet demeanor and confidence in front of almost impossible odds,” she said in her questionnaire.

School board members serve a four-year term and are paid $41,233 a year. Voters countywide will vote in this at-large district. If a single candidate fails to get more than 50% of the vote on Aug. 18, the top two vote-getters will face each other in a runoff on Nov. 3.

Hixon’s connection to the shooting has given her insights into school safety, student mental health and other issues that the other candidates don’t have.

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.