Edwin Ferguson for open Palm Beach School Board seat
When Edwin Ferguson ran for the Florida House in 2016, we endorsed him. When he ran for the Palm Beach County School Board in 2018, we endorsed him again. He lost both times.
This year, Ferguson is again running for school board. Spoiler alert: We’re endorsing him.
The coastal District 7 seat Ferguson and two other candidates seek is open because incumbent Debra Robinson decided not to run again after more than two decades on the board. Even though she’s not on the ballot, however, Robinson is part of this race.
In 2018, Robinson considered not running. She acknowledged that she wanted to choose her successor. Though Ferguson appeared to be her favorite, Robinson, the incumbent, ran anyway.
Ferguson’s main opponent this year is Corey Michael Smith. Like Ferguson, Smith is a lawyer with a solo practice. Unlike Ferguson, he wouldn’t be an independent board member.
During a Sun Sentinel Editorial Board candidate interview, Smith conceded that Robinson recruited him as her successor. The seat does not belong to Robinson, however. It’s too important.
District 7 includes most of the poor minority neighborhoods in eastern Palm Beach County from Delray Beach to Riviera Beach, where Ferguson grew up and still lives. It thus has a disproportionately high number of at-risk students who lost the most ground during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robinson has been a strong advocate for those students. Ferguson, though, said he would be more pro-active and that Smith is more reactive, and likened his opponent’s approach to Robinson’s. “We had the loudest voice, but what did we gain?” Ferguson asks,
Ferguson, 45, is a lawyer who’s married with a 6-year-old son. He received a business administration degree from UCF and a law degree from Barry University.
He disagreed with the board’s decision to remove “white advantage” from its equity statement last year. “I’m surprised that they capitulated to the outcry,” he said.
He described state legislation, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that restricts discussion of race in schools as “intellectually and emotionally disingenuous.”
Smith calls himself better prepared than Ferguson because of his past work in the school district’s legal department, which ended with Smith’s contract not being renewed, a decision he attributes to internal politics.
But we agree with Ferguson when he says he has the most diverse background.
He taught Advanced Placement Chemistry at A-rated Suncoast High School and math at C-rated Palm Beach Lakes High School. In his law practice, he interacts with the criminal justice system. The teachers union has endorsed him. He has a very active social media presence. He has raised more money ($68,000 through July 1) than both of his opponents combined, a sign of strong support in the community.
Ferguson wants the district to better prepare high school students for jobs in the work force and to be business owners. The board needs his perspective. He subscribes to the idea that “attitude determines altitude.” We see Ferguson as a positive role model for District 7 students.
“The cornerstone of a solid educational foundation is the ability to read and think critically,” Ferguson’s website says. “The ability to count to 100, recite the ABCs properly, hold a pen/pencil, and identify one’s name when shown, should be “par for the course” for every child prior to entering elementary school.”
The third candidate in this race is Christopher Persaud, 33, a former fourth-grade teacher in the district. He was arrested last fall for not wearing a face mask in violation of board policy. He was convicted and ordered to pay court costs.
Persaud compared his action to that of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. His contract was not renewed for next year. Persaud said he was “let go but not let go.” In his closing statement during our interview, Persaud prayed.
When Ferguson ran for the Legislature six years ago, education was his priority, and clearly it still is. The Sun Sentinel recommends Edwin Ferguson for Palm Beach County School Board District 7.