Candidates speak at forum for School Board

As three of four Lakeland School Board candidates presented their experience, vision and hopes for the district at a forum Aug. 24, some side notes emerged regarding the suburb’s Sept. 17 election.

Incumbent Teresa Henry, along with challengers Geoff Hicks and Susan Miller, said they will work to make sure the school system continues to improve. Each expects a proposed middle school to be a major focus on the Lakeland School System’s five-year plan.

Here are some other observations from the forum presented by the Lakeland Elementary PTA:

The fourth candidate, Mica Partain, opted out of the session, complaining the PTA politicized the event. Before the forum, PTA President Krista Pearce said the group worked hard to make sure the event was balanced.

On Aug. 25, Cat Floeter Wright, a past PTA president, presented a more direct, critical view of Partain’s perceptions.

“Now that the forum is over, I am ready to make it publicly know(n) how difficult Ms. Partain was for our PTA leadership during the planning of the forum,” Wright said on Facebook. “Her accusations that this would be an unfair event were outlandish and demeaning for the PTA. I think anyone who attended last night saw all three candidates treated with respect.”

Partain did not return several calls from a reporter seeking comment.

Miller, who along with Partain is backed by the Concerned Citizens of Lakeland, was the focus of criticism after she asked Supt. Ted Horrell earlier this year about prayer before school board meetings. In explaining her inquiry, Miller said she is “all for prayer. I’ve never been against prayer,” but expressed her concern, citing the separation of church and state. “I just questioned whether or not the legality of it puts us at risk of losing any type of funding or putting us in a bad light,” she said.

One question was how candidates voted on the $50 million bond issue defeated by voters in April. Henry and Hicks voted in favor of the bonds earmarked for Lakeland Prep — a combination middle and high school. “I voted yes, and, frankly, I’m unashamed of that,” Hicks said, adding: “I thought it was an ambitious plan that took care of the needs of our kids far into the future.”

Miller acknowledged she voted against the bond issue. “There’s no secret there,” she said. Miller added she was initially unaware of the plan and questioned the city’s ability to pay the bond amount with a proposed 55-cent property tax increase. “To me, the bond was rushed, the school’s plan was rushed, and it did not have the successful buy-in of the community,” Miller said.

Meanwhile, Henry, who also voted in favor of the bonds, said it was time to move past the referendum that was a bitter battle between the sides.