Guest opinion: Performance over politics: Maintain academic excellence

The Greater Naples Chamber’s vision is to cultivate a great quality of place in which to live, work and play. A key component of “quality of place” is the quality of our schools. Great schools mean a great community. Living and working in a great school district means attracting a great workforce, including great teachers, offering high levels of education, increasing home values, and economic vitality.

Our elected school board officials oversee that effort to make schools great.

Watch: Elections 2022: Collier County School Board candidate forum | Watch live

This upcoming Florida Primary election is of utmost importance for Collier County children and youth. In Florida, school board elections are held during the primaries, and all voters, even those who classify as No Party Affiliation (NPA), can vote on the school board candidates.

Why should you vote? Because in Florida, school board elections are nonpartisan yet are held during the primary. If a candidate for a school board seat wins more than 50% of the primary round vote, they are declared the winner. That’s why the primary vote is so important!

Three of the five school board seats are up for election, with three incumbents running against numerous challengers. While the in-person vote is August 23, many Collier County voters vote absentee, and those ballots are already out.

Read more: Collier School Board District 3 features incumbent, former member and a newcomer

Collier County School Board District 1: Three candidates vying for seat

Collier County School Board District 5: Crowded race could mean no decision in primary

As in any election, voters are asked to decide two things:

1.       Do they vote to stay the course and keep the school board members we currently have?

2.       Or, if things aren’t going well, do they vote for a change?

So, let’s look at the facts:

School Performance: For the 2021-22 school year, Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) students and staff once again earned an “A” rating, continuing a successful “A” streak dating back to 2017 and ranking CCPS in the top five districts statewide. In fact, CCPS is one of only five districts statewide (top 3%) who have been “A” rated since 2017.

Elections 2022: What you need to know for primary voting in Collier County

Additionally, the District’s graduation rate has improved from 72.5% in 2011 to 92.7% in 2021, a 20.2%-point increase. Plus, CCPS schools have outperformed the state average on 100% of the twenty-one tested areas, positioning our District as one of the best in the state.

Leadership: Navigating a global pandemic was tough, but decisions made by the current School Board leadership created multiple learning options for our students including in-person, synchronous online learning, and E-Collier Academy; preserved the student experience by ensuring access to clubs, sports, band, theater, and orchestra. Plus, CCPS distributed thousands of computers and Wi-Fi hotspots to maintain student access and expand school beyond the school walls, as well as providing over 1 million meals.

Fiscal integrity: The District is on track to be debt free in 2026. The District is also in position to pay cash for their new high school (saving taxpayers over $41 million with no loan on the new construction). Moreover, while more than twenty other school districts in Florida went before the voters to request a tax increase, our District proposed a tax neutral referendum instead of a tax increase.

Yet despite this impressive performance, some challengers want to make our nonpartisan, children-focused school board race a matter of partisan politics. Their campaign sites spout ideologies and half-truths verses addressing what is best for the children and youth of Collier County.

Be informed. Know the issues and get the facts. Go to the candidate websites. And, above all, vote. Whether you’re a registered Republican, Democrat, other party, or No Party Affiliation, you need to vote. Our community is counting on your vote to maintain academic excellence.

Michael Dalby is President & CEO of the Greater Naples Chamber.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Collier County school board elections will determine quality of place