Learn about the 4 candidates seeking Bill Mignon's St. Johns County School Board seat
Lauren Abell, Rita Baldwin, Jennifer Collins and Doug Russo are vying to fill Bill Mignon's seat in the race for St. Johns County School Board District 3.
If neither candidate gets 50% of the votes plus one, the top two candidates will face off in November's general election.
The Record posed the following questions to each of the candidates. Answers are presented as they were submitted, save for minor corrections to punctuation and grammar.
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St. Johns County School Board District 3
Lauren Abell
City of residence: St. Augustine
How long have you lived in St. Johns County? 29 years
Previous elected positions: None
Community service: 20-plus year member of the Junior Service League of St. Augustine, president in 2004-2005. Founding member and current president of the All American Air Charitable Foundation. Former board member of Kids Bridge Supervised Visitation Center. Former chair of SJC Children's Commission. Volunteered for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, EPIC, Hugs St. Johns, multiple schools.
Qualifications for office: Master's degree in education. Florida Department of Education Certification in educational leadership, exceptional student education and school guidance and counseling. 20-plus years experience in schools as a middle school counselor, middle and high school assistant principal, director for professional development and virtual school administrator.
Professional trainings: International baccalaureate; AVID; Youth Mental Health First Aid; Sources of Strength; Professional Learning Communities (PLCs); Capturing Kids Hearts; etc.
Reason for running: I have wanted to serve our community as a school board member for over 25 years. I believe that great schools are the heart of strong communities and I will work hard to help us have the highest-quality public schools in the state, where everyone is safe and children can learn. I have the experience, dedication and work ethic to make sound decisions to support our students, teachers, staff and families. District 3 voters can trust in my leadership and commitment to our students, teachers, staff and families.
Goals for upcoming term if elected: Increased efforts for teacher recruitment and retention. Enhanced compensation for teachers. Active communication with District 3 stakeholders (parents, business owners, residents). Continued efforts to increase school safety. Increased attention and support for student mental health concerns. Increased support for teachers and staff for student discipline issues. Equity for District 3 schools for resources such as maintenance, technology, instructional materials, etc. Emphasis on supporting and growing the career academies and advanced programs at Pedro Menendez High School so that high school students have multiple college and career paths to choose from and are well-prepared for life after high school graduation.
What would you do to help keep the St. Johns County School District at the top of state rankings? I will support the recruitment and retention of excellent teachers and then support them in their work as they teach our children. I will work to strengthen partnerships between all stakeholders (parents, faith community, business partners, etc.) and our schools.
How should the school district manage population growth? Continue our in-depth planning and identification of growth trends and resources. Increased communication with county commissioners regarding needs. Work with legislators regarding our needs because many counties in Florida don't face the same growth challenges that we do and the rules for when student enrollment projections will allow for schools to be built keep us from meeting our student needs proactively.
Rita Baldwin
Editor's note: Rita Baldwin did not provide a photo.
City of residence: St. Augustine
How long have you lived in St. Johns County? Much of my life, but most recently moved back about 12 years ago.
Previous elected positions: N/A
Community service: (Left blank)
Qualifications for office: (Left blank)
Reason for running: I am a married homeschool mother of two boys, Florida native, and ardent supporter of the Constitution.
I’m not a politician. I’ve never dreamed of being "someone in government." I’ve never wanted a political career … I’m just a normal, American mom who loves liberty and the founding principles of this country.
During the chaos of 2020, I became more closely involved with local government to do my part to ensure that the people of Florida kept their freedoms and liberty during the periods of school closures, lockdowns and general disarray.
As my involvement in the local political scene deepened, I realized the dire need for more involvement and leadership in the local school system, and decided to take action. St. Johns County needs change, and I believe that change can only come from someone outside of the the system who can step in and implement better policies. I support Gov. (Ron) DeSantis' education agenda and will work to remove explicit content from school libraries, bolster security for students and ensure parental rights in education.
Goals for upcoming term if elected: To ensure parental rights: Parental rights come first. The schools exist to serve the parents by serving the students. I will push back against ANY and ALL intrusions on parental rights, and will listen to and be a voice for SJC parents.
To secure the schools: We live in an era of disconnection, where violent tragedies in the schools are becoming all too common. Enough is enough. We must ensure the safety of our students by implementing effective security measures. The schools need to be prepared so that any threat to student safety is neutralized quickly, safely and effectively.
To remove explicit material: Sexually explicit material does not belong in school libraries. If a sufficient number of parents are concerned that certain content is too explicit (or even pornographic), it is the responsibility of the schools to serve the parents by removing the material in question.
The recent failures of the SJC School Board and administration are as embarrassing as they are inexcusable. Instead of listening to the parents, they politicised (sic) and polarised (sic) this issue and treated the parents of SJC with disregard and contempt. St. Johns County parents deserve better, and the existing administration needs to be held accountable.
To stop critical race theory (CRT) in the schools: The schools need to be a place of education, learning and fostering the advancement of each student. Instead, due to harmful narratives like CRT, students are being indoctrinated with a worldview which splits them into categories of either oppressor or oppressed.
These polarising (sic) political ideologies foster division, and don’t belong in a learning atmosphere. Not only is critical race theory part of the curriculum, but it has become the fabric of the entire public school environment and culture. Political ideologies and polarising (sic) racial narratives should never be the focus of the schools – the focus needs to be academics.
Editor's note: Critical race theory is not part of the St. Johns County School District curriculum.
To ensure academic integrity: Academic standards have never been lower in this country. In many states, high schools are graduating people who are functionally illiterate. The lowering of the bar for society shouldn’t be expedited by the schools. It should be the opposite. Schools should be helping students to aim higher and to achieve more.
What would you do to help keep the St. Johns County School District at the top of state rankings? We need to get back to basics and focus on academics, keeping political ideologies out of the classroom. We need to ensure our students are actually getting the instruction they need to excel, not "just enough" to ensure a test score average.
How should the school district manage population growth? Ideally, the school system should be able to anticipate and accommodate for population growth before overcrowding becomes an issue. We are currently seeing explosive population growth in our county, and we won't catch up with infrastructure overnight. For improvements in the future, I would like to look into the possibility of overcompensating on capacity to ensure that there are always seats available in classrooms (not portables) for all students, while also exploring the possibility of passing some of the tax burden to developers (not just residents).
Jennifer Collins
City of residence: St. Augustine.
How long have you lived in St. Johns County? 30 years
Previous elected positions: No
Community service: School volunteer in the classroom and media centers for 20 years for Osceola, Hartley and Hastings Elementary. Production helper and set designer for the dance program and ascension at Pedro Menendez High School and volunteer in the dance program at St. Augustine High School. Crisis cleanup call-line for the hurricanes Matthew and Irma. Church junior Sunday school chorister and teacher and young women’s and women’s leader.
Qualifications for office: Five children that have graduated from or are still students in Saint Johns County. Hundreds of volunteer hours in the schools. Small business owner of Land Title of America. Twenty-year teacher of children’s performance group ages 3-18 (Showtime USA). Graduate Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho. Daughter of a teacher, principal and superintendent. High school valedictorian.
Reason for running and goals for upcoming term if elected: Give support to teachers, students and parents in Saint Johns County school (sic).
Keep our school safe by hardening the targets and deterring unlawful entry.
Make sure parents’ rights are upheld and that they have full involvement and awareness with everything that is going on in their child’s classroom.
Retain effective teachers in doing what they do best and entice new ones to fill open spots.
Alleviate overcrowding and over-testing in Saint Johns County schools
Be a channel through which Gov. (Ron) DeSantis’ education policies can be implemented for the education of our students instead of their indoctrination.
Make certain that graduates from St. Johns County Schools are prepared for success in life with the right skills to help them get that success.
My passion has always been in supporting the achievement of children. As a member of the school board I will do just that. I have the tenacity and drive to stand up for what will make St Johns County Schools the best they can be.
What would you do to help keep the St. Johns County School District at the top of state rankings? I will ensure our children, teachers and parents are empowered with the resources they need to succeed.
How should the school district manage population growth? It is critical we ensure that our schools are able to keep up with the rapid growth we are facing in St. Johns County. I believe this must be a collaborative effort with the County Commission to address critical areas where new developments are being proposed.
Doug Russo
City of residence: St. Augustine
How long have you lived in St. Johns County? 48 years
Previous elected positions: N/A
Community service: Former missionary, church planter in South Dakota. Active in the Historical Preservation of structures in historic St. Augustine. Presently, volunteer bible study leader three times a week. Committeeman, Precinct 307, SJCO Republican Party.
Qualifications for office: Educational: BA theology, MA psychology. Personal experience: Husband of one wife. Father of 11, grandfather of 49. Have been in position of management and oversight most of my adult life: Founder/pastor of Indians for Jesus Bible Baptist Church, (Missionary to the Sioux Nation 21 years); owner of small business, 22 years. Currently leader of a home bible (sic) study three times weekly.
Reason for running: To stop the present onslaught of evil indoctrination in our curriculum. To stop the influence of the questionable actions of the NEA and CDC. To stop the indoctrination of LGBTQ ideas in our text books and by the administration/teachers. To stop any and all indoctrination of the CRT platform. To install a new curriculum, dealing with traditional and historical accurate teachings. I will suggest we use the Hillsdale College curriculum, presently being used in the Clay County charter schools. To prohibit any adult from speaking to any minor about sexual things. To make certain no mandates are ever put on our children again, concerning vaccines and mask mandates. To see that every school has a readable display of: The Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence and The Ten Commandments. To ensure parental rights and open visitation of school properties. To bring in conservative teachers with proper morals and respect for America. I would like to restore daily bible (sic) readings, and daily prayer, as these were the moral foundation of our public education in America’s godly past.
Goals for upcoming term if elected: To begin using Hillsdale College curriculum. To remove the rainbow flags at 40 Orange St. (SJCOSD offices) and put up the national, state and county motto: In God We Trust, along with a large display of the Ten Commandments. To see that every school has a readable display of: The Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence and The Ten Commandments.
What would you do to help keep the St. Johns County School District at the top of state rankings? Limit the curriculum to academics, not marxist indoctrination. Create a wholesome traditional setting, where teachers are comfortable in presenting wholesome material. Have firm discipline policies, providing civil order in the classroom.
How should the school district manage population growth? Investigate possible connection SJCOSD management has with the land developers.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Election 2022: 4 candidates seek St. Johns School Board District 3 seat
