Manatee County School Board District 2 race: Election preview

BRADENTON — Three seats are up for nonpartisan election for the Manatee County School Board on Aug. 23. Voters have begun mail-in absentee ballots and in-person early voting begins on Aug. 13.

Three candidates are competing for the seat with a four-year term representing District 2, which lies roughly west of Interstate 75 and north State Road 64 ending near Palmetto — Susan Agruso, Harold Boyd, Jr. and Cindy Spray.

Because the race is nonpartisan, all voters can participate in the election. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes will advance to a runoff election in November.

Susan Agruso

Susan Agruso was formerly a school superintendent in the state of New York. Before retiring and relocating to Bradenton in 2015 with her husband Jim, Agruso worked as an assessment director for the South Carolina Department of Education and later as an assistant superintendent in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Her focus if elected, she says, would be on the district’s literacy level and making sure students are reading at the appropriate reading level for their age.

“So much springs from reading … about 50% of kids in Manatee County are not on grade level; in some parts of the community it’s lower than that,” she said. “

Agruso also says her focuses include district and board transparency, support and competitive salaries for teachers and staff and a safe environment for students in classrooms.

“We need to have a much more positive climate for schools. Teaching is a phenomenal profession and it is so critical for our kids. We need to support all the people who work so hard in our school district … schools are critical part of our community. Their success is important for all of us.”

Agruso's current campaign donations total just over $15,250 from a handful of donors according to data from the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Harold Byrd, Jr.

Harold Byrd Jr. is a Manatee County native and graduate of the district’s public schools. Byrd furthered his education after high school, leaving Manatee County for Tallahassee to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a public, historically Black land-grant university. Byrd earned his law degree from Florida A&M and later obtained a master’s in public administration.

Byrd’s career has focused on public policy and public administration, but he hopes to follow in the footsteps of his mother and former School Board member Ruby Byrd by winning this election.

“I saw firsthand the compassion, dedication and work ethics exhibited by my mother,” he said in a candidate statement, adding he would  “strive to work tirelessly" in the position.

Byrd held the Bradenton City Council’s Ward 5 seat from 1989-95 and again from 2007-21. He cites his work during the economic downturn, dealing with the city’s budget and maintaining ‘reasonable taxes’, as strengths he would bring to the School Board.

“During that time while on the City Council tough decisions were made and Bradenton remained financially sound. We have all made Bradenton a wonderful place to live, work, raise a family and retire. I am grateful to the citizens for the support over the years,” he said.

His campaign platform promises to advocate for the expansion of career and technical programs. He calls for wiser spending as well as increasing the starting salaries of teachers and support staff.

To date, Byrd’s campaign has collected just over $26,000.

Cindy Spray

Cindy Spray said that disparities in grade-level reading and literacy in District 2 are areas she would focus if elected. She made the comments at a recent Manatee County Tiger Bay Club Candidate forum.

Spray says she entered the School Board race because she felt that students in the district were being left behind in literacy in comparison to the rest of the school district. She said she believes one of the main reasons the deficiencies are so large in the district is because of a lack of relationship between schools and teachers and parents.

“The relationship has been broken between parent and teachers … we can’t continue on this path of ignoring these deficiencies in our education system. Reading is fundamental to adult life,” Spray said.

Spray serves as the vice chair of the Citizens Financial Oversight Committee, which reviews spending by the district of the voter-approved local option property tax for schools. As a board member, Spray said she would focus on improving reading performance, protecting parental rights in education and eliminating wasteful spending.

“I represent taxpayers of the county; the taxpayers have long not had a voice at the table. I want to be that voice,” she said.

Spray’s campaign has received $15,627 in donations.  

On the issues

Critical race theory

Critical race theory is a graduate-level academic principle that asserts that racism is more than prejudice towards marginalized groups but that it is systemic in the U.S.'s laws and institutions

Agruso: "CRT was never intended to be in a K-12 curriculum,” Agruso said. “It is for a discussion for upper levels in college but I think it has reminded us that what we should be teaching in our schools is real, accurate, and complete history. The way I describe it to people is: we have to teach the good part, the bad parts and those parts that are really awful. We have to understand who we are as a country where we’ve come from, the mistakes we’ve made and the progress we are making.”

Byrd: “It’s a political buzzword. It’s a red herring,” he said. “In my law courses, I studied critical race theory, myself and my colleagues were really challenged with this. It isn’t taught in our classrooms, and it is meant for higher education courses. I do, however, support the accurate and factual teaching of history, of African American history and all history.”

Spray: "Today, the term CRT has taken on a broader definition that has crept into America's K-12 education. I believe a left-of-center political agenda is designed to teach our children and society that we are defined by the color of our skin," she said. "As a grandmother of a mixed-race granddaughter, it would be tragic to think she would have to choose between her mother and father based on what she was taught in school about race. With that in mind, I am against CRT. Let's promote an education that teaches children the basics of reading, writing and math without any political agenda."

Parental Rights in Education Act 

The Parental Rights in Education Act (HB 1557) was dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, following being signed into law by Gov. DeSantis this year. The multi-page law states, “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Agruso: “Restoring trust in the school system is critical. We must be open and honest about where we have challenges and how we intend to fix them."

Byrd: “I support the equitable treatment of students and of everyone in our county. I am tired of people using buzzwords to gain a political edge. In kindergarten through third grade, none of that teaching has been going on. Tallahassee is trying to control everything .. from banning books to controlling teachers’ classrooms. We have to address a lot of these things, but we can’t let it detract from what we are supposed to do, which is educate children. We must provide strong support systems, especially for those including in that legislation."

Spray: "I support this legislation that prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3, and prohibits instruction that is not age appropriate for all other grades. It is not the job of school district employees to push life altering decisions in our schools... Now that this legislation has passed, it is state law, and school districts must follow the laws of the state of Florida.

Samantha Gholar covers social justice news for the Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at sgholar@gannett.com or on Twitter: @samanthagholar

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Agruso, Boyd and Spray race for District 2 Manatee School Board seat