Okaloosa School Board District 3 race: Evanchyk, Barnhill address issues ahead of election
In a nonpartisan Okaloosa County School Board race that will be decided in the Aug. 23 primary election, incumbent Linda Evanchyk will face Darrell Barnhill for the District 3 seat.
Both candidates were asked a series of questions by the Northwest Florida Daily News. Following are the responses from Barnhill, who formerly served on the Walton County School Board, and Evanchyk, who is a former teacher of 38 years and is seeking her second four-year term.
Daily News: Do you believe the Okaloosa County School Board can do more to create an air of transparency and give the public confidence that board votes result in district action whose results are then being shared with the community? If you do so believe, what steps need to be taken?
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Barnhill: Yes, improvement for our stakeholders must take place. I would propose that the letter currently sent out by the superintendent include construction proposed at each school and personnel changes at each school site be detailed.
Evanchyk: The Okaloosa County School Board is extremely transparent. All meetings are open to the public and noticed. In addition, our meeting agendas are published days in advance on our website. All meetings — workshops and regular meetings — are streamed live and are archived on our district website.
School Board members are easily accessible through phone, email or by appointment. Citizens have two opportunities to address the board at workshops and at regular meetings. One area that may cause confusion is that some of the general public do not know the differences of the statutory functions of the superintendent and the district and those of the School Board. I’ve found there is some confusion about the areas in which the School Board takes action versus what the superintendent and his staff handle. I would like to see a way for that to be made clear to the public.
DN: Has enough been done to ensure that the abuses of the Mary Beth Jackson-era are not still ongoing and will never occur in the future? If yes, what policies and procedures can you cite that have been implemented? If no, what more needs to be done?
Barnhill: As far as the Mary Beth Jackson case, I would propose an independent audit of our ESE (Exceptional Student Education) department to ensure our special needs (students) are being provided all of the resources we have available.
Evanchyk: The district and School Board have taken numerous steps in response to previous situations regarding child abuse. Every district employee must take child abuse reporting training that teaches mandatory protocols if an allegation is made of an employee potentially abusing a student. Employees reported through these steps are immediately placed on administrative leave while an investigation is underway. Board members are always notified of this action, and employees on administrative leave are noted in the board meeting agenda.
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Board members are notified of any change of status of an employee, including a transfer or termination. This is also indicated on a board agenda. I believe these protocols show more communication and cooperation between the board and the district. While no policy or rule can promise to stop an incident from happening, these will make any situation harder to go unchecked and lead to appropriate actions by the district and board.
DN: What are your thoughts on the need for new schools? Should the School Board look at providing more new schools or focus on a mix of upgrades to existing facilities as well as construction of new schools?
Barnhill: We are being told by the incumbents that we don’t have enough money for new schools. If we continue the construction millage rate in combination with the half-cent sales tax we will have approximately $1 billion for new construction within the next 10 years. With some of our schools over 50 years old, the best repair will be a dozer.
Evanchyk: New schools will need to be built as our county continues to grow. The district and School Board have been monitoring student population in all areas of the district. The decision to ask citizens to vote for a half-cent sales tax was in response to citizens telling us that the conditions of the current schools were no longer acceptable, and because of the state’s safety mandate. That is why we responded by upgrading our schools rather than trying to choose where to build new schools.
The upgrades make every school safer, which is the main priority. The upgrades also make for a more conducive learning environment and add facilities such as classrooms and multi-purpose rooms that have been needed for a long time and ease over-crowding. While the focus has been on upgrading our schools since early 2021, the district and board are still planning for new schools.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Meet Okaloosa School Board District 3 candidates Evanchyk, Barnhill
