Tales from the Mark Side: The Conservative Voice in Manatee County

It’s time for drastic changes on Manatee County’s school board

By Mark Young

As I sit here and watch Tom Brady and the Bucs dismantle the Eagles, I’m reminded of what Republicans can potentially achieve in the upcoming election cycles.

There are a lot of things Republicans need to dismantle at the national and local level when it comes to undoing the damage liberals have done.

Not so much at the state level. DeSantis is doing just fine thank you very much and Manatee County has been blessed with solid state representation.

But we have some important elections coming up in Manatee County. They certainly include some city commission and council races, as well as the county board of commissioners.

But I view the upcoming school board elections as the most important. It is time for accountability and transparency and this county is in desperate need of new candidates who can bring to light all of the inner workings of this district’s administration.

Too often I hear that elected officials rely entirely too much on their staff to move policies forward. Yes, for the most part, these officials take the time to read all of the materials presented to them, but just how involved are they really?

I fear that when it comes to the school board in particular, there isn’t a lot of involvement just based on the sheer number of school district scandals I have previously outlined. And not only has there been zero consequences for these scandals, but high-level district employees continue to reward themselves.

That is unacceptable.

The only way to change the course of this scandalous district, which is taxing you through the roof with a $1 billion budget for some 50,000 students, is to change this school board and replace them with actual Constitutional and fiscally conservative candidates who can act as actual public watchdogs from within.

Someone has to take a look at how $1 billion is distributed to meet the needs of that small student population which is educated by some 3,500 teachers. District staff is double the number of teachers at 7,000.

Why is that and what do they do?

We need candidates who can tell these tax and spend liberals in control of our children’s education that they must live within their means and stop wasting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.

Granted, the school board races are nonpartisan but that doesn’t mean anything as long as you are grounded in conservative values and implement those values in school board policy.

We’ll start breaking down individual races as the elections get closer and we get a better look at who is going to fill the field by this summer. I hope there is a lot more interest than what is already on the ballot.

We don’t want a bunch of politicians who want to use the school board as a launching pad for some new political venture in the future. We want moms and dads in charge.

We’ll dig into all of your local elections as that time approaches but for now I will just say it’s time for a complete change beginning with this year’s election to be followed by the 2024 election.

Most of this current board has let this administration get away with things that have embarrassed Manatee County. There has been zero accountability and I haven’t heard a single school board member fight back and address the taxpaying citizens of this county to let them know that they have our backs and the backs of our children.

It simply has to change. We want and need candidates who will bring that accountability to this school district. Who won’t just sit up on the dais and pretend these scandals don’t exist.

We need candidates who are going to look this superintendent in the eye and say, “No more nonsense,” and quite frankly someone who will begin the arduous push to change this administration from the top down.

And finally, we need candidates who see what is going on and have the courage to address the citizens who pay for it all.

I’m learning more and more about running for local office and I don’t even have a hat in the ring. It’s disgusting what’s happening at the local level and the pressure taking place from the so-called “money people” in this town and political hack operatives who have no business in Manatee County politics.

We need fighters who will change the political landscape of Manatee County politics. And if that sounds like you, then we need you.