Indian River County School Board candidates launch campaigns for three nonpartisan seats

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Listening to parents, helping students find their future after high school and continuing to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in schools are some key issues School Board candidates want to address in the coming months.

Four candidates, including two incumbents, have filed for the three nonpartisan School Board seats up for election Aug. 23. School Board members are elected to four-year terms and are paid $37,705 per year.

Former school district administrator Bruce Green is the sole candidate so far for the District 1 seat, currently held by Mara Schiff. In District 2, LaDonna Corbin has filed to challenge incumbent Jacqueline Rosario, who is seeking reelection to her second term. Incumbent Teri Barenborg, also seeking her second term, so far is the only candidate the District 4 seat.

"I have a passion for kids," said Green, 51, a lifelong resident who comes from a family of teachers. He left the district in 2018 as assistant superintendent of human resources and technology to care for his father, who died in 2020. Green is general manager of Premier Landscape Solutions.

"I want to be able to give back and serve the community," said Green. The biggest issue facing the district is the recruiting and retention of employees and teachers, he said. The district needs to create an environment that makes people want to stay, he said.

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The mother of six children, including three currently in the school district, Corbin said she wants to help improve the school district and students. Corbin is a Treasure Coast Community Health Center health and wellness coordinator, working with Dodgertown Elementary Community Partnership School.

Corbin, who was born and raised in Indian River County, said she noticed a change in the community when she returned to Gifford in 2016.

"They left Gifford behind. Everything around us grew and advanced," said Corbin, 48. She and her husband, Patrick, initiated the Black Vendors Day market to get more people to come to Gifford.

The district has lost its parent engagement, especially with the strain the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on parents, she said. The district needs to make a greater effort to meet with parents to find out their needs and help them, she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with concerns over mask mandates and student quarantines, have taken center stage for much of Rosario's and Barenborg's terms.

"It's something we still deal with on a daily basis," Barenborg said. Superintendent David Moore implemented a policy for when students quarantine and wear masks, she said, and for when the data changes.

"We are making strides," said Rosario, 51. But the district still faces the challenge of getting students caught up in areas, such as math, where they fell behind during remote learning, she said.

The district made the best decision regarding masks with the data available, Green said. While he said he is "not a big fan" of requiring students to wear masks all day, "there comes a point when that decision may have to be made based on data."

Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County government watchdog reporter for TCPalm.com. Contact her at Colleen.Wixon@TCPalm.com or 772-978-2235.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Indian River County School Board nonpartisan seats campaigning begins