LEE COUNTY, Fla. — As you head out for early voting you'll find a lot of races on the ballot, such as the Lee County School District Superintendent.
Fox 4 Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp spoke to both candidates about some of the top issues, so you can be informed before heading to the polls:
The district has not had an elected superintendent in 50 years.
Now, either Republican Denise Carlin or Democrat Victor Arias will lead the district.
Arias has been an attorney for over 33 years, including for the Lee County School District.
"In education specifically, I've been working for two superintendents at two school districts for seven years," Arias said.
Carlin is a 32-year educator.
"I've had the opportunity to be a teacher, a principal and then a district administrator," Carlin said.
TEACHER RETENTION AND RECRUITING:
"I have connections and I have experiences and in fact, I mean, I was recruited here," Arias said.
Arias says teachers are not being supported by leadership, and change needs to come, with the help of his business background.
Carlin has a two-pronged approach.
"It's teacher pay — making sure that we have pay that is commiserate with our local school districts," she said. "Teachers need time to be able to plan those high quality lessons we're looking for."
She says they also need to look at mental health and code of conduct to help teachers and students.
SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY:
Arias says parents have to play a role.
"I think that better training and again, coming back to parents, having the parents involved and knowing how to use these apps being more focused and open," he explained.
Carlin says the district has done a good job with this, but there's always more to do.
"We will also expand the guardian program," she said. "Right now we just have a handful of them."
HURRICANE CANCELLATION POLICY:
It's a moment parents brace for: the e-mail canceling or opening schools.
"My own cancellation policy is obviously follow the instructions of the people that know the most about hurricanes," Arias said.
Carlin says she wants to work closely with meteorologists.
"My policy is to take a look at what the experts are saying. What are they telling us for school closures," Carlin said. "What are those winds going to look like particularly as our children travel and buses going over the bridges."
POLITICS:
With this being an elected position, politics come to mind and the classroom.
"Politics will not get into the classroom and that's one of the reasons why I'm running," Arias said.
"Politics are already in education," Carlin said.
Both have different viewpoints.
Arias says politics getting the classroom should not have happened, pointing to a controversial book ban.
"If there's a disagreement and a parent does not want a certain book to be read or to be used in the classroom," Arias said. "There's a procedure, there's a policy."
"I think children need to read books that are appropriate for their age and for their grade level," Carlin said.
FINAL WORDS:
As you head to the polls, the candidates had these final words.
"I'm also going to bridge that gap between parents, students and educators and I believe because of my background, I can help bridge the gap and I can help improve the trajectory of the school district," Arias said.
"This is not a large learning curve for me," Carlin said. "This is an opportunity for me to take my experience, my 32 years, and bring our district to the forefront."
Watch the full interview with both candidates below:
