Community Patriots Manatee

Can We Build Trust and
Honesty in our School Board?

July 5, 2022

HONESTY:
  • Marked by or displaying integrity
  • Not deceptive or fraudulent; genuine
  • Fair, Characterized by truth; not false
  • Sincere, respectable
  • Not given into lying, cheating, str=ealing
  • Trustworthy without pretension
 
 

Defenders of our County, 

Last night was a round table discussion for candidates at Manatee Patriots. Chad Choate from the school board was one of the participants. I spent most of the time at his table listening to questions posed to him and his replies. I did not know Chad very well and wanted to see what makes him tick and WHO is the real Chad.
 

There were two main subjects of concern: 

1. The Budget, Taxes and HOW do we find the info on the website.
2. Curriculum and SEL – DEI -CRT and HOW do we find the info on the website.
I think these are the TWO main areas of concern for most. 
 
It is Time to get Familiar with the School’s Website. 
 
1. The Budget and Taxes
 
On the Manatee School Webpage there is a link at the top that says District.
At the bottom of the drop down menu it says: Transparency Manatee 
You will see on that page Budget Reports, Financial Reports and the list on the left with Audits and other helpful information.
 
Now, this is not my expertise area, and I will warn you UNLESS you are an accountant, GOOD LUCK!! But to say even if you are, it still might not make a whole lot of sense. Mr. Norm attends every board meeting to let them know the “Numbers do NOT add up.” Following the budget all year and the transferring the data himself over into the next calendar cycle, calculating the proposed figures and the balances left over…Let’s just say he STILL has a lot of open questions after many years of chasing the numbers back and forth…..
 
2. Curriculum – SEL – DEI – CRT
 
This is the Curriculum Resource Guide from Manatee County District.
Inside there are links you can click on to see the basic curriculum course information.
 
 
 
Because of Covid, the State has Implemented new guidelines for mental behavioral issues. I have spoken with teachers who say it is a problem..but that is a whole separate issue.
 
This is the State Mandated Curriculum for:
  • Mental and Emotional Health
  • Substance and Drug Abuse
  • Child Trafficking
You will also find additional resources, videos, opt out letters,  Fl House Bill for Health Education and a Memorandum from the State Dept of Ed.
There is a PDF file attached with a helpful overview of the Mental Health Standards from the State.
 
 
 
Mental Health is the heading where the Woke Indoctrination is trying to seep in under. This is where we have targeted our time and efforts to bring to light these ideological points of views if they were found anywhere.
 
 
State Link to Health Education Requirements
 
 
This is what is now being used in replacement of the “SEL.” https://www.cpalms.org/standards/Resiliency_Toolkit.aspx
 
The State did not require “SEL” to be taught. The State required Mental and Emotional Health to be taught https://www.manateeschools.net/Page/11588
 
I implore you to do a thorough look through and around the Florida State Education website. https://www.fldoe.org/
 
 
This page shows the removal of Woke Content with a Disclaimer.
 
DISCLAIMER: Based on the volume of requests the Department has received for examples of problematic elements of the recently reviewed instructional materials, the following are examples provided to the department by the public and presented no conflict in sharing them.  These examples do not represent an exhaustive list of input received by the Department.  The Department is continuing to give publishers the opportunity to remediate all deficiencies identified during the review to ensure the broadest selection of high quality instructional materials are available to the school districts and Florida’s students.
 
 
 
If you browse around these sites and links from the State Dept of Education and NOW Manatee County, you will see there is NO woke, SEL, DEI, or CRT being promoted or advocated! Myself and my team have gone through all of this with a fine tooth comb. There are still a few looming items being looked at but they have been called out and are in the process of being removed.
 
With that being said we are NOT out of the woods! This has been in place for much longer than we knew. I, We still need YOU to be on the lookout. If you see anything that does not Look Right or Feel Right say something! Bring it to my attention or the board’s attention.
 
Kevin Chapman is placing all of the curriculum in one place or page, really a separate webpage to house all the curriculum. This will be very helpful for all.
 
 
 
Chad Choate
 
My takeaway from the questions, conversations, and my one on one with Chad last night:
 
Chad said he wants people to get to know him better. He admits he does not have all the answers, but he wants to become educated and learn the answers – Now that is a typical politician’s answer, is it not! 
Chad has ALWAYS replied to my emails. He reached out recently to me before the event and in his own words, “ I want to know what you know and can you educate me?”  Not your typical politician response. 
 
A question was posed to him, “How are you able to look at all the agenda items, research them, understand them, and have a clear idea about that subject matter and be able to vote on it?”  He said, “It is very hard. I don’t always have the time or understand it fully,” Quite a candid answer, I thought. 
In his own words, “ I need help, I need help from the parents. I need to know what they know and what they see. I cannot see everything.”  
Now we can look at it as, “ This is YOUR job and WHY don’t you know these things??”
 
Have you ever looked at an agenda? Oh My, it is NOT fun, trust me!! Take a look at one before you start to yell out at me as I can see your blood getting ready to boil……
 
Okay, I am going to be the Devils Advocate here….
We all have things we are good at, things we like to do, a passion to know about something, but I for one, do not like numbers, do not know about legalities, contracts, or policies but I do know about curriculum, processes, and communication. I never understood how a person could be diverse enough to make rulings from a board that is so varied in personalities, is the number one employer of manatee county, (and it was not a business that they started from the ground up), having to know about budgets, curriculum, teachers and let’s not forget about the opposing opinions on the medical and health issues we had to deal with during Covid. I understand that it should not be a surprise when you decide to run or take office that these are YOUR duties, but as per usual with the “Government” they do things backwards!! 
 
Richard Tatem and Cindy Spray are doing things “Pro Active.” They are and have been engaged. They are learning NOW how the process works, WHAT are the issues and obstacles, HOW can we address them and possibly change them, while working with the current administration and board. Why wait until after you’re elected? Why not start with being BETTER EDUCATED on the issues than they are….which actually looks like that might just be the case! Kudos to them!! And I can tell you it was not a strategy, it was from their heart, they knew things were not right and were advocating for change. 
 
If the door is open, if we have school administrators “saying” they want help, want to become educated, willing to talk about making changes, willing to listen…can we be the one who shuts the door? Will we be the one who says, you should know, why don’t you, it’s always been, it will never change……OR can we be that change!! Can we step up to say, “Ok I hear you!” Isn’t that what WE want, to be heard?! With that being said will we forget, will we just accept, will we just take the words as written in stone as the truth??? I say Not! We need trust, accountability, and to believe that we are being told the truth. How do we do this??
 
 
ACTION STEPS
 
One stigma that was probably promoted, pushed and well recieved was this stone wall put or “Placed” between the School Administration, Board, Superintendent and the “Public.”  Do you know that you can email ANYONE in the School System from Curriculum Dept, Administrators, Budget, Finance, to State Education? Phone numbers, emails and names are all available on the website within their departments. It may look and seem overwhelming but once you start its pretty easy….starting is the hardest part. They are asking for our input…give it to them!
 
How do we give input? Do you have a solution for your concern or input? Have you done the deep dive? Can you educate on your topic of concern? Can you present both sides of an issue? Can you be clear and concise on what you are asking for and why? If you are just curious, looking for information or wanting to become educated on a decision made….. are you looking for an answer to your question or just wanting to vent? These will result in many different answers and responses. 
 
My suggestion FIRST is to decide where do you want to land? I would take the time to make a relationship FIRST. You get more bees with Honey. Do you know first hand WHY a member might have voted a particular way? Are you going on hearsay or gossip, talking points about a person with whom you have never had any interaction with….go back to the beginning of the questions. If you had a previous interaction, ” How did YOU give Input?”  You are also a Responsible Party to the equasion. Sometimes wiping the slate clean and starting over is a good strategy, for BOTH sides. 
 
I highly suggest to start to get to know who is in office. You are out meeting the candidates now. You know either Tatem, Spray, Bearden, Rahn or Ballard. You are having meaningful and very important dialogues with them making sure they are the person who you can Trust and will be there for you when you need them. You can do this with the ones who are currently in office. They are the same as you and me! They do not have any Superpowers….That’s for Sure! 
 
Email your Board Members, County Commissioners, whatever office you have questions, concerns about and Introduce yourself and pick one thing you approved of that you liked how they voted on, commented about, or stood up for.  Then wait until the next conversation or meet up and have your issue or concern lined out Factually, Intellectually, and Rationally.  Email, introduce yourself and ask to speak further on phone or in person. YOU have the Superpower!! 
 
Hold them accountable. Chad wants to be educated. Do you have something to educate him on? How does Chad or any Board Member earn our Trust? How do we know he will be Honest with us? We don’t…..but you can put him to the Test! I’ve done my homework. I’ve made my connections. I’ve gotten results….You can Too! 
 
I’m looking forward to your test results and stories, Thank you for traveling down this road with me. 
Contact me with any questions or comments you may have. 
 
Manatee School Board Emails
 
County Commissioner Emails
 
Let’s continue to Make Manatee County Schools Great Again! 👫🇺🇸
Keep Trucking on Patriots!!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained. Lao Tz

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