2022 Primary Election: Flagler School Board, District 4 Candidate Comparison

Incumbent Trevor Tucker is being challenged by Christy Chong for School Board District 4.

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent):

• Current Owner of Sun Country Pest Control (Certified Operator). Run and operate a small business in Flagler County. Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Wingate University
• I have 12 years of experience on the Flagler County School Board.  Working with administration and knowing the current policies of the school district make me qualified, to continue to be on the school board.
• Current Rotary Club member, Past board member of Boys and Girls Clubs of Volusia and Flagler Counties, Past executive board member of the Central Florida Boy Scouts Council, Past President Elect of the Flagler County Education Foundation

Question #1: What is your assessment of the Flagler Schools budget and spending?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): The Flagler County School district has been fiscally responsible since I have been on the board.  The audits for both state and federal programs have found no major findings.  The school board can only control most of the expenses, as the revenue is set by the state of Florida. 

Question #2: How would you describe your approach to adopting the upcoming Flagler Schools budget? Do you have any budget priorities that you would like to call attention to?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): I review the proposed budget from staff and make recommendations if something is out of place.  I have no particular budget priority.

Question: What is your assessment and thoughts of the VPK program designed to prepare our youngest learners for kindergarten?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten is a program set by the state in order to have kindergartner’s prepared for their first year of school.  I would like to have certified teachers in this area, if the funds are available. 

Question: According to the Florida Department of Education, 3^rd grade reading scores in Flagler County are at their lowest level in Flagler Schools since 2016 (58% of 3^rd graders are currently reading at grade level). What are your thoughts about this statistic and what plans or ideas do you have on improving upon this metric? 

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Third grade reading scores are down due to Covid.  The current third graders missed the last quarter of their first grade year when schools shut down.  In person learning is critical in the lower grades.  Keeping a young student’s attention on zoom is quite difficult.  The next year many parents choose to do virtual school, instead of coming back to traditional in school learning.  These are the main contributing factors of the lower third grade reading scores.

Question: According to the Florida Department of Education, 8^th grade reading scores in Flagler County have declined dramatically (62% of 8^th graders were reading at grade level in 2019, compared to 49% of 8^th graders currently reading at grade level in 2022). What are your thoughts about this statistic and what plans or ideas do you have on improving upon this metric? 

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Eighth grade reading scores are not where they need to be.  Correct training for teachers and extra help to bring scores up are necessary. 

Question: According to the Florida Department of Education, 8^th grade math proficiency in Flagler County has improved over the past few years (51% of 8^th graders rated as proficient at math in 2022). What are your thoughts about this statistic and what plans or ideas do you have on continuing to improve upon this metric? 

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Math is moving in the right direction, but is not where I would like it.  More training and extra help for students is necessary.

Question: According to the Florida Department of Education, 8^th grade science scores in Flagler County have declined over the past few years (62% of 8^th graders were proficient at science in 2018, compared to 50% of 8^th graders being proficient at science in 2022). What are your thoughts about this statistic and what plans or ideas do you have on improving upon this metric? 

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Eighth grade science has declined.  Having highly effective teachers, teaching the current standards should raise this score. 

Question: According to the Florida Department of Education, Flagler County’s high school graduation rate has steadily increased since 2010 and remains over 90%. What plans or ideas do you have on making sure Flagler Schools high school graduation rate remains high?  

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Keep in place the Graduate 100 initiative, which has made the graduation rate above 90%.  I would like to point out that the graduation rate is how many students entering high school graduate in four years.  If  a student graduates in five years, then they are counted against the graduation rate.  Many people confuse this statistic with actual student’s graduation from high school. 

Question:  Do you believe Flagler Schools is viewed as being “business friendly?”

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Yes.

Question #1: Please share your perspectives on the rate of growth and development-related topics in Flagler County?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Flagler County is growing based on the number of homes being built. The school district must plan for that growth.  

Question #2: The Flagler County School Board and Board of County Commissioners recently increased impact fees collected from builders and developers. These fees are usually paid at the time a building permit is issued (when construction begins on a home). Do you believe impact fees should continue to be paid in this manner or do you believe the builder/developer should pay these fees earlier in the development process (regardless of when the planned house is built)?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Impact fees are paid for by the builder, unless the schools are at capacity, then proportionate fair share mitigation kicks in for the developers.  This is set in state law and was created so the school district could not stop development if there is no space in the school for new students.  As the new development would be putting a strain on the school system, (when schools are at capacity) then they should have to pay upfront in order for the school district to build student stations for the new students the development would create. 

Question: What is your assessment of the school capacity for Flagler County Schools?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent):

Elementary schools have space available as sixth grade is moving to middle school.  Middle school is at capacity and Flagler Palm Coast is at capacity, but Matanzas High school is not.  The school district rezoned the high schools in order to free up space at Flagler Palm Coast. 

Question: Do you believe the number of students enrolled in Flagler Schools will go up, stay the same or go down in the next five years. Please share your thoughts on why you feel this way.

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): The amount of students in Flagler County will go up in the next five years.  Building and growth of the community means new students are coming to school.  An example is the new hospital being built.  Unless all of the staff of the hospital are going to  commute from another county, then many of the staff will have school aged children. 

Question #1: How would you describe your leadership/management style?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): My leadership style is calm and purposeful.  I do not get angry or let my emotions determine my vote. 

Question #2: How would you handle disrespectful or disruptive behavior at School Board meetings?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): I have had to ask many people to follow the rules during school board meetings.  I try to give the individual ample opportunity to calm down and stop with disruptions before I ask them to leave or be escorted out of the room. 

Question: What are your perspectives on law enforcement and School Resource Officer efforts in Flagler County via the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office?

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Teachers and administrators are professional educators and should remained focused on educating our students.   I believe most teachers would lay down their lives for their students, but I want their sole focus to be on education.  Safety should fall on sworn law enforcement officers.   If the County Commission does not fund half of the SRD’s then I would try to find areas in our budget that are not required by law to cut.  Safety must always be a priority of the School District.

Question: Do you support or oppose the continuation of the half-cent sales tax for schools, which is on the November 2022 General Election ballot? Please share your perspectives on why you feel this way.

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): I support the half-cent sales tax. I support the sales tax because, it gives Flagler County students an edge over other school districts.  Each student has access to technology that can benefit their learning experience, regardless of income.  A student will be better prepared for college or work if they have worked with technology that they may use in life.

Question: Do you believe Flagler County needs to build new schools and/or expand our existing school sites? Please share why you feel this way.

Christy Chong: Failed to respond.

Trevor Tucker (incumbent): Yes.  The student population in Flagler County is increasing.