Campaign website: nathalielynchwalsh.com
Date and place of birth: June 6, 1969; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
The Legislature in 2022 passed a law (HB 1467) that allows parents to object to books they consider “inappropriate.” Do you support or oppose this law and why?
The law creates a process by which a parent or community member can file a petition within 30 days after the District adopts an instructional material. It also clarifies that book adoption committees are open to the public and must include parents. Allowing parents and taxpayers to provide input and feedback seems a reasonable request.
The Legislature passed HB 1557, which bans classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3 and in higher grades unless it is “age-appropriate.” Critics have called it the “don’t say gay” law. Do you support or oppose it and why?
The inclusion and LGBTQ youth and their parents is something to which Broward Schools does seem to be committed. I do not see anything in HB 1557, HB7, or HB 1467 that would substantively undermine the district’s ability to continue to fulfill its commitment, though there may be those who disagree. We need to ensure there is clarity and effective training surrounding the changes made by those bills, and advocate at the state level where necessary.
Define what you consider “age appropriate” for classroom discussion of sexual orientation.
When my youngest child took the gifted test, she was asked the meaning of “transparent.” Because we had recently watched a show with a parent who was transgender, that was the definition she provided. I don’t remember when my children first realized Uncle Rick and Uncle Henry were a gay couple. What was age appropriate for my children might not be what other people consider age appropriate. State standards based on best practices should be used to define “age appropriate.”
Do you believe that Florida schools try to indoctrinate students, and why?
I cannot speak for all schools in Florida, but I don’t believe Broward Schools is trying to indoctrinate students. It does, at times, forget to include parents in its decision-making processes. I remember several years ago being shocked my elementary school children were shown footage of the planes going into the Twin Towers as part of the 9/11 remembrance activities. While I believe we should never forget 9/11, and I am in favor of it being covered in schools. I would have preferred to decide whether or not my children saw that footage, but I wasn’t given the opportunity.
The school district will ask voters to extend and/or increase an existing property tax that is allowed by state law subject to voter approval. Do you support or oppose this tax increase, and why?
The current referendum provided supplements to teachers and other staff and hired security and mental health personnel. What we don’t know, because the District has not provided the level of transparency requested, is whether funds were spent as agreed upon. We also don’t yet know the planned allocations of the proposed referendum—something many would like to know prior to voting. While I support providing teachers and staff with continued supplements, I would require the District to fully report budget to actual allocations, and to ensure equity in the allocations themselves. In the future, rather than rely on referendum renewals, we need to advocate for better teacher pay, and ensure competitiveness in the wages and salaries of other essential staff.
What do you think of changes made in school safety since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School? What still needs to change?
It is unfortunate it took the MSD tragedy for Broward Schools to take school safety seriously.
I believe most, if not all, single point of entry projects are now complete. The Facilities Task Force is tracking the progress and equitable distribution of additional safety features being installed districtwide like the Avigilon door buzzers/cameras, outdoor speakers, and automatic locking doors.
The referendum increased the number of school safety personnel, but it also created the area security manager—a position for which I’d like to see a cost benefit analysis.
As a member of the District’s Audit Committee, I’ve pushed for current-year Behavioral Threat Assessment audits so we can better monitor process improvements. While it helps to have a person dedicated to ensuring Behaviorial Threat Assessment compliance, I’m not sure the task requires both a Director and Executive Director.
The prior Chief Safety & Security Officer had no school police experience—the new one is all school police experience. It will be interesting to see what effect this has on student and staff training and drills. Staff training could be improved, and students seem to be growing weary of drills, suggesting either the frequency or format—or perhaps both—need to change.
How would you assess the performance of Superintendent Vickie Cartwright?
At a time when Broward Schools desperately needs to restore public trust, Dr. Cartwright seems to be struggling. Rather than change district culture, Dr. Cartwright became immersed in it. In November, she relied upon false statements made by staff to lead the Board into exempting the Stranahan’s cafeteria from State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF) and inadvertently violating a settlement agreement designed to bring about equity, she has largely ignored advisory committees, and for months there were only rumors about her plans to restructure the District. Much of the public outcry of racially biased demotions in her restructuring plan could have been avoided had Dr. Cartwright held workshops to discuss the organizational chart and the consequences of returning to an area structure. Decisions like downgrading the HR Chief position and hiring an outsider to manage the Central Area are also questionable. Backing the Board into a corner on the organizational chart and adding positions and job descriptions on the fly might have gotten Cartwright what she wanted but did nothing to improve the Board’s public image. We won’t know the outcome of the restructuring decisions for months. The District formed a long-term facilities planning steering committee, but unlike districts following best practices, there are no external stakeholders, and the Superintendent has ignored repeated requests to add the Facilities Task Force and the Diversity Committee. It was the possibility of the District producing a long-term plan that once again fails to follow best practices, learn from past mistakes, or provide equity that drove me to become a candidate for School Board.
Grand juries for decades have accused the district and School Board members of corruption or incompetence. How do you change that culture?
In an ideal world the voters would not elect people to the School Board who are either incompetent, corrupt, or both. The 2011 Grand Jury suggested the School Board hire an independent Inspector General—something the District has repeatedly failed to do but is critical now. The School Board must lead by example and be committed to transparency, admitting to past mistakes, and continuous improvement. School Board decisions are supposed to happen in the Sunshine, yet it is a common practice for staff to all but count votes during the “Board Crawl”—where staff meets one on one with each Board member. The School Board must also ensure ALL staff—beginning with the Superintendent—follow all laws and policies.
How would you assess the district’s implementation of the $800 million bond issue that voters approved in 2014?
In the rush to get the SMART Bond on the 2014 ballot, best practices and industry standards were not followed in 2014 in that there was no long-term facilities planning. The District appears to have not even received the final Jacobs needs assessment report. There was no consideration of the age of the buildings in terms of Castaldi analyses or structural inspections. The roofing estimates in the needs assessments were consistent with roof repair, not replacement costs. As a result, because the conditions of most roofs required full replacements, the $800 million budget was insufficient for the scope of work. Compounding the lack of budget was a lack of well-defined scopes as projects were rushed through the procurement process to make it appear as though projects were in design. The original 2014-15 DEFP also ignored buildings slated for replacement before the recession—such as buildings at Parkway Middle School or Stranahan High School. Because so many buildings are being reroofed and given new HVACs with little else being done, buildings that could have been replaced because they no longer meet educational adequacy standards—like lacking windows—are unlikely to be approved for demolition and replacement for years to come. And the August 2000 CCC settlement that was supposed to ensure that when the District had funding it would begin to bring all facilities into parity with district standards was never part of the SMART Bond process, possibly due to the District discontinuing the annual Superintendent updates and Diversity Committee responses in 2012. In short, mistakes were made.
Do you support or oppose the School Board’s decision to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order on mask mandates in schools, and why?
Had the defiance occurred the first year, I probably would have supported it. By the start of the second school year, things were far less dire than the year before. While there were Board members genuinely concerned for the health and safety of students and staff, there were also Board members and others who seemed to be using the situation for political purposes. Furthermore, the same School Board refused to pass emergency rules that would allow its advisory committees to reduce quorum for the purpose conducting business. The entire District should have been focused on transitioning students back into the classroom, not fighting a losing battle with the state.
The governor advocates an agenda for school board candidates that emphasizes “parental rights” and “combatting the woke agenda from infiltrating public schools,” as quoted on his website. Do you support or oppose this initiative and why?
Schools are supposed to provide safe environments in which to educate students, and parents should have a say in the decisions related to the education of their child. There are six agenda items related to those two goals. The rest are politically driven distractions.
Should Florida’s commissioner of education be elected or appointed, and why?
The arguments for electing a Commissioner of Education include providing voters a means of directly influencing state education policy and having a Commissioner with some independence and accountability. The arguments for appointing one includes removing politics from the position, and possibly curbing unrealistic budget requests from certain constituents. I’m not opposed to the idea of an elected Commissioner of Education, but I’m not sure there is any way to remove politics from the position.
PERSONAL
List in reverse chronological order each college or university attended with years of attendance.
Lynn University, 09/2002 – 10/2006, Doctor of Philosophy, Global Leadership – Corporate & Organizational Management
Florida Atlantic University, 06/1998 – 06/2000, Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Fort Lewis College, 09/1991 – 05/1995, Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration – Accounting
List in reverse chronological order your work history for the past 15 years.
Being effective as an advisory chair requires a full-time commitment. I have spent more than ten years applying leadership, management, accounting, teaching, and research expertise to the district-level advisory group tasked with overseeing Broward County Public Schools facilities function, and five years providing oversight to the district’s audit function. Responsibilities involve interfacing with various staff members and consultants in monitoring, reviewing, and investigating fiscal and operational issues, related policies, processes, practices, and contracts, for the purpose of advising the School Board of potential problems related to errors, inefficiencies, lack of compliance, and other factors that might increase the risk of waste, mismanagement, or fraudulent use of taxpayer funds.
Assistant Professor/Adjunct, Broward College, Davie and Coconut Creek 2009 – 2010
Responsible for teaching day and evening undergraduate applied organizational behavior, leadership, and general business courses.
Curriculum and course development team – Developed course outlines for three courses in the college’s new bachelor’s degree program: MAN 3240: Applied Organizational Behavior, MAN 3303: Management and Leadership, and MAN 4120: Leadership Challenges and Supervision. Course outlines involved creating unit titles, general outcomes, and specific measurable learning outcomes for each unit.
Developed Blackboard course content (Soft Chalk lessons, PowerPoints, assessments) for 8-week hybrid courses for use by multiple instructors. Courses were designed and completed within two weeks; and met or exceeded Broward College distance learning quality standards.
Adjunct Instructor, Lynn University, Boca Raton 2003 – 2009 Developed and taught online and ground versions of organizational culture/behavior and advanced statistical software application (SPSS) courses for the doctoral program. Developed and taught undergraduate Financial, Managerial, and Advanced Accounting, Accounting Systems, Auditing, Managing Organizations, and Principles in Marketing.
Have you ever been a party to a lawsuit, including bankruptcy or foreclosure? If so, provide details of the case and disposition.
No
Have you ever been charged or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, including an adjudication of guilt withheld? If so, provide charges, dates and terms of sentence.
No
List current and former memberships in civic, fraternal or social organizations.
In addition to District advisory experience, I also served as Vice Chair of the Plantation EAB
Why should voters elect you instead of your opponent(s)?
Because the next two years are critical given where we are as a district, particularly in District 5, where there are both under enrolled and underachieving schools. It is important to elect someone who can hit the ground running on day one. It is one thing to care about your community—it is another thing entirely to understand the system well enough to know how to effectively advocate for your constituents. I believe my education, business, research, and teaching background and more than ten years of Broward County Public Schools volunteer experience make me the best candidate to serve the needs of the people of District 5 and Broward County.
What in your life experience best qualifies you to serve
I’ve served the people of District 5 and Broward County for more than ten years. Serving as a volunteer on two oversight groups to a district resistant to substantive oversight has not been easy and has required unwavering commitment to the belief that the people of Broward County deserve a district committed to the equitable distribution of resources, fiscal responsibility, and the success of each child.
