AskFlagler School Board Interview: Janie Ruddy

Janie Ruddy is one of two candidates running for the District 3 seat on the Flagler School Board. Ruddy and her opponent, Derek Barrs, are both hoping to inherit the seat from Colleen Conklin, who decided against running for another term after over two decades in office. Ruddy is a longtime educator and Barrs is a retired law enforcement officer.

The elections for both this year’s School Board races will be held on the August 20th primary ballot. There will be no runoffs, as each race has only two candidates. The elections are nonpartisan, and therefore will be open to all registered voters in Flagler County regardless of party affiliation.

Other Candidate Interviews

Flagler County Commission:

• Andy Dance – Flagler County Commission, District 1
• Fernando Melendez – Flagler County Commission, District 1
• Kim Carney – Flagler County Commission, District 3
• Bill Clark – Flagler County Commission, District 3 (Did Not Complete)
• Nick Klufas – Flagler County Commission, District 3
• Ed Danko – Flagler County Commission, District 5
• Michael McElroy – Flagler County Commission, District 5
• Pam Richardson – Flagler County Commission, District 5

Flagler School Board:

• Derek Barrs – Flagler School Board, District 3
• Janie Ruddy – Flagler School Board, District 3
• Lauren Ramirez – Flagler School Board, District 5
• Vincent Sullivan – Flagler School Board, District 5

East Flagler Mosquito Control Board:

• Julius ‘Jules’ Kwiatkowski – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 1
• Perry Mitrano – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 1
• Lance Alred – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 3
• Ralph Lighfoot – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 3

Palm Coast City Council:

• David Alfin – Palm Coast Mayor
• Peter Johnson – Palm Coast Mayor
• Alan Lowe – Palm Coast Mayor
• Cornelia Downing Manfre – Palm Coast Mayor
• Mike Norris – Palm Coast Mayor (Did Not Complete)
• Kathy Austrino – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
• Shara Brodsky – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
• Ty Miller – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
• Jeffery Seib – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
• Dana ‘Mark’ Stancel – Palm Coast City Council, District 3
• Ray Stevens – Palm Coast City Council, District 3
• Andrew Werner – Palm Coat City Council, District 3

Interview Criteria

• The object of the interview is not to grill the candidate, nor to give them softballs. Ideally, in their answers the candidates provide to voters a useful insight into their ideology, their priorities, and their knowledgeability and preparedness for office.
• These questions are sent to each declared candidate in Flagler County’s local elections. All candidates running for the same office received the same exact questions.
• The only edits made are for spelling, formatting and basic grammar (i.e., ‘their’ when it should be ‘there’). Censorship of profanity may also be applied if it were applicable. Otherwise, answers are presented in their full form as the candidate provides them.
• Answers are subject to fact-checking if they contain information that’s blatantly misleading or untrue (misrepresenting factually verifiable information, misquoting a statistic, etc). Clarifications will be added underneath the candidate’s answer if applicable. The answers will still be presented as given even if a fact-check or clarification is needed.

Candidate Interview

Date of Birth: January 15th, 1974

Hometown: Palm Coast resident for over 20 years

Career/Educational Resume: Janie Ruddy Resume 2023 – Google Slides

1. Order these three groups according to how strongly you feel a School Board member is tasked with serving them: students, teachers, and parents.

1. Students
2. Teachers
3. Parents

2. Describe any career experience you have in which you directly worked in or with the public education system. If none applies, explain how any other experience you have would directly apply to the education aspects of School Board duties.

• “B.S. King’s College, Health Care Administration
• Middle Grades Science Teacher Preparation Courses, Fayetteville State University
• Masters Educational Technology, American College of Education
• National Board Certification earned in 2007

“My comprehensive experience, spanning over 20 years, has distinctly equipped me for this role. Over my 13 years as a teacher, I frequently assumed extra support roles such as:

• “Science Lead Teacher
• Grade Level Head
• SAC Team Member
• Science Olympiad Coach
• School Improvement Team Member
• PTO Member
• Future Problem Solvers Coach
• FCAT Science Assessment Reviewer
• CPALMS lesson Plan Contributor
• Academic Coach
• After school enrichment tutor
• Part of the Team which established the Classroom to Careers Medical Lab at Rymfire
• Created a 21st century learning center at Rymfire focused on flexible learning environments to support small group instruction and focus on project based learning when 1:1 iPads were made available.
• Over 250 professional development credit hours to acquire training related to research based instructional methods

“After leaving the classroom, I joined Instructure, the developers of the Canvas Learning Management System, eight years ago as a Learning Specialist. There I trained instructional designers, K-12 educators, support staff and university professionals across the nation during in person training events, webinars, and developed professional development courses. Training was centered on how to use technology and the tools provided by Canvas LMS to transform teaching and learning rather than using technology as a replacement for tools without additional benefits. 

“In my current role as Director of Professional Learning at n2y, I lead efforts to help K-12 service providers implement curricula for special needs students and integrate software solutions tailored to diverse learning requirements. This position has expanded my understanding of educational accessibility and underscored the importance of creating inclusive learning environments.”

3. Flagler Schools received a B rating in December from the state, its ninth such rating in the last ten years that one was given. The district has had at least one, usually multiple, C schools every year since 2015. What’s within the School Board’s power to galvanize those ratings upward?

“School Board members wield great influence in many areas directly related to teacher effectiveness and student performance. Our school district has had unusually large amounts of staff turn over. About 45% of our teachers have less than 3 years experience in our district and this number is greater for paraprofessionals. More and more staff are hired without formal teacher preparation training. The School Board needs to research the most effective professional development programs, reserve funding, and develop change management programs so that what is learned in these professional development offerings is actually adopted. 

“School Board members also approve curriculum and instructional resources. Our district curriculum teams need to do more to support educators with curriculum resources and teaching strategies and the school board initiatives can put that into action with accountability measures. More guidance into the minimum level of rigor aligned with students’ present levels of performance is needed. A deep analysis into which standards are our lowest performing skills should be identified with additional time spent on those standards and recommended lessons that are based upon research can move us to that A rating. 

“School boards can also review and standardize practices. The practice of allowing students to receive full credit on tests for test corrections is in response to the requirement that students are to be retaught and retested when they do not show mastery on a test. The problem is teachers cannot move the class forward and also reteach to some students so what occurs is a faster pace of instruction so that test time is expanded to allow for retakes and corrections.”

“Parents want their children to be appropriately challenged to reach their maximum potential, but over the past nine years, the emphasis has shifted more towards achieving high letter grades rather than fostering genuine understanding. The School Board can play a pivotal role in addressing this issue by establishing guidelines for effective independent practice. This does not mean assigning repetitive, skill-and-drill homework but setting clear expectations for meaningful, reflective practice that engages students and reinforces their learning.

“Finally, numerous bills from the Florida Legislature is eroding school funds into programs and tools to meet compliance. An important responsibility of a school board member is to advocate for policies and funding at the state and federal levels. This influence can result in real change benefiting student learning and teaching conditions.”

4. How would you want district staff to handle a large student protest walkout such as the one that occurred at Flagler Palm Coast High School in 2022? Keep in mind the scope of authority as a School Board member.

“When students know their First Amendment Rights, are holding peaceful protests, and choosing to use school time to protest issues related to the quality of their education or policies affecting how they are treated within our schools I feel we should be proud that their are putting into action what they have learned related to Civics and US Government. A Supreme Court decision recognized that students’ First Amendment rights follow them through the school doors so long as those protests do not substantially disrupt the learning environment. After the FPS walk out of 2022, I had the opportunity to speak with some students involved as well as school staff. The organizers did engage with the principal at the time ahead of the event to organize the protest in accordance within the law and at a time that would minimally disrupt learning. Sadly, due to the theme of the protest and the size, media visibility placed pressures on school and district leadership to take a different stance after the event. Just as if we were going to plan a protest as adults, you must have a permit. A similar written process should be followed within our schools taken to the school board and Superintendent for review to ensure that students are guided into using their First Amendment right in a way that is safe for all, is related to concerns directly related to school, and follows the minimal disruption guidance.”

5. With neither of the School Board’s two most tenured members running for re-election this year, all five members will be in their first term on the Board. Does the School Board have an experience problem? If so, how might you propose addressing the challenge?

“Flagler County has an experience problem at the School Board, Leadership, and Instructional staff levels. 45% of teachers have less than 3 years experience in Flagler County, 4 of the 8 schools have had new administrations within the last three years, and our Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent have one year experience. After conferring with Superintendent Moore, I agree that the first phase is to make clear Standard Operating Procedures which is underway due to her initiatives. We need to establish a clear singular vision through change leadership initiatives. Our county needs to identify a mentor county, similar to our profile but with more experience where we can attend discovery visits to learn how they are addressing challenges. Lastly and specific to the school board, we need to join the Florida School Board Association, something Dr. Conklin has advocated for, which provides access to custom reports, on-call consultation,  up-to-date legislative reports and analyses. This organization also offers a Certified Board Member Program. These are training sessions designed specifically for board members and addresses the topics from a policy leader’s perspective. I feel each of the School Board members should earn this certification and I commit to doing so.”

6. The Flagler School Board parted ways with a Board Attorney and a Superintendent in the last couple years, with both processes spawning great political strife in the public eye. Do you feel those incidents have hurt Flagler Schools’ ability to attract top talent to its administrative positions? If so, how can the district be made a more appealing place to work?

“These politically oriented incidents, among others, have absolutely embarrassed our district and overshadowed the hard work of our students and faculty. The discord between School Board members has been fanned by efforts to politicize the role of school board. In fact, this will be on the ballot this year. If we continue to focus on distracting issues we cannot make progress and we will further tarnish Flagler’s reputation. This ripple effect will hurt students’ chances of being able to transition to careers or colleges and this toxic culture will not attract businesses beyond service based wage careers. Parents see this unprofessional behavior on display and then pull students out of our schools because they lack trust. We can start with increasing participation in in the primary on August 20th, voting for individuals based upon qualifications, can start to set up a board capable of being functional. The second is to set institutional norms based upon trust and mutual respect. Norms for community members to become involved in a positive manner and have clear processes for escalating concerns. No parent should see a teacher complain about their students on TikTok and no teacher should first hear a parent concern on Facebook.”

7. Consideration has been given to adopting a ‘guardian program’, employing armed guards in an attempt to increase readiness for a school shooting. When compared to the current arrangement with the FCSO and its School Resource Deputies, what’s the right path for Flagler Schools to ensure the safety of its students and faculty?

“There have been huge advancements in campus security such as auto closing doors, secured perimeters, and early response systems similar to what bank tellers might have. This early response technology also connects to the Sheriff’s office where there is an entire unit devoted to these potential emergencies within our community. These are all strides taken over the last five years. The advantage schools have right now is that it is a gun free space. If we allow guns on campus, those wishing to cause harm may be able to enter under the guise of a volunteer. I am also concerned that students will not be at ease in a classroom knowing their teacher may be potentially carrying a weapon. Speaking with educators, I have heard many states that if guns were brought into schools that would cause them to leave our schools. I have never heard from an educator that if a Guardian program were not instituted they would leave. I can only foresee insurance rates, cost of training, cost of the weapons, and liabilities due to lawsuits resulting from these programs.”

8. Are there any new or underutilized revenue streams you can name that Flagler Schools could tap into to support its operating budget? If so, expand upon your plan for implementation.

“One concrete area are impact fees. The impact fees are currently set at a blanket value regardless of the number of rooms or square footage. Recently, impact fees were raised in many areas, like public parks, but not for schools. The amount of impact fees allotted for schools has not kept pace with inflation. Impact fees are the source for capital improvements.

“Our district could benefit from making partnerships where savings or additional revenue can be realized. The medical benefits for our staff are way too high. This year, for one staff member covering one child, the annual cost of their medical premiums will be over $17,000. Discussions with the union members and school board members indicate this is due high a number of medical claims when compared to enrollments. We need to partner with other counties or push for a state educator’s plan where when we pool into larger numbers the premiums are decreased for staff. Additional partnerships we need to expand upon are with non-profits and corporate sponsorships. Teach for America has an office in Jacksonville and that organization assists in teacher recruitment. In partnership with schools, local universities, other organizations, and businesses, Teacher for America corps provides initial training and ongoing professional development. Another form of partnership involves industry partnerships to help us provide trade certification opportunities and resources for those skilled trades where talent is lacking in the current pipelines. Currently, those are electrician, plumbers, HVAC, and allied health fields. 

“Some schools do have spaces and green areas that may be able to be leased. We do rent out some facility space on the weekends to church groups, we can do more. I think this could be expanded to include auditoriums and sports fields to community groups, leagues, and event organizers. Classroom Space can also be leased during off-hours to community colleges, adult education programs, or business workshops. 

“Lastly, the costs of electricity is very high for schools. Investing in solar panels can not only reduce utility costs and but can potentially generate revenue through selling excess energy back to FPL.”