Jim Taylor, Candidate Escambia County School Board District 5

August 17, 2024

Current occupation

Retired Educator

Previous occupations

Teacher, Coach, School Social Worker, 6 times Pensacola News Journal “Carrier of the Year”

Civic, church and other community involvement

I am Christian and attend several men’s bible study groups, including Band of Brothers, Highland Baptist Church, Heritage Baptist Church, and several other bible studies. I have worked in numerous food drives. I attend County Commission and School Board meetings.

Education

I have 3 college degrees as well as graduate work in 3 other fields, and I hold 5 current teaching certifications.

Previous offices held, previously sought

ECUA – unsuccessfully; County Commission – unsuccessfully; Superintendent – filed and withdrew when incumbent decided to run for third term.

Why are you running for the Escambia County School Board and what qualifies you for this position?

I am running for this position because I believe Escambia County deserves to be a Top 10 School System, not #57th in the State. I have 44 years in education with 3 degrees and 5 teaching certifications.

What are the three most important issues facing the Escambia County Public Schools?

(1) Teacher pay and retention; (2) Discipline; (3) Dealing with the dirty books

What is the school district going right at the current time, and what needs to be fixed?

Morale has improved with the appointment of Superintendent Keith Leonard. We must have better teacher pay and retention, along with improved discipline. We must reduce waste and administrative positions. We must get rid of the dirty books.

How would you address teacher pay, recruiting and retention and attract and retain more qualified candidates to Escambia County?

I will work with State and local governments to improve teacher pay and bonuses. I will also try to recruit higher paying businesses to improve the tax base and lower taxes.

How do we address issues surrounding book challenges?

I have been leading the charge against dirty books and I was the only District 5 candidate to be invited to Governor DeSantis’ bill signing on the dirty books. I suggest we follow the
guidelines of Governor DeSantis.

How should cell phones/devices in schools be addressed?

They should be placed in the child’s book bag and only allowed at lunch and after school.

What are the unique issues facing District 5 schools in Escambia County? What makes District 5 different?

Long bus rides — District 5 is over half the County in size but only receives 1/5 of the funding. We have rural, urban, and extremely rural areas, and problems to deal with. We also have wide extremes of wealth and povert

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under General 

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