Manatee County School Board District 3: Dave Miner

Name: Dave "Watchdog" Miner

Age: 74

Family: Wife, Marsha; son, Joey; daughter,  Sarah; granddaughter, Jacqueline.

Bio: Miner served with the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and holds a bachelor's degree from Amherst College and a law degree from University of Detroit. Professionally, Miner has worked as an assistant city attorney, an assistant county attorney, a prosecutor and has owned a private law practice for more than 25 years.  He is a member and officer of numerous civic and religious organizations, including president of Manatee Children’s Services; a nominee for Florida Attorney of the Year; elected twice to the Manatee County School Board and is campaigning for a third term. He's the immediate past chairman of the school board, a past chair of the Central Florida Public School Board Coalition and has been a director of the Florida School Boards Association and a chair of the Southwest Florida Amherst College Alumni Association.

Why are you running for school board? 

 I am running for a third term because I believe my experience and credibility in public education issues can help continue improving public education in Manatee County and help make our community an even better place to live.

What is your position on the following:

Charter schools: There are some good and some not so good charter schools. The money that follows students into charter schools should be accompanied by the rights which students and their parents have in other forms of public educations.

The state’s recently expanded voucher-scholarship program: The expanded voucher-scholarship program is lacking in requirements which students and student parents have in other forms of public educations and needs quick reform.

Do you feel single-member representation is working well for the school board races?

The current form of school board representation in Manatee County is working and will be improved beginning in the next election cycle with single member elections, e.g. voting residents of District 4 will determine who is the school board representative from District 4.

What would you recommend to help Manatee public schools attract the most qualified teachers?

Public education is generally underfunded and this has a discouraging affect on students choosing teaching as a career and continuing their teaching career. Politically, we forget that teaching is molding our state’s future, and we need to have teaching salaries and benefits competitive with the top five (5) teacher paying states to forge a better future for all of us. To continue attracting qualified teachers, Manatee County needs to re-approve the extra millage which Sarasota County has had in place for years.

What’s your position on school impact fees?

Properly applied, impact fees have proven to be a fair way to provide and expand community capital projects that benefit all and particularly those paying the fees.

Where do you stand on term limits for school board members? 

School Board Members should have the same term limits as Sheriffs, Tax Collectors, and Property Appraisers.