Desire to be an advocate inspires Manatee school board candidate

Jump to candidate questionnaire

When students walked into Heather Felton’s English class at Southeast High School, they weren’t sure what to expect.

She had a pride flag and American flag hanging, Lego sets all around the classroom, photos of her family, a poster of Shakespeare, photos of different authors and tons of books. 

It was Felton’s way of showing who she was and her passions while hoping to get her students to “lower their defenses” and know they were in a safe place. 

But after nine years of teaching in Title I schools in the School District of Manatee County, Parrish's Felton said she made the hard decision to leave the classroom at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. 

She wasn’t sure what would be next until people started asking her if she would run for the School Board of Manatee County. 

“It’s not about being a politician, it’s about being a voice,” Felton said. “I can speak for other teachers who are worried or afraid to speak. I can speak for parents because my kids are out of the schools. I’m not in it for political gain. I’m not setting out to be a politician. I’m out to be an advocate, and that’s really it.”

Felton is running for the District 1 seat on the School Board of Manatee County. 

Felton said the politics and policies coming down from the state “made it so hard to be a teacher,” which is why she left the classroom. She said the book vetting policies and book banning were the final straw. 

“When (the district) came in and told us we had to take our books out of our class that were not in the school library system, that hurt me,” she said. “I sat in my classroom, and I cried because I had over 600 books that I had accrued over my years as a teacher, a lot of them from my own home and brought in to share with my students.”

But all her memories as a teacher are happy ones, she said. Felton said she loved seeing how invested her students would get in the books they were reading in class. 

She said she loved seeing the lightbulb moment when a student understood a literary concept or found love for a book. 

While teaching seventh grade at Harllee Middle School, which closed as a public school in 2017 and is now the Harllee Center, Felton said she had a group of boys with special needs who fell in love with “The Outsiders.” For many, she said it was the first book they read to completion. After they finished the book, her students were asking if they could keep a copy of it because no matter their race or ethnicity they related to the characters.

“I was scrounging all over the place trying to find spare copies of “The Outsiders” to give out to these boys who had never read a book before,” she said. “These kids from 1950 in this little town in the midwest connected with these teenage boys in Manatee County, and that is amazing.”

Felton said throughout her career, she has wanted to be an advocate for people whether as a journalist or a teacher.

She moved to Manatee County in 1997 after being accepted to the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg for its Summer Fellowship Program for news writing and from there interviewed and accepted a position as a night-time police reporter for “The Bradenton Herald.”

After five years with the newspaper, she left to become the editor of the “Florida Catholic,” a newspaper for the Diocese of Venice. Her interest and passion for ministry brought her to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church in Bradenton where she became the director of faith formation.

Working with children at the church, she said she felt called to the classroom to be a teacher in a public school. 

Now she does pre-authorizations for infusion medications for a private practice and advocates for patients. 

“That is my goal, to advocate for people, not to get on somebody’s good side but to do what is right for the people I’m working for,” she said. 

When Felton decided to leave the School District of Manatee County, she was heartbroken for the Southeast High School juniors she was teaching. Of the 150 juniors, she was supposed to be the English teacher for 50 of them during their senior year as well.

She promised them she would be there for them at graduation in May 2024 to watch each of them receive their diplomas.

Following through on that promise and helping her students ensure their caps and gowns were perfect and cheering them on as they walked across LECOM Park was an incredible experience, she said.

Age: 49

Current occupation: Biologics coordinator

Resident of Manatee County: 27 years

Describe, specifically, what you see as the primary role and functions of the school board?

The school board’s primary role is to ensure that the school district has the resources necessary to provide our students with the best public education possible. It does this through financial and administrative policies that provide our district and school staff with the tools, facilities and programs required to meet the needs of our children and their families.

Why are you running for office?

The parents, teachers and school staff have very little voice when it comes to the school board. Most of the current board members have not worked in our schools or had children in our
district. It is important to me that there is representation on the board for these groups.

Have you ever run for public office before? If so, for what office?

No.

Why are you more qualified than your opponents?

With nine years as a teacher and 16 years as a parent in our Manatee County schools, I’ve experienced the best and worst of the school system from a personal and professional standpoint. From the first day of kindergarten for my eldest to the high school graduation for my youngest, along with all the field trips, performances, volunteering, nurses’ calls and report cards throughout, I’ve done everything a parent can do. As an English teacher in middle and high school, I’ve been through the lockdowns, student fights, grading essays and exams, teaching through COVID, Title 1 funding issues, parent conferences, open houses, student performances and awards, pep rallies, sporting events, graduations and every possible high and low that can happen. I’ve seen pretty much everything and can speak to it all from experience.

Do you have any children in any public or private elementary, middle or high school? If so, what school(s)?

My two children graduated from Manatee County schools in 2020 and 2023; my youngest will be a student at MTC this fall.

What are the top three issues facing Manatee's public schools, and how should they be addressed?

1. Advocating for and prioritizing the needs of our students. The priority should be making decisions and voting in favor of policies that benefit the kids foremost, not playing politics or appeasing specific groups. If a policy will hurt kids, vote against it. If we can fund it and it will help kids, then vote for it. The kids — and by extension the staff and parents — should always be the focus.
2. Fair and equitable pay for teachers and paras. The board needs to work with the bargaining units to raise teacher pay for those who are already working here. The compression of the pay scale that has teachers with 10 years of experience earning the same as starting teachers provides no incentive for experienced teachers to stay or develop in their careers. We need to retain, not just hire, teachers.
3. Push for more fully trained and licensed social workers available in our schools. We are facing a mental health crisis in our country, and our kids are not getting the care they need. Parents have a hard enough time getting access to these services for their kids, not to mention the high cost of care. With more staff available, parents can get care for their kids without transportation and cost issues, and kids can get the care they need and deserve, which benefits everyone, including the community at large.

What grade would you give Superintendent Jason Wysong — A to F ... and why?

B+. Dr. Wysong has leapt in quickly to learn the needs of the district. He visits the schools while bringing pertinent staff and board members with him, asks good questions, listens to the concerns of the community and acts on all of it. I have met with him myself, in addition to talking with him on other public occasions, and have been impressed with how quickly he has taken to the task of leading the district. I am very pleased with what he has accomplished in his first year on the job and expect further positives under his leadership.

What grade would you give the school board for managing the district's tax dollars — A to F ... Why?

B-. After the financial disaster we experienced a few years back, the district is doing a much better job of being accountable to the parents, staff and taxpayers.There are regular audits and opportunities for public accountability, as well. The current board is much more invested in being accountable and making sure that funds aren’t wasted. It would be a higher grade if every board member had a better understanding of the allocations of funds and were able to look at the big picture with regard to the needs of the students, staff and community. There are places where changes can be made, but it shouldn’t be based on impulse or misunderstanding of how those allocations are designated within the budget.

What would you change to improve the district's fiscal management?

As stated above, there are places where changes can be made in terms of allocations. But when it comes to making changes, that really needs to be examined in detail, looking at each “pot” of funds; how is it being spent; and if it is the best use of our resources at that time. These things all shift based on the needs of the district at the time. As with any budget — from a household to a business to a government — needs shift regularly. Flexibility is key.

What would be your priorities if elected?

Meeting the needs of the students in general with a focus on mental health; working to improve staff longevity through better supports for our teachers and paras and a decompression of the pay scale; and creating easier access to parent supports that will enable them to better help their children.

What is your position on the state's school choice laws?

While school choice has its place — we have choice within the district for our families to attend schools outside their designated zones — the giving of tax dollars to pay tuition at private institutions or for funding expensive, noneducational items for homeschooled students is a waste of our resources and a betrayal of the trust of the taxpayers who think they are benefiting public education. Public funds should go to public schools — either district schools or public charters — where there is oversight, standards and regulation.

Do you believe Manatee schools are underfunded? And if so, would you support an additional local tax?

Yes, Manatee schools are underfunded. The state continues to cut funding from public schools while chunks of what’s left are given to private schools and citizens. We do not need an additional local tax. We need the state to step up and do right by its taxpayers.

What is your response and position on the U.S. Department of Education's April rule changes to Title IX?

I am divided on the changes. My position, as with all other things related to our students, is to ask what is in the best interest of the student? Is it in their best interest to call them what they want to be called by using their chosen name and pronouns at the request of them and their parents, or is it in the child’s best interest to discount their humanity and ignore the family’s request by calling them whatever a stranger thinks is appropriate? For me, it is in the best interest of the child to treat them the way I want to be treated — address me the way I would like to be addressed and do the same for them. I can’t speak to broader concepts because I believe that every child’s needs should be addressed on a case-by-case basis in consultation with their parents. I am concerned, though, that so many adults are interested in what strangers (and children, at that) have in their pants when they need to use the bathroom, or what names they want to be called. I don’t understand why this has become an issue at all. That should be solely the concern of the parent and their child. Finally, I do support due process. Everyone has the right to defend themselves and present witnesses. Our judicial system is founded on this. The automatic sentencing of someone for something they might have said or done without a chance to explain themselves, present evidence to the contrary or expose a misunderstanding is not a best practice in any forum.