Sarasota County School Board District 3: Thomas Babicz

Age: 70

Current occupation: Retired Sr. IT Manager

Resident of Sarasota County: Five years

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

Managing public schools within the school district to provide outstanding education to students at a reasonable cost.

Why are you running for office?

I am running for office to make our schools normal again and absolutely the best in the country.

I would love to eliminate politics and racist divisive programs from our schools.

I want everybody to be able to read. Our schools should educate only.

I will work hard with Republicans, Democrats and other individuals to accomplish this goal. 

The best gift we can give to our young students is great education and high self-esteem to make sure they will succeed in life. 

I would also eliminate wasteful spending, and I will do everything possible to increase the salary for teachers. 

I am very passionate about it. The best example of it is that I was campaigning in an ambulance taking me to the ER after my serious accident in May. The entire ambulance team visited me in the hospital later and all of them said they will vote for me.

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

No, I have not run for public office before.

Why are you more qualified than your opponents?

I am more qualified than my opponents because I have a history of making dramatic improvements in every place I worked for. 

The most significant of my individual achievements was to triple the production in the first place I worked for after graduating from a technical high school. It was the Gdansk Main Post Office Data Center.

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

We have adult daughters and one son plus one grandchild. I don’t think somebody has to have a sick person in his/her family to be a good doctor. My grandchildren would most likely attend Sarasota schools in the future.

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

The top three issues facing Sarasota’s public schools are increasing academic results, eliminating politics and wasteful spending plus increasing the salary for teachers to keep them in our schools.

What grade would you give Superintendent Terrence Connor — A to F … and why?

The current Superintendent Terrence Connor is a gift from Heaven, and I would give him absolutely A+ based on his achievements.

The academic results are better every month since he started to work for Sarasota County Schools. He is a real professional in my opinion.

It is hard to impress a manager with 30+ years of experience in working in a highly productive environment, but Mr. Connor just did this. He is also very easy to work with and it will be my pleasure to work with him to improve our schools.

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

In general, the four conservative board members deserved recognition for improving the academic results, but I would give them C for managing the district’s tax dollars.

There is a case that they paid close to $18 million, which is six times more than the amount specified in the original contract for a school renovation. I would start a criminal investigation about it after my election if I will not find a serious documented justification for it.

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

I would ask to review all contracts and add amendments to some of them to make sure the “overpayments” will not be possible. I would also revise the maintenance policies because we don’t repair some equipment but buy new instead, according to school janitors I talked to.

What would be your priorities if elected? 

Increase academic results, eliminate politics from schools and eliminate wasteful spending.

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

I support school choice and school vouchers for parents.

How should the board’s 'public to be heard' part of the school board meetings be changed — or not changed at all? Why? 

The “public to be heard” part of the school board meetings not related to the current agenda should be moved to the end of the meeting. The current structure of the school board meetings is very not efficient.

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

According to a lawsuit filed by 15 state attorneys general, these changes declare it discriminatory under Title IX for schools to exclude transgender students (particularly transgender girls) from participating in school sports or excluding them from school bathrooms in line with their gender identities; and also said failure to use transgender students’ names and pronouns is discriminatory. The new rules also removed innocent-until-proven-guilty protections for the accused in sexual harassment cases — the right to present witnesses; to inspect the evidence against them; and to a live hearing.

I am absolutely against biological males playing women’s sports and using women's locker rooms. I am also against gender-affirming care for young people in schools, and I don’t support hormone therapy for young people with school participation. The parents and doctors have to be involved in cases like that. Schools should focus on education only.