Manatee County School Board District 3: Jonathan Lynch

Age: 42

Current occupation: Marina/boat yard owner operator

Resident of Manatee County: 42 Years

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

In simple form, oversee the running of the district by the superintendent and be the conduit between the two. For me personally, I would like to be the voice of my constituents to the board.

Why are you running for office? 

The short answer is my two daughters. Our children are my top priority, and our money is a very close second. My goal is to make sure we are providing the best opportunity possible for students to become productive members of society and graduate with at least a basic understanding of financial literacy. 

As a small business owner, I believe “money saved is money earned.” If we can save the taxpayers money by spending wisely, it’s better for everyone.

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

No.

Why are you more qualified than your opponents?  

My opponent has already proven he is willing to ignore his constituents. He has no skin in the game. I believe having children in the system, having been through the local school system and a large tax contributor sets me apart from him. During his previous term on the board, we witnessed too much controversy and poor behavior. It was embarrassing.

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

I have a daughter in elementary school and a daughter in middle school. Both are in Manatee County public schools.

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

Safety/security, career workforce and keep the test scores on the rise. I feel we are a little behind the eight ball even though all three items have been improving of late. 

Keeping the focus on security is important to me. We are making great progress in that arena, and I hope it continues as we work closer with local law enforcement to ensure our students and staff are safe. 

Career workforce has a double meaning for me: 

1. I want to make sure the great teachers currently employed have the motivation to stay. We have to insure that we have competitive compensation packages so we don’t lose them to other counties. We lost teachers of the year two years in a row during my opponent’s previous term on the board. 
2. Ensure our graduating students are prepared and have a plan before graduating. Not all students are collage bound. I wasn’t. I would like to bring more focus and attention to trade opportunities through apprenticeship programs.

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

B+ It is his first year in. Our test scores did go up, and he hasn’t been in long enough to judge to quickly in my opinion.

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

C —  On paper it looks pretty good, coming off the ESSER funds and having a fund balance of 8%. It could be worse. But I still believe we have plenty of wasteful spending to address.

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

I am anxious to see what we can do. For example, so many state mandates and ESE are not funded. We bus more kids than we are funded for. No single board member can do much, but working together with the talent there and the incoming talent, I believe we can make a difference.

What would be your priorities if elected?  

Parental rights, teacher compensation and drive more focus to trade opportunities. I want to be the conduit between the voters and the board. Too many of our concerns go unheard or, even worse, ignored.

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

I support School Choice 100%

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

Underfunded and mismanaged meet somewhere on the chart. We need to identify it. 

Without the current millage rate, we would have been unfunded for sure. But the real question is: Where did the unfunded line and mismanaged line meet on the chart? 

Everyone knows nobody can spend and waste money like the government. I would be out of business if we operated that way. 

Imagine if I could tell my customers, “Sorry, man, I have to double my labor rate on this project because I went out last night and spent too much money.”  Business doesn’t work that way. Money saved is money earned.