ST. PETERSBURG -- Both the incumbent and the challenger in the race for the District 7 seat on the Pinellas County School Board say they're concerned that so many of Pinellas' low-performing schools are in their area.

But Caprice Edmond and Maria Solanki find many areas of disagreement.

Edmond joined the board in 2020 to fill out an expired term. She's running for a full four-year term in 2022. She says her involvement with children began as a babysitter. Edmond went on to graduate from Gibbs High School and got a psychology degree from USF. She then began working in foster care support and as a guardian ad litem. Edmond then transitioned to teaching with master's degrees in Elementary Education and Education Leadership. She says that helps her do her job on the school board and deal with mandates coming down from the state legislature. "As an educator, you get a better view of mandates and the responsibilities of a teacher," Edmond said.

Edmond is the parent of four who are either attending or have graduated from Pinellas district schools. She says ensuring that needs of students and staff have been met while navigating the pandemic has been a major challenge of her two years on the board.

Edmond says she has worked to build culture and climate, by hosting virtual forums, and attending meetings to explain to people what's going on in the Pinellas district and how to advocate for students.

On the issue of parental rights, Edmond says that the new state law gives parents concerned about curriculum or books the right to speak to staff. There's also an entire process to vet a book before it's removed from shelves. "There's a process to make sure the rights of one parent doesn't override the rights of other parents," Edmond said.

On the topic of equity, Edmond says it means ensuring that every child has what they need in order to be successful. She says the district has a strategic plan that guides the allocation of money, with a focus on equity with excellence for all. It's important people realize we are operating to support the needs of all children. What Johnny needs might be different from what Jessica needs.

Edmond says she wants to work on the achievement gap, increasing parent and community engagement as well as recruitment and retention of teachers. "We know when we have highly committed professionals in front of children, they're more likely to be successful," Edmond said.

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Maria Solanki says her earliest experiences with education came as a special needs child with vision issues, raised by a single father. Now legally blind and the mother of a biracial child, Solanki says giving back to kids gives her healing.

She was motivated by the huge gap in educational achievement with low-performing schools in her district, pointing out that nearly half of the schools in District 7 make the low-performing list. "This is the most beneficial way I can use my expertise... and experiences to make a positive difference," Solanki said. She says children who enter the system as bright-eyed five-year-olds don't understand why they're underperforming and use coping mechanisms, such as acting out or getting sent to the principal, which only become more dramatic over time. "Are we putting them on the pipeline straight to prison?." Solanki asks.

Solanki says equity doesn't mean providing services based on "melanin levels" but on matching additional services to individual challenges, as with her own visual difficulties as a child. She says the problems with low-performing schools aren't financial. She says they get "a ton" of money and resources, pointing to equipment at one school. "They have desks that have ellipticals on them or bicycles on them... there's this misperception that (low-performing) schools don't get enough money and that is not accurate," Solanki says.

Both Edmond and Solanki say that the mental health of students is a major concern. "The past few years have been challenging for (children) and their families," Edmond says, adding that the schools should be addressing the needs of the "whole child." Solanki says suicides, bullying and shootings are signs of a huge mental health crisis. She says the disstrict needs to get to root causes, identifying nutrition as a concern. Solanki says that 20 percent of children are obese. "Kids are getting sick and being put on medication they can't afford that affects their cognitive ability," Solanki said.

On the subject of teacher and staff shortages, Solanki wants to see the board help with housing and giving teachers more autonomy and planning time.

Solanki describes herself as a strong supporter of parental rights. "We know that students who perform best have active parents. When we try to backtrack on that, we are going in a dangerous direction."

She says parents don't always feel heard. She says board members have to listen to those they represent "and not just sit up there."

The primary election is August 23rd. Since there are just two candidates, the race will be decided then.

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