Meet the School Board Candidates: District 5

This is the last of the posts in which I will share what I learned from (hopefully reliable) Internet sources about the School Board candidates.  This exercise has helped me realize what’s important to me in a School Board member. It’s caused me to think hard about the role of politics and ideology in a School Board election and subsequent Board service, matters that I naively thought would not (or should not) come into play in a non-partisan election.  Once today’s research and writing is completed, I’ll turn to sharing my thoughts about the candidates, and my endorsements.

But first, here’s what I’ve learned about the two candidates for School Board from District 5: Thomas Andler and Roy Terry.

Thomas Andler was a high school teacher (38 years) and school superintendent in a small school district in North Dakota (5 years).  His campaign slogan is “The Conservative Choice in District 5.” He says, “Common sense and cooperation can solve all problems!”

Andler’s campaign website states five goals that he would seek to accomplish as “The Conservative Choice” as a School Board member. His Facebook page (started June 30, 2014) reports on his campaign appearances. He does not seem to have a LinkedIn or Twitter presence.

According to his website, Andler “has 38 years of experience teaching Mathematics, Anatomy, Physiology and Biology at the high school level.  He also served as an adjunct professor of Intensive English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for International Students at FAU, and was a successful district superintendent in North Dakota for five years.”

Neither Andler’s website, Facebook Pageor campaign literature identify the school(s) he taught at, the school district where he was employed as a superintendent, or the city in North Dakota where he worked or lived. In response to my question in a meeting on June 16, Andler told my colleague and me that he was superintendent in a small district where there was just one school.

Nothing reported by the candidate or found online.

Nothing reported by the candidate or found online.

A December 2012 Naples Daily News article (“Going the distance: Collier teachers reassigned to outlying schools face long commutes”) states that Andler and his wife “have fought the [Collier County School] district – going as far as the state Department of Education and Gov. Rick Scott – demanding administrators reverse the decision” to transfer Andler’s wife Debbie from Everglades City School, a “five-minute drive” from their  home, to Laurel Oaks Elementary in North Naples. According to the article, “Tom Andler called the move a ‘witch hunt.’”

Andler raised $1,541 in monetary contributions and no in-kind contributions, and spent $1,540 through July 11, 2014. His largest contributions to date:

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Roy Terry was a teacher, coach and/or principal for almost fifty years. He worked at four schools in the Collier County School District from 1978 to 2009.  He was elected to the School Board in 2010 and is now running for a second term. His campaign slogan is “Our Work Isn’t Finished…”

Neither Terry’s Facebook page nor LinkedIn profile are active; he has no campaign website or Twitter account.

Collier County—35 years

Prior to Collier County

Terry raised $4,391 in monetary contributions and $433 in in-kind contributions, and spent $3,782 through July 25, 2014. His largest contributions to date:

Other contributions of note: $100 – Jonathan Tuttle (Executive Director, Collier County Education Association CCEA) on 1/28/14; $20 – JB Holmes (Candidate: School Board District 3) on 1/28/14

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As always, comments and suggestions are welcome, and please let me know of any significant errors or omissions.