Rob Wood, a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, is making his first run for public office with a background that spans military service, federal government training, higher education leadership, and small business ownership. Wood said he decided to run after watching what he described as years of dysfunction on the current school board, with a tipping point coming when the incumbent he is challenging held a board meeting hostage for nine hours in a dispute over the title of vice chair. “A democracy demands contest,” Wood said, describing how his wife ultimately pushed him to file. He said the race is not a stepping stone to higher office. “This is the one that I want to do for the right reason,” he said.
Wood identified three priorities if elected: fixing the culture of the school board, addressing enrollment trends responsibly, and improving fiscal accountability. On culture, Wood said the board’s job is straightforward on paper: set budgets, establish policy, and hold the superintendent accountable, but that dysfunction at the top undermines everything below it. He said effective leadership means prioritizing relationships over outcomes and driving commitment rather than compliance. “If you’re going to preserve the relationship, that’s how I’m going to approach it,” he said.
On enrollment, Wood said declining student numbers are partly driven by demographic factors outside the district’s control, such as an aging population moving into Flagler County and lower birth rates among millennials. He said he supports school choice and believes funding should follow students, but pushed back on the idea that public schools should compete in the market like private businesses, arguing the standards and regulatory requirements are simply not the same. He called for more proactive strategies to grow enrollment at both ends of the age spectrum. Wood said he has not previously disclosed publicly that the district is sitting on land that may not be usable for school construction, and suggested it could be sold or repurposed to fund capital improvements, add technical education wings to high schools, or support early childhood programs. He highlighted the low rate of families using Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten, noting that fewer than 40 percent of eligible Flagler families participate, and said that improving VPK access and reducing transportation barriers could have a lasting impact on third-grade literacy rates. He also called for better marketing of the district’s career and certification programs, and noted that the district’s annual marketing budget appears to be around $5,000 out of a roughly $400 million total budget. “That seems a little low to me,” he said. He also agreed that the School District should be promoting that homeschool families can partially enroll their children in district programs.
On teacher pay, Wood cited the gap between starting salaries and long-term wages as a serious retention problem. He said Florida ranks 19th nationally in starting teacher pay but last in the nation in salary growth over time. A teacher with 20 years in the classroom may still earn less than $60,000, while the state’s incentives are structured to reward teachers who stay beyond 30 years, creating what he called a significant gap in the middle. “Can you name another profession where you had to go get a bachelor’s degree and become certified and maintain continuing education and make less than sixty thousand dollars after twenty years?” he said.
On fiscal responsibility, Wood said he wants to examine the district’s procurement practices, describing a pattern he believes results in work being routed through general contracting firms rather than put out to competitive bid, which he said can dramatically inflate costs. He said he envisions a closer partnership between the school district, Flagler County government, and the Chamber of Commerce to train local small businesses on how to participate in government contracting, keeping more spending in the local economy. He also raised questions about the district’s monthly budget amendments, saying he does not yet fully understand the process but wants to examine whether funds are being strategically reallocated in ways that deserve more scrutiny. “A budget is a budget,” he said. “It’s not a wish list, and it’s not malleable.”
Wood’s background includes military service beginning in 1996, teaching at the Community College of the Air Force, facilitating leadership training for TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice, and spending the last decade as a senior leader at Western Governors University overseeing support for 17,000 students. He holds an MBA in finance and a post-graduate certificate in leadership, and is also a certified executive coach. He currently runs a pressure washing business and said his wife is an educator with deep ties to the Flagler County school community. “I’m deeply committed and connected,” he said, “and I feel like I’m the best person for the job based on qualifications and experience.”
This article is based on statements made by Rob Wood in an interview. Claims about actions, budgets, and other legal requirements reflect his characterizations and have not been independently verified.
The post Flagler County School Board Candidate Rob Wood Targets Culture, Enrollment, and Fiscal Reform first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
