Jill Woolbright, a retired Flagler County teacher and former school board member, is running again for her old seat on the Flagler County School Board. In a recent interview, she discussed her background, her priorities, and her views on several issues facing the district.
Background and Why She’s Running Again
Woolbright said she moved to Flagler County in 1989 and began teaching at Bunnell Elementary School in 1991, spending 28 years in the classroom before retiring in 2019. She was later elected to a two-year school board term after Andy Dance resigned his seat to run for county commissioner. She said she lost her bid for a full term in 2024 by fewer than 800 votes, then moved out of state to be near her grandchildren before deciding to move back to Flagler County.
Woolbright said the seat she lost in 2024 has since been vacated twice, once when the person who defeated her stepped down and again after a gubernatorial appointee also left the position. She said the seat has remained vacant since last October, contributing to what she described as an evenly divided board.
Teacher and Staff Retention
Woolbright identified retention of quality staff, including teachers, bus drivers, and district leadership, as the top issue facing the district. She said Superintendent LaShakia Moore should be retained, describing her as the strongest superintendent the district has had in years after a period of frequent turnover. She said master teachers, those with years of experience, produce the greatest academic gains for students, and said the district loses institutional knowledge when experienced staff leave.
On teacher pay specifically, Woolbright said a statewide push several years ago to raise minimum starting teacher pay was not accompanied by funding to adjust pay for teachers with several years of experience, which she said compressed the pay scale so that teachers in years two through nine were making close to the same salary as new hires. She said she would support one-time longevity bonuses for teachers who reach five-year and ten-year milestones as a way to encourage retention without permanently increasing the budget, while also working toward longer-term raises. She noted that the district’s financial reserves had increased from about $3 million to $11 million in recent years and suggested that some of that same budgeting effort could be applied toward employee pay.
On bus driver retention, Woolbright said Flagler County and neighboring counties have historically competed with each other by repeatedly raising driver pay, similar to competition among local governments for law enforcement staff. She said she would support similar longevity bonuses for bus drivers and emphasized building a workplace culture where employees feel respected and valued, in addition to pay increases.
Fiscal Oversight
Woolbright described herself as fiscally conservative and said she plans to closely review the district’s spending, including staffing levels at the school and district level, comparing them to other districts to identify possible overstaffing. She specifically questioned the size of the district’s vehicle fleet given declining student enrollment. She said she would not seek to eliminate teaching positions but would look to reduce staffing gradually through attrition where appropriate.
School Safety
Woolbright said school safety includes both physical security and staff support, particularly for teachers and paraprofessionals working with students who have special needs and can display unpredictable behavior. She referenced a past incident in which a Bunnell Elementary School staff member, Joan Nadege, was assaulted by a student on the autism spectrum, saying the incident highlighted the need for properly trained staff in those classrooms. She said experienced, “master” teachers, rather than new hires, should be placed in the most challenging special education roles, drawing on her own past experience teaching a multi-grade classroom for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities.
She also said the district’s physical security measures, including secured building entrances, cameras, and electronic door access, have improved significantly over the years, funded partly through state grants. She said she supports expanding crisis intervention training to all teachers, not just those working directly in special education settings, to help de-escalate student behavior.
School Vouchers
Woolbright said she supports Florida’s school voucher program and general school choice for parents, saying she was an advocate for parental involvement during her teaching career. She said some families left public schools in past years due to concerns about curriculum transparency and student wellbeing, issues she said have since been addressed through state legislation expanding parental rights and oversight of curriculum. She said school board members take an oath to uphold the state constitution and are expected to follow state law regardless of personal opinion, while still being able to advocate for legislative change through proper channels.
Trade and Career Programs
Woolbright said she supports expanding the district’s career and technical trade programs, saying not all students are suited for a college track and that hands-on trade programs, such as the district’s fire academy, are popular and should be expanded. She said she has been in discussions with the district’s Education Foundation about growing a “classroom to careers” pathway aimed at recruiting future teachers, in addition to other trades. She said she supports introducing career interest assessments earlier, potentially in middle school, to help students identify their strengths and interests sooner.
School Board Properties
Asked about public interest in school district-owned properties, including the former Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, now used as a district wellness center, Woolbright said she is awaiting an inventory report the current board requested on all district-owned properties before making specific recommendations. She said many of these properties were acquired as impact fee payments from developers in place of cash, and said the district should more carefully evaluate whether donated land has real usable value before accepting it in the future.
She said she believes the district should sell property that cannot support a functional school, citing roughly seven acres of district-owned land near a hospital as an example. She said any sale should be for the entire parcel rather than a partial sale that would leave the district with unusable remaining land. She said proceeds could help fund future construction, such as a new high school, though she noted declining enrollment currently makes new school construction unlikely in the near term.
Board Dysfunction
Asked about public perception of dysfunction on the school board, Woolbright said board members agree on the vast majority of votes and said friction has been driven largely by the board’s even number of members since a seat was vacated last October, which she said has led to more frequent split votes, including a lengthy meeting over selecting a vice chair. She said she believes she can work productively with every sitting board member and fellow candidate, including her direct opponent, and described picking her battles as necessary when serving as one of five board members.
Closing Pitch to Voters
Asked why voters should choose her over her opponents, Woolbright pointed to her decades of experience teaching in Flagler County classrooms and her prior board service, saying that background gives her a shorter learning curve than newer candidates. She said she played a role in recommending Superintendent Moore for earlier leadership roles within the district and expressed confidence in continuing to work with her if elected. She also referenced a previous superintendent’s tenure, which she and other community members have characterized as damaging to the district’s finances and culture, saying she believes that period is part of why some families left the public school system.
The post Former Teacher Jill Woolbright Seeks Return to Flagler School Board first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
