07/28/2020
Here are the Flagler ESE Support Group’s picks for the most ESE friendly candidates for the 2020 School Board Election held on August 18, 2020. Please get out and vote!
PAUL MUCCIOLO (District 3): Paul Mucciolo is a fellow special needs parent and the ONLY 2020 candidate with children actually enrolled in Flagler Schools. Like many of us special needs parents, Paul thinks that more can be done with resources allocated to ESE by fixing common sense issues. Like us, he has been outraged by the recent incidents of abuse of students with disabilities. Paul is running for the school board specifically to be a strong advocate for ESE. For all his personal achievements, Paul is one of the most modest and humble men you will meet. His goal is to encourage less animosity at school board meetings and greater transparency, particularly with respect to the District’s budget. Ask the ESE professionals you deal with -- the vast majority of them support Paul’s candidacy. Mr. Mucciolo is running against 16-year incumbent Colleen Conklin who, in our opinion, is not fully committed to assisting the ESE Community. Administrators of this Group have been highly critical of Conklin, in particular, with respect to her decision to abandon her constituents by applying for the recent open Superintendent position; a job where she did not even meet the basic professional qualifications. Conklin continues to demonstrate an inability to fully think through the consequences of her decisions, which makes her a liability to the ESE Community, and students in general. For this reason, we encourage you to vote for Paul Mucciolo.
MARIA BARBOSA (District 5): Perhaps more than any currently-serving member of the school board, Maria Barbosa has been consistently supportive of the ESE Community. Throughout the “staffing specialist dispute” three years ago, when the ESE Community was not afforded an opportunity to publicly ask questions of District leadership, she was the ONLY school board member to incorporate some of the ESE community’s direct questions to administration at school board meetings. During the recent Superintendent search, she asked very poignant questions of candidates about ESE that addressed this community’s concerns and she voted for the ESE Community’s preferred candidate. While not the most outspoken member of the school board, she has consistently voted in ways that support the ESE Community. We are well aware of the negative comments that have circulated throughout social media about Maria Barbosa, and about some of the recent positions she has taken about controversial issues. Being a group that focuses on ESE, we felt that it would be inappropriate for us to weigh in on non-ESE issues; however, we do respect that Ms. Barbosa has political conviction and she consistently votes based on principle. One of those principles is support for ESE students, and for that reason, we support her re-election efforts. Ms. Barbosa is running against Cheryl Massaro. Ms. Massaro seems like a lovely person who is well-intentioned. We have enjoyed the videos she has posted online in support of her candidacy. However, from an ESE perspective, Ms. Massaro is an unknown quantity and she has not made any tremendous effort to get to know ESE Community leadership, to discuss her position on ESE issues, nor has she expressly indicated her level of support for ESE. Because of her reliable voting history on ESE issues, and for her support of the ESE Community, we encourage you to vote for Maria Barbosa.
JILL WOOLBRIGHT (District 1): Jill Woolbright is a retired ESE teacher from Flagler Schools and is committed to students with disabilities. This is Ms. Woolbright’s first foray into education politics. Ms. Woolbright has made a concerted effort to reach out to ESE Community leadership, and has expressed her support of the ESE Community and her passion for students with disabilities. Ms. Woolbright is running against Vincent Lyon, who is an unknown quantity with respect to education politics. We have seen interviews with Mr. Lyon and, based on responses to questions regarding ESE, it’s clear he does not have a strong understanding about ESE issues, the education of students with disabilities, nor does he express a passion for ESE students. From a political perspective, neither Ms. Woolbright nor Mr. Lyon have a voting record to rely on; however, from an ESE perspective, Ms. Woolbright has a clear passion for, and understanding of, ESE issues, and could be a strong advocate for the ESE Community. For this reason, we encourage you to vote for Jill Woolbright.
