Debbi Hixon, a lifelong Broward County resident, lost her husband Chris, a fellow educator, on Valentine’s Day in 2018.  With the Coronavirus pandemic dominating the news now, Hixon, a Hollywood, Fl. resident, sat down to do an email interview to answer questions about her first run for office.

The former science teacher is seeking a countywide seat on the Broward County School Board.  The seat is being vacated by a board member who is running for the state Legislature. Broward’s public school system is the sixth largest in the nation, with about 270,000 students from 204 different countries.  

Question:

This is your first time running for public office.  Learning how to do it must be hard enough.  Doing it during the Coronavirus pandemic must make the task even more challenging.  Please talk about what you are experiencing and learning as you seek one of nine School Board seats.

Hixon:

This is my first time running for any office and it has been a huge learning curve for me.  Before the pandemic affected our way of living, I was very busy getting out and meeting people throughout Broward County.  I enjoyed meeting them and hearing their concerns about our school district and also sharing with them my experiences and vision for the district.

The past few weeks have been very challenging for the campaign, both financially and in meeting with people.  I have been very active to keep people engaged with my campaign by meeting with people virtually through Facetime and Zoom and also personal phone calls and texts. I am blessed to have a wonderful team of volunteers that continue to help me spread my message through emails and social media posts.  I have had to get more innovative in my outreach on social media, making videos and engaging posts to make myself stand out.

I am finding that people are happy to speak with me right now and that they have more time to listen to my vision and experiences which gives me a great advantage to not only give them my elevator pitch, but to engage in conversations and to answer questions.  I am enjoying learning all the new tools to reach out and share my message with everyone across Broward County, but to be honest, nothing compares to having personal face-to-face meetings with people and connecting with them on a more personal level.  I look forward to getting back to meetings and events once this pandemic subsides and it is safe for us to socialize again.

Question:

You taught at South Broward High School, in Hollywood, for more than 30 years.  That is also the high school from which you graduated in 1984.  What have you learned as a public school student and teacher that will help you if you get elected to the School Board?

Hixon:

I believe that having been in the Broward School System for over 40 years, as a student, parent and teacher, gives me a unique perspective that will allow me to be an informed, engaged and committed School Board member.  I have been to many schools around the district, as a magnet coordinator recruiting students, as a parent attending events such as award ceremonies and athletic events for my children and as a student athlete participating in events myself.  I am comfortable reaching out to parents and district staff to collaborate with them on ways to make positive changes in our district.  I have relationships with a variety of people who have different positions throughout the district and I am acutely aware of their concerns and issues with the schools across the entire district.

The people of the district; students, parents and staff, will all be comfortable coming to me to seek leadership on issues that need to be addressed in their schools because I have been a member of this community my entire life and I will be able to empathize with them about their concerns. Our district is very diversified and we have to look at each school independently and realize that each school has unique needs and concerns and we should address them with a plan that works for the school and its community; a one size fits all approach is not the best for our district.

Question:

You decided to run some time after your husband, Chris, the athletic director at MSD High School, was struck down on Valentine’s Day in 2018.  How has this experience informed your decision to run for office?  What specific actions do you intend to back in connection with school safety and mental health issues at schools if you get elected?  Are there other things you want to see the school system do to prove it has learned lessons from the Parkland tragedy?

Hixon:

My husband was one of the victims of the MSD tragedy on Valentine’s Day in 2018.  Safety and security was always a topic that was important to Chris which is why he joined the US Navy and then became a security monitor and a Military Police Officer in the Navy Reserves. We had numerous conversations about what the best practices should be in schools and some concerns we had since both of us were at the same school at one point.

Since 2018, I have been very outspoken about the need for more responsible firearm ownership and ways that our community could make its citizens safer.  When Robin Bartleman announced she would not run for the School Board seat, I began to consider running for the office.  I have been around the state and country talking about school safety and better mental health so it seemed like the right time for me to take the opportunity to make a difference in my own community.  If you ask teachers and students what their biggest concern is in our schools, the number one answer is safety and security. Our school district has been working to improve school safety, but it has been a slow process with little transparency.

I would be a catalyst to move the process forward with more urgency and some insight as to how these things translate in the classroom.  We still don’t have a comprehensive code red plan in writing and many staff members are confused as to their role in this situation.  I would work with the Broward County Public School district staff to roll out a plan that all have access to and can understand. Our drills have to be done with more fidelity and with a life lesson approach so that students and staff are comfortable knowing what they should do in any kind of emergency situation.  Schools have single points of entry, but they are not necessarily safer and many staff members are concerned about their safety when they are in the office.

Mental Health is so important for our students, especially as we have seen an increase in anxiety and depression in our county.  The state has mandated this be addressed with all students through a new curriculum and the district was just starting to roll that out when our world got turned upside down with this pandemic.  We have to again be sure that this curriculum is being shared with fidelity and that we are training our teachers and staff to identify signs that are concerning and what they should do if they feel a student, or peer is struggling.

As someone personally affected by the MSD shooting, I would like to see the district be more cognizant of how they react to crisis and how they reach out to the people affected.  They are the leaders of the community and people look to them for direction; I know that I will be a caring, professional and strong leader. In my experience, many board members do not respond to emails or phone calls and I know how frustrating that is, it makes you feel like you don’t matter to them.  I will have open communication with the community, teachers, parents and students.  I will respond to emails and welcome input from everyone to help make positive changes in our district.

Question:

Your son, Corey, I believe, may have been a special needs student. What have you learned about special education programs in the public school system?  What would you like to change or enhance?

Hixon:

Corey was in the special needs program in Broward County Public Schools and I have learned that our special populations have a lot of resources available to them and that the staff that works with them are some very special people. The Broward County Public Schools does a much better job of providing services than many other states and districts.

With that being said, things can always be improved and I think we have to do a better job of communicating with our parents and making sure they are aware of the resources available to them. We also need to be sure we are looking at how we educate our special populations, we should be making realistic expectations for them and encouraging them to learn the skills they will need to be viable members of society. Some may go to college, some will go to work and some will struggle to find where they fit in the community, we have to educate them at the level they come to us and try to help them reach the goals that are appropriate for them.

I would also like to see the service for students aging out of the system enhanced.  It is a very scary time for parents when their students are no longer able to stay in the system because they have reached the age of 22 and they don’t know where their children will fit in the community.  The transition is difficult and I would like to see the district address these concerns better.

Question:

What other ideas will you push if you win and join the School Board?

Hixon:

We have to value our teachers better and give them the respect they have earned.  They should be paid better and they should be included in the process when deciding what professional development they attend as well as new curriculum and technology that we ask them to bring into their classrooms.  They will always do what is needed to ensure students can be successful, but that gets overlooked and they don’t feel that they matter in the system.

I also believe we must change the way we communicate with our community.  Many amazing things are going on in our schools yet no one knows about them.  We have to invite the public into our buildings (even if it is virtually) to see what amazing things our students are doing.  Students are getting national recognition and no one outside the school knows.

Resources should be spent on social media and other media sources to share these accomplishments on a daily basis.  We have to engage with the community in a positive way so that they are excited about sending their children to our schools.  I would ask for better transparency on the bond projects.  This is an issue that plagues our district and it needs to be addressed head on with clear details on an accurate timeline for projects with a budget for the projects that is realistic.

Question:

Being a School Board member means you will have to deal with the “political” concerns of the press and the public, as well as bureaucratic responses from administrators and maybe even fellow School Board members.  Is this a problem? A challenge?  Or both?  And how so?

Hixon:

I wouldn’t say this is a problem, but definitely a challenge.  I am not a political person but I am authentic, thoughtful and caring.  I always try to think through my answers so that they are clear and not offensive to people.

Having positive relationships with the teachers, parents, students and community stakeholders will make the conversations more transparent and productive.  I have been working in a leadership role for the past 4 years as a Magnet Coordinator and I understand the sensitivity that is needed to balance everyone’s concerns but still make a decision that you believe is best for the situation.

Question:

Will you meet regularly with student leaders in academics, athletics, student government and other activities to see if you can learn from them?  If so, will you invite these student leaders to speak regularly before the School Board?

Hixon:

Yes, my favorite thing to do is get the student’s perspective, they have so much to share!  I believe students are included in a variety of advocacy groups and committees, I would encourage them to look at these different leadership roles and get involved in the things they are passionate about.  I think students should be speaking at every school board meeting.  They are the true barometer of how we are doing as a district.  They are invited to share things at the board meetings now so I would continue to invite them to share their successes and to bring concerns, their voice is so important to everything we do.

Question:

A significant portion of public school funding comes from local property taxes.  The money raised varies from community to community because property values differ.  What ideas will you advance to fight for more just funding of all public schools?

Hixon:

This is a very concerning issue.  Many schools in the east feel the disproportionate funding in our district.  Many of the schools that are in dire need of repair are in the east as they are the older schools.  Budget is a huge issue I want to address once I win and see how we can assure a more equal distribution of resources and a better maintenance response for schools across the district.