MILT THOMAS

Anyone who has known Carol Johnson for any length of time knows she’s a little dynamo, especially when she takes on a mission. For the past eight years, her mission has been as a member and chairman of the Indian River County School Board, focused entirely on making it work for the kids.

As Johnson tells it, when she took her position in 2006, the school board was in crisis. “Before I came, people will remember that board meetings went into the night, one very notable one went until three in the morning. Over a period of several election cycles, it seemed the board would make decisions in one meeting, then reverse that decision one or more meetings later. That sends mixed messages to the organization on direction – do I go ahead with that decision or wait a few meetings to see if it will be changed. In meetings, board members would argue with the public and with each other.”

It was not a pretty picture, as those who attended meetings back then will recall. But when Carol Johnson came on board, she decided things had to change, starting with the conduct of meetings. Fortunately, the tools to implement change were available all along.

“It’s all so easy to understand how it should be done thanks to Robert’s Rules and the book was available to all. The structure was laid out right there but it was almost as though no one took the time to become familiar with it.”

Johnson also started implementing the three minute rule on public input. Again, the rule was on the books but ignored. She drew some heat from those who felt the public should be allowed to speak as long and as often as they want, but that was pushing meetings well into the night, far beyond any other local elected body and accomplishing little.

Today, school board meetings are the model of decorum and everyone gets along. “We have five different board members coming from five different directions, but we all show respect for each other and work as a team to get things done. We are all here for one reason and one reason only – the kids.”

Carol Johnson is a seventh generation Floridian, born and raised in Miami. She moved to Vero Beach in 1970 with her husband Charlie, who built and maintained golf courses. Charlie passed away in 2001 and they have one married daughter, Belinda Johnson Flores. “I get to spend a lot of time with my granddaughter, Adriana,” says Johnson, “and I have three stepchildren who are the children of my heart, with eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.  I know how important good schools are to the future of our kids and our country.”

Johnson has been involved doing non-profit work related to education for 25 years. When the Character Counts program came to Vero Beach, she served as its first and only executive director, getting it started and keeping it foremost in the curriculum. She also served as executive director of the Education Foundation. Over the years, she has lectured extensively on the effect of television violence on children. Quite familiar with the needs local businesses for work-ready students, she also worked as Public Affairs Administrator for what was then the Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce and is today the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. Also very active politically, Johnson was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Southeast Selective Service Commission, a position she held for eight years. But her years on the school board best expressed her passion, to ensure that kids received the education they needed to be successful in life.

Now, as retirement from the school board looms, Johnson is already quite involved with United Way as a member of their board. “I am excited about the changes coming to United Way in their focus, which will strengthen accountability by a shift from responding to perceived needs in their member agencies, to setting criteria based on what they call three community impact areas and measuring performance against those criteria. The first area they will address is education, which I will chair, so I feel this fits in well with my continuing interest in how we teach our kids.”

As to how she sees the future of education in Indian River County and the school board, Johnson says, “I think the charter school movement is a good thing, as long as the schools are home grown and part of the public education system. Creating for-profit charter schools may be a good business, but as far as their value compared to home grown charters, we’re not in a position to quantify that. As far as using public education tax dollars for home schoolers or religious schools, it can only dilute the quality of public education in our country at a time when the world is becoming much better educated and more competitive.”

Johnson feels strongly about the emphasis on mandated tests. “We focus on that and dismiss the ethical, moral and character elements of education. No wonder kids out there are making horrible decisions. How do we compensate and assess teachers? Do we only assess children based on test scores?

Her feelings about testing are best expressed in a guest editorial she wrote for the Press Journal:  “Another recent cause of controversy is how we can best assess a child’s cognitive development. It is true that (achievement and I.Q.) tests measure what children know, but their knowledge of specific facts and scores are only a rough gauge of children’s ability. They should never be the criterion of a child’s intellectual progress.”

Johnson wrote that back on February 26…1978 when she was president of the Indian River County PTA Council and had a child enrolled at Rosewood Elementary School.

Although she will retire from the school board on November 17, she is certainly not retiring from her number one passion – the kids. She hopes the newly elected school board will have the same passion.