To learn more about my School Board Campaign, please visit www.JohnTracy.me/schoolboard

Hello. My name is John Tracy, and I am running for Pasco County School Board, in District 4. I am a firm believer in quality education. I would not have the opportunities that I do today apart from the training that I received in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. I have a deep appreciation for education at all levels.

I believe that learning is something that continues beyond the completion of a degree. Our childhood education should give us the tools necessary to be students for the rest of our lives. Reading, studying, growing, and learning are skills needed by any productive member of society throughout his or her life.

Education has always been a focal point of American culture. The first schools of the colonial era, the compulsory education of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the formation of the Ivy League colleges in the 17th and 18th Centuries boast early American commitment to quality education. The organization and advancement of public schools by Horace Mann in the late 1800s and the efforts by educational innovators like John Hughes, Catherine Beecher, Booker T. Washington, John Dewey, Linda Thompson, and Jose Gutiérrez have all played a part in the educational system that we experience today.

The school board serves a vital function in Pasco County by ensuring that every child has access to a quality education that provides training and tools for a productive lifetime of learning. I believe that all children should be viewed as being equally important and valuable. That American spirit that offers everyone an equal opportunity should be fostered and encouraged in our schools. Of course, that does not mean that everyone will get equal results. Some will work harder than others. Some will have greater skills. Some will succeed and achieve and some will inevitably fail, but our goal should be to give every student the greatest possible opportunity to accomplish much in the school environment. I believe that the school board must be approachable and must encourage open dialog with parents, staff, students and the community at large. The school system serves the community, and thus, so does the school board.

As a father of two children, I know firsthand the desire to provide the best possible opportunities to the next generation. At the top of that list is an excellent education. Much of my life has been devoted to serving children, teenagers, and college students in one capacity or another. I have been a teacher, counselor, pastor, and friend to numerous young people through my work in schools, camps, churches, and music groups. I believe in the strength of the family and have a record of standing up for family values. As the President of the Faith and Family Values Republican Club of Pasco County, I have stood and fought on the front line for family values.

President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

I believe that there is a battleground raging in our schools for the hearts and minds of our children. As a school board member I intend to protect the innocence and morals of our kids. I plan to work hard to see that the education they receive is historically accurate, excellent in quality, applicable in subject matter, and delivered in an optimal learning environment. Parents must know that their kids will be safe physically, intellectually, and morally. Students of every race, religion, and economic background should be confident that they will be treated equally by their administrators, teachers, and peers. Anything we can do to remove prejudices of any type will aid in a child’s success. A public school should not be a political stage, nor should it be a place to perpetrate religious and social dogma. It needs to be neutral ground. At the same time, all subjects, American history in particular, must be presented accurately without any attempts to soften or change factual information in order to reflect a differing political, social, or religious bias. Students should learn of our nation’s founding fathers and of our most important documents, like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, that assert and protect our freedom and make us unique in the world.

My goal as your District 4 Pasco County School Board Member is to be a man of integrity and honesty who works hard for families. In simple terms I am for God, Family, and Country. I believe in smaller government, fewer taxes, and basic freedoms. By working together we can continue to provide the kind of quality education for the next generation that has always fueled the American spirit. Will you stand with me for family values in Pasco County?

For America,

John Tracy