We Need A Board Member That Can Hit The Ground Running!
JACQUELINE PEREZ FOR

 SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 3

I have lived in Lee County for approximately 27 years. I am 54 years old and I have built a successful business with my husband and raised 4 children who have all been educated in the Lee County School system. I am a grandmother of three children who are presently enrolled in Lee County Schools.
I am actively enrolled in Our Lady of Light Catholic Church and have been a member for over 21 years. I have volunteered for various non-profit organizations which have included Habitat for Humanity with Transeastern Homes, My Autism Connection, Donations For Hurricane Maria, Border Babies, UCP, English Classes for Immigrants, Teen-Life at Our Lady of Light, Hereditary Angioedema Association, and advocating for students and employees at the Lee County School District for close to ten years, just to name a few.
I have an associate degree from LaGuardia Community College and I graduated as a Physical Therapist Assistant. I spent close to 20 years in healthcare in a variety of settings which included acute care, home health services, and skilled nursing homes. I had a career change about 15 years ago and learned about custom stonework from the ground up. I am proficient in bidding, estimating, measuring, ordering, sales, accounting and management.
I have extensive first-hand knowledge of our local education system, not only as a parent and currently a grandparent, but as an advocate who has worked closely with Lee County School District employees, legislators, Office of Civil Rights Department of Education and the Florida Auditor General. I successfully had resolution agreements signed by the district on three separate occasions. The present online bullying information and training for all employees in 504 Plans and harassment was established from the resolution agreements I participated with. I lobbied to Ray Rodrigues on the behalf of a parent and student for increased safety protection and Ray Rodrigues was able to pass HB 495. I have also lobbied in Washington on behalf of the Hereditary Angioedema Association for awareness and improved health services for this disease.
I have traveled to Tallahassee to speak before the JLAC Committee on concerns of the spending and misappropriation of funds and received positive responses from our senators and legislators. After speaking before at the JLAC in February of 2019, the Florida Auditor General conducted an out-of-cycle audit which was completed in May of 2020. Again, the Florida Auditor General found violations with the Lee County School District.
I support our teachers and bus drivers and believe that they are the backbone of our district. We need to budget and spend carefully to ensure we can pay competitive salaries to our dedicated staff. We need to perform cost analysis on maintenance contracts to evaluate if the district is receiving the best pricing from their contracts. I would like to assess if there are any contracts that can be converted to jobs in order to grow our maintenance department and save money in operations.
I would like to raise the graduation rate and student achievement scores. Presently, we have the 4th highest retention (failure) rate in the state of Florida at almost 11% in the 12th grade. The district has in the past encouraged students to enter into GED programs or charter schools when they are in high school due to not having sufficient credits. I want to establish a strong program and foundation that begins in elementary school, where we can identify students that will need the extra help and assign them a special education counselor that can follow them to assure they receive the best education they can have and be successful.
I have the knowledge, experience, motivation and vision to see a real world class system in the Lee County School District. I am not afraid to speak up and have attended many board meetings over the years and have been active in communicating with board members on many, many occasions. We need accountability, commitment, transparency and security. All these areas have been in dire need of attention and dedication.
The Lee County School District needs someone that will be outspoken and well versed with accurate and truthful data in order to move this district forward. Being a board member for District 3 is not only exclusive to Estero. District 3 covers Bonita Beach, San Carlos Park, Iona, South Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach. More importantly, a school board member represents all the students in every area. All students have a right to equal education opportunities regardless of which district they live in.