In February 2020, Alex Stemle filed to run for Leon County School Board, District 4. Incumbent Dee Dee Rasmussen is also running for the position.
Stemle is currently the Dean of Students at Deerlake Middle School. He has lived in the district his whole life and attended Sealey Elementary School, Raa Middle School, Leon High School, and Maclay School, and he earned his Master of Business Administration and Master of Educational Leadership from Florida State University.
Questions
What motivated you to run for local office?
“As a life-long district resident who attended Sealey Elementary School, Raa Middle School, and Leon High School and a graduate of Maclay School, I am excited for an opportunity to serve my fellow residents. As a current Leon County educator, I personally see the daily challenges facing our educational communities, yet I am extremely optimistic that there are workable solutions if we have involved leadership.”
“Our local schools need a new voice, fresh ideas, and an experienced perspective to address the challenges facing our classrooms and families. My wife Katie and I are proud parents of two boys, 7 and 4, who are just beginning their educational journey in our local schools and I look forward to using my leadership skills to improve our local educational community.”
What unique perspective would you bring to the position?
“With over 19 years of education experience I have a unique perspective to our community schools. With a Master of Business Administration and Master of Educational Leadership, I have been able to successfully implement new programs that support student achievement though strong partnerships and positive relationships within all our local schools. If elected, I will foster positive school culture through continuous dialog with staff, parents, and administrators by being an active and frequent presence at each school.”
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Leon County Schools?
“I believe the greatest challenge facing our schools is the ability to create a path to success for every student at each school. School communities need freedom and autonomy to differentiate their approach based on individual student needs. When school board members work closely with school leadership and teachers, they can ensure policies, procedures, and budget priorities are aligned to support the needs of our classrooms. I also bring a strong voice back to District 4 schools, so many of which have felt underrepresented or overlooked in the past.”
“While I give the current school board member credit for recognizing she has a conflict of interest, her abstaining from votes has left our schools with no representation on some of the largest expenditures facing the board. As our community schools continue to address growth challenges from new housing developments, school choice, and older schools it is imperative our school board representative can vote on the budget items that are critical to building capacity and improvements so that your local school flourishes.”
What is your plan to address these challenges?
“If elected, I will be an active and frequent presence in our schools and provide a new voice for our students, classrooms and parents. I would like to see board policies that facilitate multiple long-term community partnerships that support community wide efforts while offering solutions in our schools. I truly believe every individual, business, and civic organization in this community can provide resources that fit within and improve our school district. Creating partnerships that fund resource gaps and provide wrap around services to our most fragile students is critical to ensuring every child is prepared and learning each day.”
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Responsibilities of the School Board include setting the school district’s policies and budget. The School Board position has a four-year term length and an annual salary of $39,135.00. The deadline to qualify for the position is June 12, 2020. The primary election date is August 18 and the general election date is November 3.
Website: https://www.alexstemle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.stemle
Campaign contribution and expenditure information is available here.
Ahead of the 2020 local election season, Tallahassee Reports has asked all local candidates to answer basic questions about their candidacy. The answers to the questions are in the candidates own words.The goal is to get as much information out to voters as possible. More focused questions will be addressed as the election draws nearer.
School Board Candidate Profile: Alex Stemle added by Lexie Pitzen on
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Crooked de de needs to be replaced.
Good Luck Mr.Stemle, we are rooting you on. You have our family vote along with most of our neighbors here in District 4. Go get-em.
Good point Hope. Will he resign from his LCS position? If not then we have traded one COI for another. Will TR staff investigate that question please?
Does this canidate intend to resign his current position?
Mrs.Rasmussen should immediately submit for an ETHICS review and opinion. I am shocked she this community and the school board has not pushed for that. Hope and Tiger you both can stop the bias banter. This would help your defense efforts of your candidates. Why can’t we all just do the right thing.
There are so many parents and teachers unhappy and dissatisfied with the current state of education in Leon County Public Schools. That can only mean one thing… incumbents/leadership have failed and have to go. I’m perfectly willing to give this gentleman my vote, and, hold him to the same standard going forward. Best of luck sir, and don’t let us down should you succeed in this endeavor.
Candidate Stemle
Will you publicly pledge to require a school board inquiry into the actions taken by Rocky Hanna which cost the school board $600,000? Rocky admitted to the school board attorney Hank Cox that he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing and that he made up the facts and innuendo that he sent to state and federal authorities. As a school board member and as a school board corporate entity it is about time to hold Mr Hanna accountable for costing taxpayers $600,000.
Hope- IN my opinion this will not even be brought up from her opponent in a campaign. I would but I am sure he will play it safe. My point was it needs to be looked into. To say there is nothing there is crazy talk.
Tiger-
In my opinion you are the candidate or the candidate is close to you.
If you have some solid information regarding your opponent then bring it, but otherwise you are beating a dead horse. Tell us what you are about and what you can do.
That’s what Gillum did he didn’t have a platform or any accomplishments so his thing was to beat up his opponent when the opponent was the one with accomplishments and a solid platform.
And name-calling people who don’t agree with you is not getting off to a good start.
P.S. Vote Tommy Mills for Sheriff! He is a good man and Walt McNeil gives our taxpayer dollars to Sean Pittman for a lobbying contract which is nothing more than a down payment to run his re-election campaign.
Please vote Tommy Mills!!!
There should have been an ethics opinion submitted for this! Deedee or the vendors in her association have to cease. Highly unethical, possibly illegal.
(1.001.43-Section 12-Finance- (i) Contracts for materials, supplies, and services.)
https://tallahasseereports.com/2020/01/23/lcs-school-board-member-will-not-vote-on-construction-related-issues/
https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2018/1001.42
Dee Dee did disclose the conflict and I don’t believe she voted so I don’t see the problem.
If that is your platform you need to go back to the drawing board.
Will you require that all positions be advertised? Will you require that the people that Rocky put in positions without job advertisement are put back in classrooms?