Ron Long, vice chair of the Flagler County Planning and Development Advisory Board, is running for the District 4 seat on the Flagler County School Board. In a recent interview, he discussed his background, his views on the district’s budget, and several issues facing local schools.
Why He’s Running
Long said he has lived in Flagler County for nearly 25 years, raising three children who all graduated from the public school system. He spent his career in construction, working on job sites rather than as a developer or builder. A workplace injury three years ago ended his construction career and gave him time to get more involved in local government, which he said had long been an interest of his. He said his wife encouraged him to attend meetings in person rather than watch them from home. That involvement led to his appointment as vice chair of the county’s Planning and Development Advisory Board.
Long said watching school board meetings, including one that lasted nine hours, convinced him the board lacks the kind of working relationship needed to function well. He said his experience serving on a public board, along with his time managing budgets and problem-solving in construction, prepared him for the role. He described the run as a passion rather than a source of income.
Academics, Technical Education, and Safety
Long pointed to several concerns facing the district, starting with kindergarten readiness, saying only 37% of children are showing up prepared for school. He also said he’d like to see more technical and vocational school options in Flagler County, similar to programs he remembers from his childhood in Duval County that covered trades such as auto mechanics, welding, and dental hygiene. He said the district currently leans toward preparing students for college rather than offering a broader range of career paths, though he credited existing programs for effort in that area.
Long said safety was consistently the top concern he heard from parents while collecting signatures to get on the ballot, including from homeschooling families. He said parents raised concerns about bullying and classroom behavior, and said he does not believe the district is putting enough focus on identifying and addressing internal and external threats to schools.
The District Budget and Vehicle Fleet
Long said nearly every issue facing the district ultimately comes back to how money is spent. He said he requested an inventory of the district’s “white fleet” of vehicles — cars and vans used by staff and teachers — after noticing a large number parked at the county courthouse. He said the list he received showed roughly twice as many vehicles as he expected, and that the district could not provide him with a log tracking when and how the vehicles were used.
He also raised concerns about a bus technology pilot program he said cost around $80,000 to install in 15 to 20 buses, was never activated, and was removed after about four months. He described this as an example of poor budget management that, if corrected, could free up money elsewhere.
Long noted that Flagler is rated an “A” school district and said four schools saw their grades improve this year, calling that encouraging. However, he said only about 60% of students are performing at grade level, which he said means those students still need help to keep pace, and said an even smaller share are performing at a fully “proficient” level. He said the district’s student population has grown by about 1,200 over the past decade while the budget has nearly doubled in that time, a gap he said needs closer scrutiny.
Teacher and Staff Retention
Long said the district offers incentives to recruit new teachers and retirement benefits for those who stay long enough, but little in between to retain staff in the middle of their careers. He said he has heard from teachers with 10 to 15 years of experience making less than $60,000 a year.
He said addressing retention starts with closely reviewing the budget line by line to find savings, such as the bus technology program, that could be redirected toward pay for teachers, bus drivers, paraprofessionals, and custodial staff. He also said many staff members he has spoken with feel undervalued and unheard within the district, and said building what he called a “culture of value” is as important as pay in retaining employees.
Long said he believes school board members should attend legislative days in Tallahassee to advocate against state mandates that come with limited funding attached.
District-Owned Properties
Asked about public interest in school district property, including the former Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club — now used as a wellness center — Long said properties too small to support a functioning school should be bundled together and sold, with proceeds redirected to the budget.
He said both the Belle Terre pool and the district’s Frieda Zamba pool are functionally obsolete and would require significant investment to bring back to a usable standard, even though they would remain too small to adequately serve the community. He said he personally has fond memories at both facilities, but does not believe further investment in them would be a good use of district funds.
Long said a roughly seven-acre district-owned property near a hospital on Palm Coast Parkway was the subject of a recent purchase offer that the board correctly turned down, since the offer only covered part of the parcel and would have left the district with an unusable narrow strip of land. He said the district could potentially use proceeds from selling other properties, combined with grants, to build a smaller pool on that site dedicated to school swim teams and programs, which he estimated could cost the district $750,000 to $1 million a year to operate. He said the city and district are also in early discussions with the YMCA about a possible community pool option.
School Resource Officers and the Homestead Exemption
Long said he generally supports reducing or eliminating property taxes, but suggested a more gradual approach, such as starting with seniors over 65, rather than a broad, immediate cut. He said a significant reduction in county and city revenue could threaten funding for school resource officers, some of which are funded by Flagler County and Palm Coast rather than the school district itself.
He said school district property taxes are set by the state and are not directly affected by the proposed homestead exemption, and said if the county and city lose revenue, he hopes they would find budget reductions elsewhere rather than cutting emergency services or resource officers. He said he supports having two resource officers at every school if funding allows, and again pointed to what he described as excess administrative spending and underused vehicles as places to look for savings first.
School Vouchers and Accountability
Long said he supports the state’s school voucher and grant program, which allows funding to follow students who choose homeschooling or private school. He said one problem he has heard about is that funding does not always transfer back to the public school system quickly when a student returns mid-year.
He said he believes the state’s existing vetting of homeschool and private school curricula is generally sufficient, and referenced comments from a community member suggesting that public school districts face far more administrative red tape than homeschool or private school families do to qualify for funding. Long said he would support reducing some of that red tape for public school districts. He also pointed to a reduction in the state’s public school tax rate over the past decade as an example of the state exercising significant control over local school funding.
Transportation and Bus Drivers
Long said Flagler County faces the same bus driver shortage as the rest of the state. He said pay is a common concern among drivers he has spoken with, but that many also want more input into decisions affecting their jobs and said administrative decisions are often handed down without consulting the drivers who do the work daily.
He again pointed to the canceled bus technology program as an example of spending he believes could instead go toward driver pay, and said improving pay and workplace culture could help attract more drivers, which he said is particularly needed for Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten transportation, since VPK schedules differ from the regular school day.
Closing Pitch to Voters
Asked why voters should choose him over his opponents, Long pointed to his nearly 25 years living in Flagler County, his background in construction working directly with budgets and crews, and his experience serving on the county’s Planning and Development Advisory Board. He said he believes his experience working with people who “sling the hammers” gives him insight that would help him navigate what he described as clear divisions on the current school board.
