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Rodney Moore running for school board

Rodney S. Moore announces his candidacy for Gadsden County School Board, District 2.

A Gadsden County native, Moore is the third of four children born to Earnest and Mary Youmans Moore. He is a member of St. Matthew Primitive Baptist Church and the West Florida Livestock Association. After graduating from James A. Shanks High School in 1983, Moore attended Tallahassee Community College, where he earned an associate’s in criminal justice.

In August 1986, Moore entered the Florida Highway Patrol Academy. Since graduating, he worked thirteen years as a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, served four years as Quincy Police Chief and was a Gadsden County Sheriff’s Deputy from 2004 to 2017. In all, Moore served 27 years in law enforcement and retired a sergeant over the Criminal Investigative Unit of the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office.

Moore says his experience in law enforcement has afforded him unique insight into the current state of education in the Gadsden County School District.

“My experiences have allowed me to see the results of a school system that has benefitted the minority and failed the majority. You see, the effects don’t stop at the home of the student who dropped out, who has been expelled, or who can’t seem to pass the [Florida Standards Assessments]. The effects are revealed in our neighborhoods, where homes are being burglarized, drugs are being sold, and young men and women are juggling the challenges of parenthood rather than their courseload at a local university,” Moore said.

Frustrated with “brain drain” – the departure of Gadsden County’s best and brightest students – Moore said “it’s time to place a higher demand on what we expect for our children and county.”

“How bright is the future that you see for our county?” Moore asks. “The majority of students who are fortunate enough to graduate, and go on to secure a higher education or enlist in the military, are not returning to Gadsden County. They are taking their abilities to help other communities prosper, while Gadsden County remains a dim light in the rearview mirror of their lives.”

Moore said he believes reversing this trend will require specific action from the school system. As a school board member, Moore said he’d like to: (1) offer alternatives to suspension and expulsion; (2) recruit and offer incentives “for our sons and daughters to return home” to invest in Gadsden County; (3) stop talking and start working toward eradicating drug and gang problems in local schools; (4) start making decisions that are right and not just popular; (5) demand accountability “where otherwise we have only gotten excuses” and (6) afford local teachers salaries comparable with those in neighboring counties.

“As a resident, parent, and retired law enforcement officer, I am eager for the manifestation of pertinent issues in our communities and school system to actually be productively addressed,” Moore said. “Residents of District 2, you need a qualified candidate who was born, reared and stationed here, who cares about the future of our county, who is not concerned about titles or pats on the back, and who is willing to make the tough decisions that are in the best interest of our students and all stakeholders. I am asking for your vote on Aug. 28, 2018. Let us stand together for accountability and progress, and let us work together to make a difference!”

Special to The Herald
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