Charlie Kennedy
Political platform statement
From Candidates website
Experience Matters
The choice is clear for voters. Charlie Kennedy is the only candidate in the District 3 race with two decades of experience in K-12 education, policy and governance of Manatee County.
Manatee County voters elected Kennedy to the school board twice where he served from 2014-2022. During his tenure, his board colleagues selected him to serve twice as chair and twice as vice chair. Kennedy, along with the board majority, asked Manatee County citizens to vote for additional millage funds to support teachers, staff, and academic enrichments. This advocacy effort was highly successful, resulting in Manatee voters supporting the initial measure in 2018 and a renewal in 2021. Currently, Manatee County teachers are among the highest paid in the state, due to that effort.
A dedicated educator and community leader
Charlie Kennedy is a dedicated educator and community leader with extensive experience in both teaching and educational governance. He is currently serving as a PE Coach at Daughtrey Elementary and is running for the School Board of Manatee County, District 3.
Kennedy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a M.A. Education from Duquesne University.Charlie has taught various subjects, including US History, Economics, and Current Events at YouthBuild Charter School in Washington, DC and Manatee High School and IMG Academies in Bradenton. He also coached JV Basketball and Boys Cross Country.
From 2014 to 2022, Charlie served as an elected member of the School Board for Manatee County Schools, focusing on policy, governance, and child advocacy. In this role, he was re-elected in 2018 due to his impactful work.
In 2022, after declining to run for re-election, Charlie became the Community Partnership School Director at Daughtrey Elementary. There, he coordinated services to support low-income families and students at Daughtrey Elementary, fostering community growth and academic success through collaboration with local nonprofits and health services.