Letter to the Editor: Defining Moment for Manatee County School Board Member Dave Miner

The questionable performance and functionality of Manatee School Board member Dave Miner will be addressed in next summer’s election. Prior to serving on this current school board, he ran unsuccessfully for elected office several times. During those years, Miner self-anointed himself as "Watchdog“ in the interest of holding elected officials accountable for their ethical behavior, decisions and transparency.

As superintendent, I worked with Miner for over two years and to say that I have concerns about his standing as a school board member would be an understatement. Identifying a defining moment for him as a school board member could be a book in itself.

I find it ironic that Miner’s years of vigilance in public accountability and transparency seems to now fall deaf on his own ears. Dave Miner has several outstanding public record requests for his written communications. Some of these unfulfilled requests date to close a year. One records request resulted in litigation filed against the school district that resulted in several thousands of dollars of legal fees. Why?

At a recent board meeting Miner stated he released public documents, he requested, to the media because the public has a right to know. Does this apply to everyone else except Dave Miner? This seems to be a bit hypocritical to me as this is not the first time Miner felt policies and regulations do not apply to him– only everyone else. The Watchdog? Come on, man!

As per unwritten protocol, two-time Vice Chair Miner failed to get elected by his colleagues as Chair of the School Board last November. Let’s hope for the same outcome this November. How can you lead a school board when you don’t enforce policies and regulations for yourself? Better yet, how can you even serve on a school board given this?

Rick Mills

East Manatee