Mindy Koch

Non-Partisan | Florida

Candidate Profile

Leans Liberal

BIOGRAPHY

Name

Mindy Koch


Party

Non-Partisan


Election Year

2024


Election

Primary


Race

The School District of Palm Beach County School Board, District 5


Incumbent

No


Links

Mindy Koch websites FacebookFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

EDUCATION

Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Ed.D, 2000

WORK & MILITARY

Candidate did not provide

AFFILIATIONS

Congregation B'nai Istael, Former member of the Board of Trustees and Hebrew School President

POLITICAL OFFICES HELD

Candidate did not provide

POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT

Ft. Senate, Florida House, 2014, 1016

ENDORSEMENTS

LIBERAL (5)

Lori Berman; Tina Polsky; Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association; Palm Beach-Treasure Coast AFL-CIO; Palm Beach County National Organization for Women (NOW)

OTHER (1)

Kelly Skidmore

REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)

Senators Tina Polsky and Lori Berman, House Reps. Kelly Skidmore and Katherine Waldron, AFL/CIO, CTA, Boca Raton City Council Members Thomson and Drucker, former Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher, NOW, Port Commissioner Dr. Jean Enright, , Northern PBC Improvement District Board Supervisor Ellen Baker, Tax Collector Anne Gannon

SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS


LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (6)

Local, County, and District Democratic Organizations (2024); State Democratic Party Organizations (2023); Adam Schiff (2018); Lois Frankel (2018); Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (2017)

RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)

American Federation of Teachers (2016)

SELECTED FINANCIAL SOURCE DOCUMENTS

Campaign Treasurer's Report - P1 2024 (04/01/2024 - 06/14/2024) from Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections

Selected contributions/expenditures:

  • $1,000.00 contribution from Friends of Lori Berman PAC
  • $1,000.00 contribution from Americans for Progress PAC
  • $14.93 in expenditures to ActBlue

QUESTIONNAIRE

RIGHT TO LIFE

Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.

Strongly Disagree

What role should the school serve in helping a student with an unwanted or crisis pregnancy?

There is no role a school should take in this instance.


RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Teachers should be required to instruct students on mandated curriculum even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.

Strongly Agree

In Florida's Principles of Professional conduct it states, "a teacher shall take reasonable precautions to distinguish between personal views and those of any educational or organization with which the individual is affiliated and shall not intentionally distort or misrepresent facts concerning an educational matter in direct or indirect public expression." From these statements it can be inferred that teaching the mandated curriculum is parTeaching the mandated curriculum is the teacher's job.


ECONOMY

Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.

Strongly Agree

What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?

In my opinion, America is the great nation it is today because we provide a free and appropriate education to all children from Pre-K through their 19th birthday.


EDUCATION

Abortion and gender-affirming providers, including Planned Parenthood, should be a resource for instruction or services in the school.

Disagree

Consistent discipline creates a safe and orderly environment, which is essential for student learning.

Strongly Agree

Do you believe print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review, including those without children enrolled in school?

Yes

Educators should give students a thorough education in America's founding documents and cultivate American patriotism.

Strongly Agree

I support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Strongly Agree

I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.

Strongly Disagree

Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): American History, Art & Music, Civics, Critical Race Theory, Foreign Language, Gender Identity, Information Technology, Language Arts, Mathematics, Personal Finances, Physical Fitness, Political Activism, Science, Sexuality, Social Emotional Learning, Vocational Learning

Language Arts, Math, American History, Civics (given in the 7th grade), Science, Information Technology, Art & Music, Foreign Language, Physical Fitness, Vocational Learning in high school. Critical Race theory has never been taught in Florida, to my knowledge. Gender Identity is not taught in Florida, to my knowledge. Social Emotional Learning is not taught in Florida. Sexuality is taught in appropriate grades.

The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child instead of the bureaucracy, through a program which allows parents the freedom to choose their child's school – public, private, or homeschool.

Disagree

Which should students have: equity of outcomes or equality of opportunities?

Do stakeholders want equity of outcomes or equality of opportunities are difficult to answer. Of course each child should receive what they need to develop their full academic potential but the "one size fits all" does not always achieve the expected outcomes in education. Very often, different levels of support must be offered to achieve fairness.

Which type of written parental consent should be obtained before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE)? (A) Opt-In. (B) Opt-Out. (C) None.

B) Opt out


2ND AMENDMENT

Faculty who are licensed to carry and have had ongoing training should be allowed to carry guns at school in order to respond to an active shooter situation.

Strongly Disagree

Recently, the Palm Beach ran an article that revealed a man who wanted to become a guardian was at a training exercise when he accidentally shot himself in the hip. Just imagine if that same man accidentally shot one of the children in his classroom. I can't imagine how awful that teacher would feel and how dangerous guns in classrooms can really be.


OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES

In the event of a pandemic, school districts can mandate whatever health precautions they deem necessary (including masks and vaccines) to protect students and staff.

Strongly Agree


ABOUT YOU

Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.

No

Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.

No

I voted in these primaries and general elections:

Choose not to answer

I have voted in every Florida election, when I was entitled to vote, with the exception of 1 between the years 1985 and today.

When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?

Moderate


VALUES

Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.

Did not answer

Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?

Florida schools are not required to teach sex education; they are required to teach health education that includes instruction on teenage pregnancy. Parents can opt-out of this portion of the health education course and then they would be responsible for their child's sex education and the decision when to talk to their children about this would be made by the parents as well.

If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- abortion methods and side effects; abstinence; consent; contraceptive methods; human anatomy/the reproductive system; physical and emotional health outcomes; sex acts and pleasures of sex; sexual orientation and gender identity; stages of pregnancy and fetal development

Human anatomy/reproductive system and physical, contraceptive methods and emotional health outcomes should be taught. To my knowledge Abortion methods, abstinence, sex acts and the pleasures of sex; sexual orientation and gender identity are not taught in school.

Children have a right to reach maturity without chemical or surgical castration, which would damage their healthy bodies through surgeries and may cause a life-long dependence on cross-sex hormones.

Strongly Disagree

This is not a decision for me to make. A parent should make decisions they believe to be in the best interests of their children.

Children have the right to be protected from sexual grooming (including drag shows and explicit materials) in schools and libraries.

Neutral

To my knowledge this does not happen in public schools.

Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman essential to the formation and sustaining of a civil and prosperous society.

Strongly Disagree

Parents have the fundamental right to raise their child in accordance with their beliefs and values, including the right to make decisions about the child's education and healthcare.

Strongly Agree

Parents should have full and timely access to any and all records, including school and medical records, associated with their minor children.

Strongly Agree

Parents do have full access to any and all records regarding their minor children.


ELECTIONS AND VOTING

People should be able to vote without photo identification.

Strongly Disagree

Voters in Florida may cast a provisional ballot, provided they haven't previously voted in that elections and are voting in the correct precinct. According to Florida Law:101.048 (2)(a)," a provisional ballot will be examined by the county canvassing board Provisional Ballot Voter's Certificate and Affirmation to determine if the person voting was entitled to vote." 101.048 (2)(b) says that if the voter cast a ballot in the correct precinct & the signature matches the ballot will be counted.


EQUALITY

Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.

Neutral

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