Florida
Meet Kimberly Hough, running for Brevard School Board District 5, Florida
Throughout her time living in Florida, Kimberly has noticed that many bills have been passed in her state that push back against teachers, the LGBTQ community, and fair education. Certain books have been banned for having gay characters, and critical race theory has been framed as dangerous and wrong. To Kimberly, these are steps in the wrong direction.
This is why her #1 focus is protecting public education in a way that makes sure children are getting the education they deserve. Kimberly told us that there are currently 151 teacher positions open where she lives. School teachers in Florida make about 20,000 less than the national average, and it’s becoming harder to find teachers who are willing to work for such little money. This is what needs to change.
Last year, Kimberly joined forces with other parents in her community to start Families for Safe Schools. As a non-profit, they advocate for covid safety, LGBTQ student protection, fair teacher pay, gun safety, and making sure kids learn the importance of accurate history. Families for Safe Schools gained lots of momentum in the past year and this is part of why Kimberly decided she needed to run for the school board position. Here’s what motivates Kimberly: making sure that public schools in her county stay protected. She has two young children herself, so Kimberly is very aware of how important it is to preserve their right to proper and fair education—along with every other child in her district. In Kimberly’s words, “It’s do or die at this point.”
Kimberly told us that the Governor of Florida stands in the way of her district making progress towards unbiased education. Recently, the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill was introduced by the Governor and aims to censor any and all mention of anything related to the LGBTQ community. Kimberly knows that it will be hard to make progress under this leadership but that doesn’t discourage her from standing up for what she believes in.
Kimberly wants to see a future where kids can go to school and not face bullying or discrimination for being themselves. She wants to see schools full of books and information about all different types of people as opposed to schools that ban topics like sexuality and race. Overall, she hopes to see a world where people have the liberty to be who they are without their existence being attacked by others. She believes that all kids need a proper education to be nurtured into good adults.
Something that Kimberly wants the world to know about her community is that there are many reasonable people who want the same things for the children in their communities! She pointed out that the people with the wildest ideas get the most attention but many people around her are progressive thinking and ready to help make change happen. Her community is like a huge, beautiful beach town with a booming aerospace industry and beautiful beaches.
Kimberly is a huge animal lover and has 3 dogs, 4 cats, 3 guinea pigs, and a saltwater fish tank! She has always been a person who brings animals into her home and spends some of her time outside of campaigning fostering huskies until they find permanent homes! To Kimberly, children are the future and they need protection now.