Campaign Phone
772-267-7364
Professional Experience
Donna Mills is the Founder and CEO of Save Our Children Tutorial, Recreational and Cultual Center for 38 years. She has also been a SLC School Board Member for 16 years.
Community Involvement
Dr. Donna Mills is the founder and CEO of a non-profit named Save Our Children Inc.(SOC). SOC is a 501c3 afterschool and SummerCamp Tutorial Center that serves underprivileged children in the inner city, ages 5 to 15. She also currently serves on the following Boards: Saint Lucie County Public School Board, St. Lucie County Early Learning Coalition Board, St. Lucie County Education Foundation Board, Save Our Children Inc. Board, The ALPI Agricultural and Labor Program Inc. and St. Andrews Episcopal K* Academy. In 2018 she was endorsed by both the Teachers Union (CTA/CTU), CWA Union and Palm Beach/Treasure Coast AFL-CIO Union. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” ~Martin Luther King
Educational Background
She has a Associate of Arts Degree from IRSC, a Bachelor Degree from FAU, a Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate Degree from Jacksonville Theological,
I am very passionate about student achievement and success. I have helped the SLCPSD become an a strong "A" District and we have excel in many areas. Our graduation rate, for the past 9 years has been above 90%. We have close all student sub-groups academic gaps among white, black and hispanic students. There is still much work to be done. I want to continue my work as a board member in order to continue my effort to make a difference in every child's life in SLC.
I am a proven leader and educator. I been an activist and advocate for St. St. Lucie children and families for many years. I have successfully worked directly with children of all ages in our community for 40 years. I have develop afterschool programs, daycares and a private school for struggling youth. I am also a long term School Board member of 16 years. As a Board Member, I have help to create over 40 different technical and career programs and developed over 50 choices.students can choose towards their chosen careers. This year our high school graduating class of 3,501 students earned 2,348 certifications and workforce credit. They are workforce ready.
Making sure we continue to recruit and retain qualified teachers and support staff in the district is critical for me. Our employees need to be paid respectable wages. Wages that will support their families.and keep them in SLC.
This is a problem we must go to Tallahassee to solve. We, as voters and community must do a better job at calling and lobbying our State legislators and Senators.and demanding better pay. for our employees. More people must vote and advocate for salary increases.
I would love to see more participation from the public to come to school board meetings and speak to the board directly regarding any unresolved issues and concerns they may have. We have a time set aside in which we hear public comments. People can also write letters to the board sharing concerns. We send all letters to the Superintendent asking him to look into every case and to give us a report back as to what was done. They can also call individual Board members. I, personally, am very attentive and respond immediately to all calls and letters sent to me.
I believe that parents should be able to chose the school that works for their children. Parents need to really investigate private schools to ensure their child gets an excellent education and the State should hold the same State statues, standards, and requirements for private as they do public. Only then should public funds to used to provide vouchers for private schools. ALL educational institutions, public or private, must be held accountable for our children's educational success.
Campaign Phone
772-206-0220
Professional Experience
Ben "Zag" Zagrobelny is a working-class father and board-certified security executive who rose from entry-level work to international recognition through results, not connections. He advises his current employer on major client contracts and independently consults on protection programs for schools, houses of worship, and non-profits. He's directed teams of 200+, managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and led line-by-line audits exposing waste and redirecting resources. His investigative background—protective intelligence, threat assessment, and analysis—means he verifies facts before accepting claims, an approach he'll bring to scrutinizing school district budgets & policy. He's not a politician; he's a parent demanding accountability.
Community Involvement
As a nearly lifelong St. Lucie County resident and working-class father, Zag has spent his career serving the community behind the scenes — advising and consulting for schools, faith-based organizations, and non-profits on protection and safety planning, often for groups with limited resources. He has contributed to national-standards development work for his profession, mentored and trained security personnel and volunteers, and led community-wide emergency response and recovery efforts during major hurricanes. His involvement has consistently centered on protecting vulnerable community institutions and helping local organizations operate more safely and efficiently — the same public-service mindset driving his campaign.
Educational Background
Zag holds an executive education certificate from a Florida university and is board-certified as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP®) — the protection industry's most rigorous international credential, earned through examination and verified field experience. He has also completed specialized qualifications in human trafficking investigation, workplace violence and threat assessment, and social media intelligence analysis, alongside instructor-level training in active-shooter response and emergency management. Rather than one traditional path, he built his expertise through continuous, career-focused certification and hands-on training — the same alternative-pathways model he champions for St. Lucie County students.
I'm running because I'm a St. Lucie County father first. I've spent my career protecting people — now it's time to protect our children's future. I see budgets misspent, parents talked over instead of heard, and students without real pathways beyond college alone. I'm not a career politician; I'm a working parent who built a career from the ground up through discipline and results. I'll bring that same critical, accountable scrutiny to our schools — for every child, every path, every dollar.
My opponent has served on this board for 16 years — I respect that experience, but I believe it's time for a fresh, independent perspective. I'm not a career politician; I'm a working-class father who built a career from entry-level work to board-certified security leadership through results, not connections. That background gives me real, hands-on skills in budget analysis, operational auditing, and investigative scrutiny — skills I'll apply directly to our district's spending and policies. I'm also a strong advocate for equally funding every pathway — college, trades, arts, entrepreneurship — reflecting my own non-traditional education. I answer to parents and taxpayers, not institutional inertia or the status quo.
The most critical issues are budgetary accountability, parental rights, and equal pathways for every student. Too often, spending decisions lack the line-by-line scrutiny needed to ensure dollars reach classrooms instead of bureaucracy. Parents deserve to be treated as partners in decisions about their children's education, not sidelined by the system. And not every student is college-bound — trades, arts, and entrepreneurship deserve the same funding, respect, and support as a four-year degree track. Beyond that, school safety remains paramount; my security background gives me a unique, practical lens on protecting students and staff. These issues demand a board member who asks hard questions and demands real results.
For budget accountability, I'd push for detailed, public line-by-line budget reviews and independent audits of major contracts and spending, flagging waste before it's approved. For parental rights, I'd advocate clear, proactive communication channels so parents are informed and consulted on curriculum, safety, and policy decisions — not notified after the fact. For equal pathways, I'd champion expanded, fully-funded vocational and trade programs alongside college-prep tracks, so every student has a real, respected route to their future. On safety, I'd apply my security-management background to ensure school protection plans are practical, properly resourced, and regularly tested. Real leadership means asking hard questions.
I'd push for genuine, two-way engagement rather than box-checking. That means open, well-publicized public comment periods before curriculum or textbook decisions are finalized, clear online transparency on materials under review, and real parent/community advisory input — not just after-the-fact notification. On bullying and safety, I'd bring my security-management background to ensure policies are practical, consistently enforced, and shaped with input from parents, teachers, and students, not just administrators. For technology, I'd insist on public cost-benefit review before major purchases, weighing classroom value against budget impact. On teacher shortages, I'd engage directly with educators and staff to understand root causes — pay, workload, support — and bring those voices into board discussions. Across every issue, my approach is the same: listen first, scrutinize the facts and budgets involved, then act with accountability to the public, not institutional convenience.
Yes. Parents, not the school system, should have the final say in what educational path best serves their child — public, charter, private, or vocational. That's the same "equal pathways" principle I champion for trades and non-traditional education: if we fund one legitimate route to a child's future, we shouldn't shut the door on others parents choose in good faith. That said, choice without accountability is empty. Any voucher program must include real transparency — clear reporting on public dollars spent and verified outcomes, the same scrutiny I demand of every public school budget. Choice and accountability have to go hand in hand, or it isn't serving families — it's just moving money around.
