Candidate for Polk County School Board, District 5. An entrepreneur and Florida Poly trustee running on academics, transparency and accountability. Endorsed by the Polk County REC.
In their own words
- "Students First — put our kids at the center of every decision," with priority on reading, math and practical skills. source
- "Parents First": full transparency and family involvement in education. source
- "Results & Accountability": high standards and measurable improvement. source
- On teacher retention: competitive pay, performance bonuses, less bureaucracy and better discipline policies. source
- On technology: it should support learning but "must never replace reading, writing, math, or human interaction." source
Priorities as the candidate states them, each linked to where they said it. Listing a candidate is not an endorsement unless this page says so.
Sumanth "Sam" Neelam is the founder and chief executive of Odin Group, a Central Florida real estate development firm, and a trustee of Florida Polytechnic University, appointed by the Florida Board of Governors in May 2025. He also sits on the board of trustees of Florida TaxWatch. He is a candidate for District 5 on the Polk County School Board.
He holds a master's degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Hyderabad and a bachelor's degree from Andhra Loyola College in India. He began his career as a software engineer, working with AT&T, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup before founding his own company.
He has spoken about being orphaned as an infant in southern India and raised in boarding schools until he was twenty-one, and credits his schooling for everything that followed.
Campaigning, he put it this way: "I'm running for Polk County School Board District 5 because our kids deserve better." He describes growing up in poverty and succeeding "through strong academics, discipline, and the power of a good education."
On reading, he argues for systematic phonics, daily practice, vocabulary and writing over what he calls unproven trendy programs.
About this office
The Polk County School Board sets district policy, adopts the school budget, and hires the superintendent. Board members are elected by district. School board races are nonpartisan on the ballot, which means the party label does not appear next to the name — so knowing who the Republicans are is left to voters and to organizations like this committee.
The Polk County Republican Executive Committee has endorsed him in this race.