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Hillsborough School Board candidates address security, budget crisis, a possible tax referendum

 
Eight Hillsborough School Board candidates attended a question-and-answer session Friday hosted by the Tiger Bay Club in Tampa. They are, from left: Joseph Caetano, Stacy Hahn, incumbent Sally Harris, Scott Hottenstein, Robert Pechacek, Bill Person, Mitchell Smithey and Kelso Tanner. [MARLENE SOKOL   |   Times]
Eight Hillsborough School Board candidates attended a question-and-answer session Friday hosted by the Tiger Bay Club in Tampa. They are, from left: Joseph Caetano, Stacy Hahn, incumbent Sally Harris, Scott Hottenstein, Robert Pechacek, Bill Person, Mitchell Smithey and Kelso Tanner. [MARLENE SOKOL | Times]
Published March 23, 2018

TAMPA — Asked to choose between money for school safety or teacher pay, six of eight candidates for the Hillsborough County School Board said Friday that safety was more important.

But some said it was a false choice. Stacy Hahn — one of the two who chose teacher pay — said, "I think we do a good job keeping our kids safe in school."

And none of the eight were in favor of arming school employees, even though about half had experience in the military or law enforcement.

"As a teacher, I lose my PowerPoint clicker all the time," said Robert Pechacek of Coleman Middle School, who is running for the districtwide seat that April Griffin will vacate this year.

READ THE GRADEBOOK: The talk of Florida education

The question-and-answer session at Tampa's Tiger Bay Club gave candidates a chance to share their views on state education policy, growing competition from privately managed charter schools, and the delicate question of whether the public will pay higher local taxes to better fund the schools.

Incumbent Sally Harris said she would support a tax referendum campaign "because I believe that this community believes in education."

Hahn, one of her opponents, said she does not know if a tax referendum would pass, given the public's distrust of the School Board and administration.

Others agreed with Hahn, highlighting the dilemma supporters of a referendum now face: Hillsborough is nearly $1 billion in debt and has deferred nearly $1 billion more in maintenance needs as it has spent tens of millions on innovative projects and outside contracts.

The more officials reveal about past and current spending practices, the more they open themselves up to criticism.

"If we have a referendum, I'm for that," said Scott Hottenstein, a Barrington Middle School teacher also running for Griffin's seat. "But we need to be transparent. We need to be transparent and we need to communicate better."

Mitchell Smithey, running in the same race, said it would make more sense to investigate why parents are sending more than 20,000 students to charter schools instead of those run by the district.

"If they're not going to trust us to put their children in our schools," he said, "they're not going to sign on for a referendum."

Bill Person, a second-time candidate in that same race, spent much of his time correcting a perception — based on a recent email by superintendent Jeff Eakins — that Hillsborough faces a $16 million deficit.

"The problem is much bigger than $16 million," he said. "We need $16 million just to get right with the teachers" according to their salary schedule.

"This ship is still sinking, we're still taking on water, and it's going to get worse this summer."

Only two of this year's three open races were represented at Friday's event. No one was there from East Hillsborough's District 4, where incumbent Melissa Snively faces LaShonda Davison.

Henry "Shake" Washington, who is running in the districtwide race, was not there. Jessica Vaughn, a teacher who was in that race, withdrew earlier in the day and watched from the audience.

Remarks from Kelso Tanner, who entered the districtwide race in June, consisted largely of criticisms of Griffin and others now serving on the board.

He said Griffin lacked good communication skills, citing a heated argument she had with other board members during a training exercise. "You have to have respect for each other, and your excuse cannot be, 'Oh, I didn't know that the press was there,'" he said.

He also said board members have no business traveling on the public dime "like they're royalty."

Joseph Caetano, a former City Council member who is challenging Harris in District 2, said teachers should receive the salaries they are promised, and that the schools should offer trade skills to students because "if you learn a trade, you can make money."

June 22 is the deadline for qualifying to run for the seven-member board. Members serve four-year terms and earn $44,000 a year.

Contact Marlene Sokol at (813) 226-3356 or msokol@tampbay.com. Follow @marlenesokol.