Janet Clark, a former teacher, is seeking her third term on the board. Her challenger is Elliott Stern, a retired businessman. District 1 is an at-large countywide seat, which means it's open to voters throughout Pinellas County.
School Board | District 1Janet Clark, a former teacher, is seeking her third term on the board. Her challenger is Elliott Stern, a retired businessman. District 1 is an at-large countywide seat, which means it's open to voters throughout Pinellas County. Cara Fitzpatrick, Times staff writer
About the job: School Board members oversee a $1.2 billion budget and a K-12 school system with about 101,000 students and about 17,000 employees. They serve four-year terms and are paid $40,457 a year.
| Janet Clark, 58School Board member | Elliott Stern, 73Retired businessman | |
| Nonpartisan | ||
| Clark made St. Petersburg her home in 2000 and was elected to the board in 2004. For 11 years, Clark taught students with emotional disabilities, first in Charleston County, S.C., and later at Meadowlawn Middle School in St. Petersburg. Before becoming a teacher, she worked in restaurants for 17 years. She has been involved in various community organizations such as the Homeless Leadership Network and the Family Service Centers. | Experience | Stern worked for Raymond James & Associates, a financial services company, for more than 23 years, before retiring in 2008 as a senior vice president. He works as a self-employed consultant. He has been an adjunct instructor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Eckerd College and Hillsborough Community College. He served on the board of directors of the Pinellas Education Foundation. |
| Bachelor's degree, College of Charleston in South Carolina | Education | Associate's degree, St. Petersburg College; bachelor's degree and master's of business administration, University of South Florida |
| "Saving dollars, while still providing for students. I am very excited about the possibility of Pinellas receiving the Head Start grant ... since I feel early intervention is key to solving our achievement problems." | What should be the highest priority for our new school superintendent? | Implement innovative programs, particularly to address third-grade reading literacy and high school graduation rate; involve community at-large in the schools and innovative programs. |
| "Absolutely support it. It has brought much-needed money, providing pay increases for teachers and supplements to the core curriculum for students." | Do you support renewal of a half-mil property tax for reading, art, music, technology and teacher pay? | "Yes, yes, yes. The most underrated, most under-appreciated and the most under-compensated profession in this country, including Pinellas County, is public teaching. It's also vital to expose students to all art forms." |
| "Parents want fundamental schools because they are unhappy with our regular schools. I continue to believe that providing a solid education and safe classrooms will cause the clamor to abate." | Should fundamental schools be expanded? How? | The value of fundamental schools is enormous because of the structure and parental requirements. Fundamental schools are not needed everywhere. Converting to a fundamental may be an alternative for an ineffective school. |
| Work from both ends of the achievement gap — focusing on students in school now and preschool-age children in the community. Would like to get volunteers to do home visits. | What should be done to increase the graduation rate for Pinellas' black students? | Hire more black male teachers. Create more career academy systems in north, middle and south county. Do a better job advertising existing programs. |
| $25,000 house, $4,499 car, $3,333 car | Assets | $1.5 million retirement, $820,000 home, $500,000 farm, $80,000 multiple vehicles, $15,000 bank accounts |
| $5,420 credit card; $2,808 credit card | Liabilities | None |
| $35,559 School Board salary | Income | $24,400 Social Security; $4,800 salary; $48,000 retirement; $1,900 farm |
| Married with three adult children | Personal | Married with an adult child |
| clarkfortheclassroom.com | Website | estern2012.com |
| clarkja@pcsb.org | estern@estern2012.com |
Pinellas County School Board District 1: Janet Clark, Elliott Stern, nonpartisan
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