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JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEKWhen Hernando school officials learn that Gov. Jeb Bush wants to stop by this fall, they let loose with criticism about his education policies.
BROOKSVILLE - Hernando County's all-Republican School Board lit up when superintendent Wendy Tellone announced Tuesday that Gov. Jeb Bush wants to visit this fall.
What better time to tell the Republican governor how bad his education policies are? board members reasoned.
Bush's education priorities, cast into law by a Republican-dominated Legislature, are a disaster, said Jim Malcolm, the board's longest-tenured member and a former Democrat. Malcolm called the most recent legislative session a "dismal failure" on the education front and castigated Bush and other party leaders in Tallahassee for trying to paint a happy face on what he considers a mess.
"People should be just irate," Malcolm said. "But they (lawmakers and the governor) keep telling us they're doing a great job."
He derided the governor and legislators for claiming to have funnelled more money into public education while districts can't afford raises and many are considering budget cuts. The state takes credit for money generated locally through property taxes, Malcolm said, and acts as if any increases, however small, come close to covering the costs of growth.
Even the most stalwart Republican members suggested that they might prefer to see Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings tour county schools, rather than Bush.
"Toni Jennings has been very supportive of education in the past," Vice Chairwoman Sandra Nicholson said, mentioning Jennings' tenure as state Senate president. "I would be very excited to see Ms. Jennings. The other guy can come, too."
Perhaps lawmakers also should make a trek to the district, board Chairman John Druzbick said, so that they can see firsthand the impact of their votes.
"I don't think they really realize that," Druzbick said. "I think it might open up some eyes, make them more sympathetic to what we're talking about."
As an example, he cited laws designed to implement the new class-size amendment. Hernando got $3.5-million to pay for more teachers but just $400,000 to build classrooms in which to put them.
"That's absurd, and I think they need to realize that," Druzbick said.
Board member Gail David, meanwhile, talked about finding ways to make the event more meaningful to the district, rather than just providing a photo opportunity for the governor.
She asked Tellone whether the governor's office is planning a "surface site visit" or whether the state leaders might participate in a forum with students to discuss pertinent issues such as mandatory testing.
"That's a very good question," responded Tellone, who sat back for much of the discussion, smirking at the politically charged reaction her announcement had generated. "We could request anything."
She added quietly that, after hearing the board's comments, "they might not come here."
For his part, Malcolm said he would like to place parameters on any time the governor or his lieutenant spends in Hernando County schools.
"For instance, could we trust that neither one of them would make any comments about education?" he said. "I am so excited."
A spokesman for the governor's office said the visit had not yet been scheduled. He said the governor routinely tours school districts, and there was nothing unusual about the request to stop in Hernando County.
- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education and politics in Hernando County. He can be reached at 352 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com