Two running for school superintendent back the tax but diverge on what to do if it is defeated.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published March 7, 2004
Dueling Pasco County school superintendent candidates Heather Fiorentino and Chuck Rushe agree: Everyone should vote for the Penny for Pasco.
The harmony ends there.
The two Republicans diverge when it comes to declaring what they will do about school crowding if, come Tuesday, the 1-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax proposal tanks and five months from now they are elected the next school chief.
Of the district's 54 elementary, middle and high school buildings, 46 are over capacity.
"Let's just say, I hope it passes," said Fiorentino, a state representative and former classroom teacher who said she believes her "hands will be tied" if it doesn't.
Rushe, 55, chief financial officer and second-in-command over the district, has been firm in his predictions. As many as 14 schools could face double sessions within three years if voters reject the 10-year, $437-million proposal, he said.
There are other scheduling options available, he said, "but the greatest chance is that it will look like a double-session program."
Fiorentino takes it down a notch.
"I need to take an inventory," she said in a call from Tallahassee.
The 46-year-old said she would like to get suggestions from local business leaders and educators in other districts about how to best cope with the facilities needs without moving toward double sessions.
"It doesn't mean it's taken off the table," Fiorentino said of the scheduling option. "It's just not the only answer to the problem."
A legislator for six years, Fiorentino only offered one specific idea as a possible solution.
She said she would like to explore using vacant storefronts like old Kmart or Wal-Mart buildings as an inexpensive way to house children - an idea Lee County is pursuing for two schools.
"There can't be enough Kmarts in Pasco County," Rushe responded with a chuckle.
About 2,400 students entered the district this year, and officials predict that at least 2,000 more per year will continue to enroll annually, making it the fifth fastest-growing in the state.
That growth, plus existing crowding, have created a need for at least 18 new schools in 10 years, school leaders said, plus another seven state-funded schools to help the district comply with Florida's new class-size reduction law.
Penny for Pasco alone would pay to build nine schools, plus renovate 10 others.
Rushe said the district in the past has looked into investing in the large storefronts like one in Hudson Mall, but the price of renovations made it cost-prohibitive.
"They inevitably become as expensive or more expensive than building new," Rushe said.
Both candidates said they look at double sessions as a last resort.
Previously relied on during the 1970s in Pasco County, double sessions mean two schools share one facility, with teachers and students attending class in half-day shifts. It can result in a loss of an hour of instructional time a day over the course of a 180-day school year.
