The School Board candidates disagree on the proposed tax increase vote.
By THOMAS C. TOBIN
Published August 20, 2004
LARGO - In a quiet race for two Pinellas School Board seats, the first debate between the candidates did not come until Thursday night, just 12 days before the Aug. 31 primary election.
As a result, the candidates compressed a wide-ranging discussion of major education issues into 90 minutes.
But school district finances dominated the exchange before about 75 people, and challengers Dave Baylor and Janet Clark politely criticized incumbents Lee Benjamin and Carol Cook for being part of a board that often gets bogged down in disagreements.
Baylor is challenging first-term board member Cook for the District 5 seat, centered in Clearwater. The winner will be selected by voters within the district. Clark is challenging 14-year board veteran Benjamin for the District 1 "at-large" seat, to be voted on countywide.
The winners will be determined in the primary, since there are only two candidates in each race.
Baylor and Clark, both teachers and political novices, said the arrival of incoming superintendent Clayton Wilcox was a good time to bring "new blood" to the seven-member board.
Benjamin and Cook, however, said Wilcox would need the help of experienced board members to help navigate the next four years as the district is tested with tough issues such as the school choice system.
Both challengers also criticized the board's handling of a referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot that calls for a property tax increase to pay for teacher raises and other needs.
Baylor supports the referendum, saying it appears to be the only way to stem a shortage of money from Tallahassee. Clark opposes it, saying the district should conduct a comprehensive audit before asking taxpayers for more money.
But both criticized the board's handling of the issue, delaying a decision to place it on the ballot and leaving only six weeks to educate the public.
"I think the School Board waited too long," Baylor said. "This issue should have been brought up six or eight months ago."
Said Clark: "If we had good communication, (the referendum) would have been out to the public in enough time for (voters) to make an informed decision."
Cook responded, saying the challengers left the misimpression the board had done nothing on the issue for months. The board took the time, she said, to find out what other counties had done to hold similar referendums.
Benjamin argued that the board, in its workshop earlier Thursday, took steps to put the referendum campaign on solid footing. The board charged administrators with defining exactly what the new tax would be spent on and started to choose a committee that would oversee that spending, he said.
"I'm excited about the possibility of the referendum," Benjamin said. "I feel confident that when the facts are presented, the public will support it."
The debate was sponsored by the Pinellas County Council PTA.
