Qualifications, not issues, differentiate candidates
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published October 31, 2004
Could this really be politics?
State Rep. Heather Fiorentino and Alice Delgardo are in a face-off for the top job in Pasco schools, overseeing more employees than any other single person in the county.
Fiorentino, 46, is a Republican. Delgardo, 52, is a Democrat. On its surface, conditions seem ripe for discussing the most perplexing issues facing local public education: crowded classrooms, privatization, rapid school construction, student testing.
But the two candidates agree on almost everything they are asked about.
Finding funding for new school construction?
Bring the stakeholders to the table, they say. Work with legislators. Take a second look at the current budget to see where belt-tightening might be in order.
Grouping elementary students in classes according to academic level rather than age?
Both agree the practice - called continuous progress - is effective in some cases. Both want to keep it in place, but say it's not for all teachers or all students.
Making changes in administrative personnel?
Both say cleaning house in a good system would be counterproductive. Fiorentino proposes reorganizing how the district's schools are overseen, but said she wants to keep institutional knowledge in place. Delgardo agrees with maintaining the brain trust, calling that "Leadership 101."
When it comes down to it, the one area that seems to separate Fiorentino and Delgardo most profoundly is their educational and professional backgrounds.
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As a relative newcomer to Pasco County, Delgardo likes to say she has become a Floridian in her two years since moving from Massachusetts to Holiday.
"I'm glad to say that when I use my ignition key, it doesn't curl up because it's 20-below outside," Delgardo says.
But Fiorentino says Delgardo's short time in the district compared with her own, politically active 30 years in New Port Richey, could prove detrimental.
"Do you want someone running your school system who doesn't have roots in the county?" Fiorentino asked during a recent debate. "Who doesn't know the east side from the west side? Who doesn't know how the school system has worked?"
Delgardo might have been in Pasco County a short while, but her campaign has been leaning heavily on her administrative experience and educational background as reason for her election.
Delgardo completed a nursing program at Boston City Hospital in 1979 and she holds a master's in education from Cambridge College. Though she has never held a job in the educational field, she has held several administrative postions in the public sector, primarily in the health services fields. She ran an unsuccessful Massachusetts Senate campaign in 1998 and was politically active before moving to Florida.
"I've managed systems," Delgardo said. "I've managed programs. I've been at the collective bargaining table. I don't think that my living or how long I've been in Pasco should be what you're looking at."
By contrast, Fiorentino's educational credentials are limited to a bachelor's degree in education from the University of South Florida and an associate's degree from Pasco-Hernando Community College.
But she worked 14 years as a classroom teacher and is a former Pasco County Teacher of the Year. As a legislator, Fiorentino enjoys pointing out her work helping to rewrite Florida's educational laws.
"I absolutely commend her (Delgardo) for having a master's degree and anyone else who has a master's and above. That's important," Fiorentino said. "But is that what is needed to run a school system? A degree on the wall? Or is it the experience and qualifications?"
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Compared to the heated primary election for superintendent between Fiorentino and schools finance chief Chuck Rushe, the general election has generated little fingerpointing or mudslinging.
The local teachers union, which endorsed Rushe in the primary, decided to withhold an endorsement in the general election.
Several administrators who spent hundreds in the failed effort to elect Rushe have switched their support to the politically known Fiorentino, helping her raise $92,000 compared to Delgardo's $18,361. Delgardo has the support of many party faithfuls who felt it was important to have a Democratic choice for the seat.
And while Delgardo and Fiorentino agree on many things, perhaps they are most agreeable when it comes to predicting what's in store for the Pasco County School District after superintendent John Long retires Nov. 15 from his 10 years leading the district.
