Ryan O'Reilly's campaign literature for Pasco County School Board says he's "A Teacher, A Father, A Leader."
He is a father. And depending on whom you talk to, he might be a leader. But, according to school records, the only teaching the 23-year-old has done is as a substitute - 58 times in Pasco schools between January and May.
"That has made more teachers angry than anything he has done, because they know he's a substitute," said Marge Whaley, 63, the incumbent facing O'Reilly on Tuesday's ballot.
O'Reilly says he doesn't think so: "Substitute teachers work every day and do the same things regular teachers do."
And Whaley's campaign literature has its own flaws, O'Reilly said.
In a letter the three-term School Board member mailed to school employees last week soliciting their support, Whaley informed them that they can reach her through the district's courier service or on her School Board phone extension.
"The public's facility is not supposed to be used for campaigning," O'Reilly said. "I just think the media needs to shed some light on it."
Whaley said, upon reflection, that perhaps she should not have mentioned her district contact information in the context of the election. But she did want school employees to know how to reach her.
* * *
The O'Reilly-Whaley race for the District 2 School Board seat has gotten more heated than many expected.
With superintendent John Long retiring and Kathryn Starkey replacing Pam Coulter as District 4 School Board representative, O'Reilly's challenge poses a threat to a consistency shared across the five-member board for years.
Though he has never attended a School Board meeting, O'Reilly criticizes the board for not talking about the issues enough.
Billing herself as the candidate of experience, Whaley counters that the board does its homework, asks questions before board meetings, and tries to avoid the public infighting and micromanaging that plagues other districts.
Below the surface of the O'Reilly-Whaley face-off are the pangs that come from a superintendency in flux.
O'Reilly has aligned himself with the political arm that fought to install state Rep. Heather Fiorentino as the GOP pick for superintendent. Pasco Republican Executive Committee Chairman Bill Bunting is often at O'Reilly's side, though the race for School Board is nonpartisan.
Although Fiorentino, R-New Port Richey, said she hasn't formally endorsed anyone for the seat, she says she tells people she'll be voting for O'Reilly. "I think Marge has told people she's going to vote against everything I propose," Fiorentino said.
"That is not true," Whaley responded.
The longtime Land O'Lakes resident - like most on the School Board - made no bones about her support for district finance chief Chuck Rushe for superintendent during the Aug. 31 primary election. Whaley still doesn't think either Fiorentino or Democratic challenger Alice Delgardo has the experience needed to direct a school district of 59,000 students.
But Whaley said it isn't in her interest to fight Fiorentino.
"We may agree to disagree on something, but we need to find a way to work together," Whaley said.
With 12 years on the School Board and 16 years as supervisor of student services in the Pasco district, Whaley says she provides a conscientious, knowledgeable voice.
O'Reilly, the son of former local state GOP committeewoman Lona O'Reilly, made his vocal debut in Pasco County politics this year as a critic of the Penny for Pasco sales tax, the successful 1-cent tax that funded new schools and roads.
In his first political bid, the recent Saint Leo University graduate estimates he has spent 13 hours a day for the past month trying to secure votes by walking door to door and standing outside the West Pasco Government Center trying to appeal to early voters.
"I rarely stop," said the newly tanned O'Reilly, who works for his parents' new residential development company, S&L Property Developers, and resides on their property with his wife and child.
Whaley gives O'Reilly credit for working hard to get elected. Recent knee surgery prevents her from walking precincts or standing at polls as she once did. But the retired school administrator said O'Reilly has plenty of time to campaign.
"Ryan obviously has that luxury because he does not have a real job," Whaley said.
O'Reilly has said he has not attended any School Board meetings because he has to work.
Of $23,676 O'Reilly has pulled in for his campaign, about 64 percent of the contributions have come from himself or his mother. Whaley has generated $28,856 in support, mostly from school employees.
O'Reilly has made bulking up vocational programs in high schools the centerpiece of his platform over the past few months.
Whaley said she agrees with the need but argues that funding for such expansion is limited.
In her time on the board, Whaley successfully sought a stricter student dress code, and oversaw a dropout prevention program for pregnant teens. Now she's pushing to expand the International Baccalaureate program from Land O'Lakes High to the west side of the county.
She wants to see an alternative school for students with disciplinary problems in the central part of the county.
Perhaps the issue dividing the two candidates most sharply is the future of the superintendency. Whaley would like to make the seat board-appointed so the district can set minimum criteria for job candidates.
Under the elected system, a candidate merely must be 18 and a Pasco County registered voter.
O'Reilly thinks the voters should continue to decide.
Rebecca Catalanello covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is rcatalanello@sptimes.com
