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Our Schools

Board candidates tell top priorities

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published September 1, 2006

Voters will pick their candidates for three of the seven board seats on Tuesday. So, in keeping with the name of this column, we asked each of the nine candidates to identify the key classroom issue that demands School Board attention.

We specified classroom, not the usual debate over taxes and construction.

Most of the nine who responded focused on teachers, with the general view that if teachers can do their job better, students would learn better.

District 2 challenger Bart Birdsall, a media specialist at Greco Middle School, wants teachers to have more authority to discipline students. Don't punish teachers when they refer students for disciplinary action, he says: "Without order, teachers cannot teach."

Candy Olson, who has held the coastal district seat for three terms, would relieve teachers of their paperwork burden. "If we trust the teachers and free them up to do what they do so well, we'll do even better," she says.

Logan Cobb, a Plant High senior also seeking the District 2 position, calls for a curriculum overhaul. He suggests the current ways of teaching math, science and English fundamentals do not get the job done. "It is appalling that there are students in our schools that cannot manipulate fractions or construct complex sentences or convert between metric units," he says.

District 4 incumbent Jennifer Faliero would have the School Board work with the Hillsborough County Teachers Association to give educators more uninterrupted time for lesson planning. The board also should make sure it puts enough money into teaching materials, she adds.

Her opponent in the east county race, Plant City High teacher's aide Hunter Gambrell, focuses on full compliance with the state class-size reduction law. To him, that means increasing teacher pay so the district will have enough educators. "If we can't compete with the entire United States, we aren't going to have quality teachers," he says.

Veteran educator Ken Allen, one of four hopefuls in at-large District 6, would push for a reading program that incorporates all subjects and all teachers. Not every teacher considers himself or herself to be a reading teacher, he says. "Until that happens, we're going to have students who are not proficient."

David Schmidt, another District 6 candidate, agrees with Birdsall that discipline is a top priority. "Disruptive student behavior distracts every student and every teacher within a classroom and steals time away from instructional activities," says Schmidt, who oversees an adult education program in the school district.

Community activist April Griffin, also running for the at-large seat, wants to allow teachers more creativity and freedom in the classroom, while keeping them accountable to meet and exceed the state's academic standards. Stop spending so much time teaching to the FCAT, she says, echoing the concern of many parents.

The fourth at-large candidate, Stephanie Desmarais Georgiades, stresses the need to get the best qualified teachers into the classroom. A former teacher from Westchase, she advocates spending enough money on recruiting, training and retention to make that happen.

That's what the candidates say. Do these issues matter to you? Go vote. It shouldn't take long, as primaries rarely have a heavy turnout. These are nonpartisan races, so everyone can vote regardless of party registration.

* * *

You also can voice your concerns, or get a question answered, at one of several upcoming town meetings with superintendent MaryEllen Elia.

They are Sept. 12 at Brandon High, Sept. 18 at Plant High, Oct. 3 at Giunta Middle, Oct. 17 at Freedom High, Oct. 23 at Leto High, Nov. 6 at Durant High and Nov. 13 at Middleton High. Each begins at 7 p.m. For more information, call 272-4055.

Have ideas for future columns? Contact Jeffrey S. Solochek at solochek@sptimes.com or 813 269-5304.

[Last modified August 30, 2006, 12:42:07]