Schools

Faliero apologizes for leaving district

The School Board member moved after a divorce, says she'll return.

By LETITIA STEIN, Times Staff Writer
Published August 29, 2007

TAMPA - School Board member Jennifer Faliero wants voters to know she's sorry.

After a divorce, she recently moved out of her east Hillsborough district and is living in a condominium on South Tampa's Davis Islands.

By state rules, School Board members must legally reside in the community they were elected to represent.

Faliero says she intends to move back, hopefully within the next month and a half.

"I apologize to my constituents for the embarrassment that my personal life has brought," Faliero said Tuesday. "Perhaps my decision to move to another location wasn't the best one, but I am now working diligently to move back to my district as soon as possible."

She says she is struggling financially, and a friend offered her a good deal on the condominium unit. She and her ex-husband, who had been living nearby, jointly decided to enroll their daughters in South Tampa schools. He recently moved back to their longtime home in Valrico.

Since the St. Petersburg Times reported her move, which Faliero initially denied, she has moved her oldest daughter back to her neighborhood school in east Hillsborough, Durant High. For now, Faliero says, her youngest daughter needs to remain at a South Tampa school, where she is happy.

Faliero also wants voters to know that she reviewed the materials and spoke with school officials about the topics discussed at workshops she missed over the summer. She told other board members in advance that she would miss the meetings. She was absent from five meetings and workshops in July and August.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 06:49:57]