Teacher gets into race for schools chief

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
Published February 8, 2008

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LAND O'LAKES - A Gulf High School teacher announced Thursday that he would challenge first-term Pasco County school superintendent Heather Fiorentino in the fall election.

Steve Donaldson, 49, filed to run as a Democrat against Fiorentino, a Republican who also has served on the New Port Richey City Council and in the Florida House.

"I'm really looking forward to some truth and transparency in how we run our schools," said Donaldson, who lives in Trinity. "We have a lot of room for change."

He acknowledged an uphill battle, but said he had no plans to run a negative campaign.

Donaldson, who teaches advanced placement and International Baccalaureate government and history classes, is a former Air Force intelligence officer. At Gulf, he also coaches the girls tennis team and sponsors the Young Democrats Club. He began working for the school district in 2004. He also teaches an electrical apprenticeship program at Hillsborough Community College.

Donaldson has lived in the Tampa area since 1992, and in Pasco County since 1999. He is the vice president of the Thousand Oaks Homeowners Association. He's married, with three children and two grandchildren.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or 813 909-4614. For more education news, visit the Gradebook at blogs.tampabay.com/schools.