In a virtual candidates forum hosted Friday by the nonpartisan Tampa Tiger Bay Club, Hillsborough County School Board candidates tackled several issues on the minds of local parents, educators, and community members—including those pertaining to recent developments regarding the board’s budget and the reopening of schools in the fall.
The forum ran for two hours, allotted 30 minutes to each of the four school board races for Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7. Candidates were given one minute to introduce themselves and respond to questions submitted by Tampa Tiger Bay club members.
Friday’s forum came in the wake of several prominent developments relevant to the Hillsborough County School Board, including Florida Education Commissioner Cocoran’s order to reopen all schools in August, a budgeting debacle, and investigation into a potential conflict of interest involving a $3.6 million contract approved to fund the implementation of Achieve 3000, a type of reading software.
Biggest themes from Tiger Bay Hillsborough County School Board Candidate forum
• Increasing transparency across the county school board, regarding the budget, communications with the superintendent, and concerns brought forth by community members
• Improving communications between school board members, Hillsborough County schools, school staff, and parents
• Prioritizing the safety and academic success of Hillsborough County students as the coronavirus pandemic rages on and the fall semester approaches
• Improving standard procedures for assessing the county school board’s budget and spending
• Promoting equity across the district in the allocation of spending
Earlier this week, county school board members were alarmed to learn of a $50 million deficit in spending, as superintendent Davis announced that the district’s main reserves account had shrunk from $150 million to $100 million.
This has placed the county in a precarious position with budgeting, raising significant concerns regarding a lack of transparency, poor communication, and questionable budgeting decisions—all of which became prominent themes throughout the course of Friday’s forum.
While incumbent members of the school board who are running for reelection—Steve Cona (District 1), Tammy Shamburger (District 5), and Lynn Gray (District 7)—were tasked with explaining their decision-making as board members, to some extent, candidates running to fill or replace existing board members were quick to assert the need for new and strong leadership.
“Hillsborough County is a melting pot of diversity,” said District 5 candidate Jeffery Alex James Johnson, who critiqued the existing board’s lack of diversity and inadequate representation of the broader community.
“Experience matters when it’s effective experience,” remarked returning school board candidate, Elvis Piggot (District 5).
Johnson, a Black father, pastor, and senior manager of neighborhood initiatives, said he could bring a “freshness” to the board and help build community and public partnerships capable of helping students and families achieve success within the county educational system.
District 3 is the only district race up for election in 2020 that is completely open—as District 3 incumbent, Cindy Stuart, is running for the office of Clerk of Circuit Court.
School board budgeting remained a major topic of discussion throughout the two-hour forum, with candidates such as Jessica Vaughn (District 3), Angela Shroden (District 7), and Rick Warrener (District 3) openly calling for greater transparency, an improved budgeting review process, and the need to take a hard look at how the board is allocating its resources—an issue further problematized by the newly discovered $50 million deficit.
Warrener highlighted his own financial background as a retired controller, arguing for a need to have someone with his type of background on the board to assess the school board budget and spending.
Vaughn, a strong anti-corruption advocate and community organizer, similarly highlighted her prior budgeting experience as a potential asset. Where the school board’s spending is going, and how those decisions are being made are points that were strongly vocalized by both Vaughn and District 7 candidate Angela Schroden, both of whom are educators in the county and mothers of children who attend Hillsborough County schools.
“[We] need transparency, but we also need to be asking the right questions,” said Shroden.
Another uncomfortable, but necessary, point addressed within the forum was the recent discovery of a potential conflict of interest involving newly-appointed county superintendent Addison Davis and the approval of a $3.6 million contract for literacy software.
The Hillsborough County School Board is currently investigating the decision to allocate this money to the new reading software after a connection was discovered between the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Achieve 3000, Mason Davis, and HC superintendent, Addison Davis—namely, that they are brothers.
Little information has been reported about this recent discovery, although all candidates who were asked to comment on the matter appeared to have a general understanding of the situation.
According to current school board members, attorneys are currently investigating the situation to determine whether there is in fact an identifiable conflict of interest. However, questions regarding this incident were repeatedly voiced throughout the forum, necessitating responses from participating candidates.
Several candidates, including Vaughn (District 3) and Shroden (District 7) argued that there’s more to this contract than this potential conflict of interest that troubles them.
Those opposed to the recent acquisition of the software assert that the effectiveness of Achieve 3000, a software intended to improve literacy among younger children, is questionable.
For the amount of money spent on the software, candidates like Vaughn and Schroden—a former reading coach—argue the money would better be spent on creating a more robust reading program.
According to them and other candidates like Johnson, this would mean rehiring laid-off reading coaches, greater collaboration with the Early Learning Coalition, and generally pushing for more interpersonal educational solutions.
Another issue of concern brought to the attention of school board candidates was the question of how the school board is planning to prioritize the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff in light of current orders to have Florida schools reopen in the fall.
The Tampa Tiger Bay Club member who submitted this question also inquired after how the board plans to communicate discovered COVID-19 cases—among students or teachers—to parents, and how schools would be instructed to respond.
Current board members, Shamburger (District 5) and Gray (District 7), relayed the latest developments on this. According to Gray, the board is currently developing protocols for disclosing positive COVID-19 cases, enforcing social distancing, and isolating students or staff as needed.
Shamburger, who identified herself as a COVID-19 survivor, asserted that the goal is to “continue education without disruption” while also prioritizing the safety of students and staff. She acknowledged the seemingly hour-by-hour changes of how schools are being asked to effectively protect students and staff from spreading the coronavirus—and what can be done.
Non-incumbent candidates, including former educator and middle school principal, Henry “Shake” Washington, also acknowledged the concerns of parents and community members. Washington, for his part, was direct in asserting the need for deep-cleaning protocols in the event positive COVID-19 cases are discovered in schools.
Most candidates provided similar answers as to their commitment towards ensuring there is transparency and unambiguous communication between the school board, schools, and parents regarding COVID-19 and schools.
Noticeably lacking from today’s forum were meaningful discussions about equity and racial disparities across Hillsborough county school districts, although a couple candidates brought up these points of their own accord.
District 3 candidate, Alexandra Gilmore, for instance—who, due to technical difficulties, arrived late to her respective forum slot—named racial disparities and inequalities as prominent issues driving her motivation to run for the county school board, as an educator and mother of Black children.
District 7 candidates, Gray and Shroden both highlighted the need to expand and strengthen African-American studies in the Hillsborough County school curriculum.
Black Achievement Matters (BAM) advocate, pastor, and mentor, Elvis Piggot (District 5), acknowledged the need to create equitable opportunities and resources for students in his opening statement.
“It’s my time,” Gilmore proclaimed, naming her “energy and tenacity” as assets that would benefit the existing county school board.
Although late to the forum, Gilmore jumped right in with a strong start, asserting her commitment to bridging gaps among students and families who face greater barriers in accessing educational resources as a result of the pandemic’s economic toll.
Gilmore highlighted the importance of making sure “everyone has a seat at the table,” and ensuring there is no discrimination in the allocation of resources on the basis of socioeconomic status or location.
Other candidates, too, similarly called for creating public partnerships and calling on the community to assist in providing nutritional and financial assistance for families in need as the new school year approaches.
District 3 candidate, Jennifer Hill, thanked Feeding Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for distributing food to families, and acknowledged the need to create public and private partnerships to make assistance for students and families more readily and widely available.
“We need to get through this pandemic—that’s the biggest thing,” said District 3 candidate, Leo Haggerty. Haggerty and others called for prioritizing spending to benefit families in greatest need.
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This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2020.