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Hillsborough School Board Argues About Travel Spending

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By MARILYN BROWN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

TAMPA - Travel spending by Hillsborough school board members has ignited a nasty board battle.

Two Hillsborough school board members plan to meet Thursday to draft guidelines for travel after a fellow board member spent more than $50,000 on trips over her first four-year term.

But there's more churning behind the scenes.

Susan Valdes — holder of the highest travel bills — has requested the calendar that records activities for Board Chairwoman Jennifer Faliero.

Faliero responded by requesting the calendars for the rest of the board.

"It's getting very personal and I think it's too bad," said Candy Olson, holder of the second-highest travel bill at just under $24,000. "The disappointing thing about this is, this is not about student achievement — this is about sniping."

Olson will meet with fellow board member Jack Lamb Thursday to draft the travel guidelines that will be hashed out with the rest of the board at a July 31 workshop meeting that Faliero said was called Tuesday to speed things along.

"We need it sooner than later," Faliero said today, vowing to push for both a board policy and budget to end the disputes over travel expenditures and make the board accountable.

The board has no travel budget or policy for its travel now and has spent $148,000 over the past four years on mileage reimbursements, hotels, meals, parking, cabs and conference registration fees.

Faliero said she received four years of board travel records compiled by the district in response to a July 7 request from The Tampa Tribune. The request, released in parts over the past few weeks, revealed that Valdes outspent every other board member as well as the superintendent.

Susan Valdes' $50,322 worth of travel over her four-year term ranges from $17,351 in 2005-2006 to $8,273 the year before.

Other board member totals over the four years range from $7,604 for Carol Kurdell to $23,859 for Candy Olson. Doretha Edgecomb spent $23,364; Lamb, $11,424 and Faliero, $12,807. April Griffin has spent $14,758 in the two years she has been on the board.

Valdes defends her expenses, saying the travel was all for valid reasons and encouraged by other board members.

"My in-county travel is also the highest one," Valdes said.
"I'm not sitting at home collecting a paycheck and doing nothing. I am the hardest-working school board member."

Now, she said, "I can't trust anyone in the district … . I take it personal — why wouldn't I? I didn't start this fight."

Valdes said she requested Faliero's calendar and now wants backup material. Asked what she is looking for, she said, "I don't know."

Faliero would not say why she made her request. "I don't have to have a reason to request matters of public record."

Deputy Superintendent Ken Otero, said after Valdes' request, "Jennifer [Faliero] wanted calendars for everybody."

At last week's board meeting, Faliero called for and got a moratorium on board travel until guidelines are worked out. She appointed Olson and Lamb to draft the guidelines.

Olson said today that she envisions an overall policy with general guidelines along with rules such as requiring board members to declare what state or national associations they belong to, what conferences they want to attend and how much it will cost.

"I don't think it should be board member by board member," she said. "It's not going to be consistent."

Lamb, reached today at a conference in New Orleans, said lobbying is a good example of travel money well spent. Today he attended sessions on dropout prevention and community involvement.

Last year when the president vetoed a bill for vocational education funding, more than 400 school board members, including Lamb, traveled to Washington and lobbied Congress, he said.

"Congress overrode the president and our district got millions," Lamb said. "They play the numbers game — if you're there, they pay attention."

"We police ourselves," notes Lamb, who travels extensively as an officer and member of a number of national and state educational organizations.

Travel of public officials courtesy of taxpayers is always an issue. It surfaced again this year with Valdes up for re-election. This year's economic woes, budget slashing and even grimmer forecast make board travel even more timely.

Lamb noted far fewer attendees at conferences this year, including the one in New Orleans for the southern conference of the National School Boards Association.

"Everyone's hurting," he said.

Much of Lamb's travel, like that of Superintendent MaryEllen Elia, is reimbursed by companies or organizations.

Elia has spent $35,351 over the past three years that was not reimbursed from an outside organization — about $11,000 each her first two years and $6,324 in 2007-2008.

Reimbursed mileage in-county totals $6,648 for all three years, or about $2,200 per year.

Elia's travel includes 13 trips to Washington, D.C., and trips to San Diego, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Tunica, Miss., Charlotte, N.C., Hartford, Conn., and Clark County, Nev.

District Spokesman Steve Hegarty said he assumed the two Clark County trips were conferences in Las Vegas.

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

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