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Lineup Change Coming To Pinellas School Board

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By STEVEN GIRARDI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2008

CLEARWATER - Whatever the outcome of the Nov. 4 general election, the Pinellas County School Board is in for substantial changes.

Three of the seven board seats are up for election, and only one of them features an incumbent. That guarantees at least two new faces, possibly three.

Also new to the job is Superintendent Julie Janssen, who was hired by the current board in September.

Districts 1 and 2 are at-large districts, meaning candidates can live anywhere in Pinellas County. District 5 is a single-member district, where candidates must live within the district.

All school board seats are subject to countywide vote.

Here's a rundown of the three races.

District 1

Incumbent Janet Clark said student achievement and middle school reform remain at the top of her list as she seeks a second four-year term.

She is challenged by Jennifer Crockett, a school activist who said the board needs change and more cooperation among members. "There's very much a negative tone. It just doesn't help," Crockett said.

Clark said with seven members, some bickering is inevitable but they work hard to get along.

In the schools, Clark said student achievement at all levels needs to go up, and some curriculums are not challenging enough. Some advance courses teach what once was considered routine, she said.

Clark favors more career centers to teach vocational skills, along with traditional academics, for students who are not going to college.

Underlying those issues is a budget that could face up to $15 million more in cuts in the coming months, she said.

"We need to build the budget from the bottom up," she said. "We need to determine what each school needs and fund that before we look at anything else."

Crockett, 36, agrees with the need for career training and improving the county's 68 percent graduation rate. She said each school is supposed to have a career center by 2010, but "at this rate, I don't see that happening."

She said schools need to engage students before high school to reduce dropouts, talking to them about career options and programs to interest them.

Crockett said she has more than 700 volunteer hours in schools, and is able to work with diverse groups of people. She said that will help her negotiate with other board members to make the changes needed.

District 2

Teacher Sean Michael O'Flannery and lawyer Nina Hayden each have spent their careers working with children, but in different arenas.

O'Flannery, 40, teaches social studies and history at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, which he said gives him insight into problems and how to solve them.

Hayden, 34, represents juvenile offenders for the Pinellas Public Defender's Office and has insights of her own on how the school system can refocus these adolescents.

They are running to replace Nancy Bostock, who is resigning to run for Pinellas County Commission. Two years remain on her term.

O'Flannery, who ran unsuccessfully against Peggy O'Shea in 2006, said the board needs to reduce the paperwork demands on teachers that comes with federal, state and local policies "so they can teach."

He said the dropout rate is largely the result of discipline and social issues and points to one effort, the Alternate Bell Program, as a success.

The program puts suspended students into separate classes after normal school hours. Instead of falling behind, they get regular school assignments and work under the supervision of an administrator, without the social distractions that often lead them into trouble, O'Flannery said.

O'Flannery also advocates more vocational training and more fundamental high schools, calling the fundamental program at Osceola High "a huge success." Such schools have strict guidelines, a back-to-basics curriculum and require regular parent involvement.

Hayden favors vocational programs at every high school that would provide an outlet for many of the juvenile criminals she represents. Plumbing, carpentry, computer technology and other trades would keep more of those youngsters in school.

"You can get employed and make decent money," Hayden said.

She also said keeping less-serious offenders in school, instead of in a juvenile detention center, would give them a better chance to graduate. Although it would require special instruction and mentors, keeping the youngsters out of the center saves about $165 a day, and they're less likely to fall behind in school and quit.

Hayden said mentors also could help close the achievement gap in public schools, where minority and poor children often lag behind. Encouragement and attention, especially in elementary schools, could help those children succeed, she said.

District 4

Former teacher Robin Wikle, 45, and chiropractor Ken Peluso, 52, agree that schools need to take more control of their own curriculum and that FCAT, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, needs to be de-emphasized.

Wikle points to her experience as a community organizer and school activist, saying it will make her an effective board member. Peluso said his time as a Palm Harbor Fire District commissioner, chairman of the Early Learning Coalition and member of community boards give him an edge.

Wikle said the focus needs to be on students and teaching, much of which begins with school based management — allowing principals, teachers and parents to decide what works best in their schools.

Too much teaching is geared toward FCAT results, she said, robbing teachers of their ability to customize their lessons.

She does favor the accountability of testing, but said education programs need to be evaluated on their own merits. "Some of them are very good," she said. "We just need to make sure that all of them are good."

She also would like to see career centers in every school. "I think the reason kids drop out — and that's our biggest issue – is because they're not engaged in school. What they're learning doesn't appear relevant to them," she said.

She said board members must work better together and support decisions even when their side doesn't win.

She has been involved in community activities including Tarpon Springs art shows, the chamber of commerce education committee, Cub Scouts and youth football.

Peluso said FCAT has become a burden on teachers and students. "It's wrong. It's counterproductive," he said.

He said the low graduation rate is an obvious problem. "They're doing a very poor job of preparing our kids for the future," he said.

School-based curriculums and more career education centers can address that problem, he said.

At the same time, he said the board needs to get control of its budget, especially as it continues to absorb cuts. He said his budget experience and membership on community boards will be asset.

School board members all are concerned about education and children or they wouldn't be there, he said. "Unfortunately, most of them have had no prior experience at the board level … and that plays out into what we've seen as a dysfunctional board," he said.

Reporter Steven Girardi may be reached at (727) 451-2333 or at sgirardi@tampatrib.com.

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