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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 28, 2008

Fiorentino Best Choice

I think it curious that retiring school board member Marge Whaley and the teachers union find Stephen Donaldson to be a more qualified candidate than the current school superintendent, Heather Fiorentino.

Fiorentino taught in Pasco County for 14 years and was named teacher of the year in 1994. In 1998, Fiorentino was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and was selected as legislator of the year three times by educational boards. She was a chief architect of the School Code Rewrite Bill and served on the Education Appropriations Committee, which oversaw record increases in education spending.

As superintendent, Fiorentino has opened 15 schools and earned districtwide accreditation. She has received certification from the Florida Association of School Superintendent's Chief Executive Officer Leadership Development Program and has completed the Center for Creative Leadership's Educational Development Program.

Retired from the military, Donaldson has four years (of) teaching experience and little business experience - certainly not to the extent to oversee a billion-dollar district budget similar to Pasco. Donaldson does have a secondary degree in educational leadership from Saint Leo University, but according to the school's Web site, this is a degree that can be obtained online in less than two years.

What Whaley and the teachers union need to grasp is sometimes education can come outside of a classroom. Just ask Microsoft's college dropout, Bill Gates.

SANDY GRAVES

Land O' Lakes

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