Get to know the candidates for Hillsborough County School Board

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The choice is up to Hillsborough County voters on August 23 for who will serve on the Hillsborough County School Board. In total, there are eight candidates across three different school board races.

In District 2, there’s Damaris Allen and incumbent Stacy Hahn. In District 4, voters have the choice between Hunter Gambrell, Patti Rendon, or Danielle Smalley. Finally in District 6, candidates Roshaun Gendrett, Aly Marie Legge, and incumbent Karen Perez are all running for that seat.

“School board races have always been important,” said Ellen Lyons, the Vice President of Advocacy of the Hillsborough County PTA.

Lyons wants to remind everyone the PTA is a non-partisan organization and that they do not endorse candidates, but she said she can attest to how important school board races are.

“They absolutely make an incredible difference for everyone’s students. The policies that are going to be developed by the school board will affect everyone," said Lyons."That’s why it’s really important to consider the positions of the school board candidates and consider where they stand on all the issues."

ABC Action News asked each of the eight candidates the same questions ahead of the primary, and the candidates submitted their responses between August 7 and August 9. Below are their responses in full.

DISTRICT 2

Damaris Allen:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   
   1. "Improving the culture and climate for school employees. We are currently short-staffed in many areas. Staffing shortages directly impact our public school students. For example, yesterday, I had a conversation with a group of students who said the one thing they would do to improve school is have consistent transportation to school. Another elementary student stated they wanted to have one teacher that stayed with them throughout the school year. We simply must find a way to ensure that our school staff earn a living wage, are supported in their work, and feel valued."
      
2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "I believe it is important to note the only power a school board member has is to put these issues on the ballot giving the voters the power to make the decision. I always support giving the power of the vote to the people."

Damaris Allen

Stacy Hahn:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   

   1. "Throughout my thirty year career as an educator, my top priority has been student achievement. In my various roles as a classroom teacher, college professor preparing future teachers or a Hillsborough County School Board member, I’ve kept students at the center of my decisions and actions. As a current school board member, early literacy has been a key priority and it has a direct correlation to student achievement throughout a child’s PreK- 12 education and beyond. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with long term academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates, and enhanced productivity in adult life. One of our challenges in our school district is that currently we only educate about 12% of children in the Pre-K arena, which leaves about 88% of the children in our community educated in private preschools. There is a correlation between kindergarten readiness and reading proficiency so it is not unexpected that we are finding it to be challenging to improve reading scores in our early grades. Given that the majority of children in our community attend a private preschool, we have created communities of practice where public and private preschool teachers participate in collaborative professional development, together learning from each other while working to ensure that there is a shared understanding of curriculum and standards so that all children are prepared to enter kindergarten. Additionally, in an effort to increase the number of children attending school district Pre-K programs, we have been increasing the number of preschool seats in our schools as well as engaging in innovative solutions such as school district-community preschool partnerships and creating the first Montessori preschool in our district. Moreover, a key aspect of developing successful young readers is early intervention in the primary grades. Early intervention can prevent reading problems for children and significantly reduce reading disabilities by allowing students to get help before reading problems become entrenched and complicated. To ensure highly effective early childhood instruction and intervention, our school district continues to develop and expand professional development opportunities focused on literacy in the early years. Supporting early literacy success must include parent engagement. I am an advocate for the need to continue to increase opportunities for parent education on the importance of reading and providing education resources on reading strategies that families can implement at home creating a continuum of learning for students that helps encourage our youngest readers.

      As a school board member, I have championed efforts in the expansion of our Pre-K programs and teacher professional development as well as created and hosted the Early Childhood Literacy Fair with the aim of providing families with resources to support their young child both before they enter school and while they are in school. My efforts around early childhood and literacy grew from my time as a classroom teacher and knowing first hand that literacy is the cornerstone of both academic and lifelong success and I will continue to make it a priority through my role as a school board member."
      

2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "I have been a public school teacher in the Broward, Alachua and Hillsborough County school districts. I also worked with teacher education students and classroom teachers throughout our local schools while I was a professor at the University of South Florida preparing future teachers. I understand first-hand the challenges and stress of the job and I have spent my entire career strengthening public schools and teachers through professional development and school district/university/community partnerships as well as advocacy efforts at the state and federal level. As a school board member, I ensure that resources and teacher salaries have been and continue to be made a priority. The role of a teacher cannot be replaced and these have been especially challenging times in the history of our district so we are continually finding a balance in regard to our finances to ensure our schools needs are being met across various priorities. As much as I’d like to support this referendum, it is my belief that when you are asking for an increase in taxes you are saying to taxpayers that you have exhausted every means to improve finances and there is no other recourse than to ask taxpayers to fill the gap. As a current school board member, it is my belief that we should exhaust all options especially during a historic inflationary period where every family in our community is currently struggling to provide the basic needs for their families. Every family is sitting at their kitchen table right now tightening their budgets and making tough decisions. The school district needs to continue to be more efficient with tax dollars and manage its budget effectively before they go to the taxpayer. While referendums are helpful to ensuring we have proper funding to meet the needs of our teachers and students, we also need to make sure every action has been taken, no matter how difficult, to ensure any added dollars will be sustainable. Currently the school district is operating outside of a deficit for the first time in a decade due to the fiscal recovery plan that went into effect last year. Expenditures and budgets are being reviewed on a regular basis to make sure they’re fulfilling the goals and mission of the school district. Tough choices and difficult decisions took place in order for our district to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and it is an ongoing effort."

Stacy Hahn

DISTRICT 4
Hunter Gambrell:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   

   1. "Our top priority has to be addressing the instructional vacancies. As of today, we have 699 classes ready to start without a certified instructor. With data pointing to significant learning losses, including 75% of our third graders not reading on grade level, we must act now to shore up our classrooms.

      Before recruiting though, we must address retention efforts for our current educators. They are expected to work 30 years for a state pension and we should have steps 1-30, with a guaranteed move each year. We also must address the external factors including the disgusting attacks that accuse our educators of indoctrination. These harmful attacks have no place in our society. Our teachers inspire, they don’t indoctrinate."
      

2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   

   1. "I believe the question of the millage increase rests with the voter and each family has to make the decision based on their personal finances.

      Everything in the Superintendent’s proposal is needed, including an ability to offer step increases for our veteran educators and increasing the number of art, music, and career and technical education classes available for our learners.

      We have a lot to work on and these issues will be present whether or not the voters approve the increase. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and tackle the issues regardless."

Hunter Gambrell

Patti Rendon:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   
   1. "My top priority is to bring strong leadership and help restore the trust with the public. Our school district continues to face serious budget problems, and tough decisions must be made. The district must tighten its belt before continuing to ask the electorate for additional tax dollars. I hope to be a voice of reason and common sense as we work to address them."
      
2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "I do not support the proposed tax referendum. Just four years ago, voters were asked, and they approved a 10-year half-cent sales tax. The school district currently has a financial recovery plan in place and whether or not this passes, that should continue to be implemented. Spending priorities must be made and every option on the table. Staff salaries are a recurring expense, and teachers deserve to have their salaries prioritized and properly budgeted, not tied to a time-limited tax. Student programs also deserve to be prioritized. Additionally, the effects of inflation are being felt amongst most families in our county. If voters are being asked to spend additional tax dollars, then the district should be willing and aggressively looking to stay within budget."

Patti Rendon

Danielle Smalley:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   
   1. "Top priorities: Budget accountability, teacher recruitment/retention, student reading achievement, and student accessibility to technical programs."
      
2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "I personally support the tax increase as I stand with teachers and staff in the need for an income that reflects the responsibility and pressures of the profession. Additionally, the increase would fund programs that allow our children to become proficient in the creative arts. It’s the voters choice and the people should decide what they desire knowing that each vote will have an impact on the future of Hillsborough County students and families."

Danielle Smalley

DISTRICT 6
Roshaun Gendrett:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   
   1. "My top priority will be literacy. Reading is an essential life skill. Over 10,000 students in Hillsborough County Schools can't read. If a student can’t read, they will have a difficult time succeeding in life. The current FSA showed that many of our third-grade students are struggling with basic reading skills. As a former remedial reading teacher, I believe it is imperative that we address literacy through early learning programs such as VPK before a large learning gap exists. We need to invest more literacy resources in our underserved and underrepresented communities so we can end the disastrous effects of the school to prison pipeline."
      
2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "As a former teacher and educator for 21 years at the elementary, middle, and high school level, no one understands more the importance of having a living wage for teachers. Teachers are underpaid and overworked. However, the community has lost trust in the current Hillsborough County School Board to effectively manage and steward the taxpayers’ dollars. We need to lobby Tallahassee for additional funding as well as researching ways to increase current revenue streams to provide teachers the salary and benefits they deserve."

Roshaun Gendrett

Aly Marie Legge:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   
   1. "My top priority when elected will be to restore trust and accountability to the board by taking a deep dive into the budget to see where exactly we are spending taxpayer money to figure out why we can not afford to pay our staff what they deserve and how we can fix it without asking for more money from taxpayers. I will go through our policies to see what is outdated or no longer works in our district and how we can update or remove some of those. I will also work to rebuild the relationship between the board and our staff so we can collaborate on what the needs are specifically for each school so the proper resources can be allocated per those needs. There is no one size fits all in education or for what is needed for each school."
      
2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "I do not personally support the tax, as our teachers and student programs should be funded first instead of being contingent on a renewable tax. Having our staff tax themselves for a pay raise they should have already received is highly disrespectful. When the district comes to the people asking for more money on top of the already $3.5 billion given, means that they have exhausted all other options and I do not believe they have. With inflation and a looming recession, this tax will force families to choose between putting gas in their cars to go to work, put food on their table or to pay their rent and other bills. Taking into consideration that most of our families in this county are either on fixed income or are low income, this tax could be devastating. The district also didn’t include the increase in tax dollars they will receive due to the rise in property taxes that occurred this past year, which will bring in more money than the tax itself. Now is not the time to tax the people of this county."

Aly Marie Legge

Karen Perez:

1. What will be your top priority if elected (or re-elected) to the Hillsborough County School Board?
   
   1. "Ensuring that parents, teachers, students and administrators are together at the table in seeking better solutions for our students education; seek to reform and improve learning for all students; ensure that funding is secured and increased to invest in school safety; ensure that students have access to mental health services and professionals in our schools; I will continue to demand high standards of fiscal responsibility."
      
2. Do you support or are you against the proposed one mil increase in ad valorem tax that will be on the ballot on Aug. 23 to support Hillsborough County Public Schools? Please expand on your answer and explain your reasoning.
   
   1. "I voted, NO. I STRONGLY feel our teachers need, beyond deserve and have waited long enough for their pay to not only increase but to have consistency in that increase. I feel that as a district, we need to shore up our finances, become more transparent, and cancel the multimillion-dollar contracts that go to corporations, and put that money into the pocket of our teachers in order for them to receive their step increases and not just for a four year period but consistently, and not have to tax our teachers on their own raise."

Karen Perez