How The Millage Referendum Could Help Our Community

Opinion by Jessica Vaughn,
Hillsborough County School Board, District 3

Since being elected to represent District 3 on the Hillsborough School Board in 2020, myself, my fellow School Board members and the superintendent have all worked diligently to overcome the financial challenges that have plagued this District for close to a decade. 

We are proud to state that by the end of this fiscal year, Hillsborough County Public Schools is slated to overcome a $150-million deficit, realizing a more stable financial stature that will translate into a brighter future for our organization and, most importantly, for our students.

As a District, we emerged from this financial shortfall partly by having to make extremely difficult staffing decisions at all levels, which undoubtedly had a negative impact on our students and families. Florida currently is ranked 43rd in per-pupil funding, leaving many school districts like ours without adequate funds to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers as we all contend with rising inflation that is leaving educational systems with severe staffing shortages. Twenty-one other districts in Florida have had to pass a millage referendum in order to properly fund their school districts.  

On August 23, 2022, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to place a millage referendum on the ballot that would provide an estimated $126 million per year over four years to our District if approved by voters. 

If this measure passes, 75% of this money would go toward providing salary increases for teachers and support staff. We realize the crucial role our educators play in the lives of our children and families, and we must continue to examine proactive solutions to illustrate their importance to our community and its collective success.

If approved, the additional funds would also be utilized to expand Art, Music and P.E. for our youngest learners, offering equitable access across all grade bands. These funds also would provide us a unique chance to elevate our Workforce Development Programs to develop a talent pipeline for students in medical, construction and logistics- related fields.

You may be wondering how this would impact you if approved. Using a $300,000 property value as an example, the millage increase would translate to an additional $22.92 per month, or $275 per year for a homeowner.

Hillsborough is the only large school district in the state that has not passed a millage increase. 

While we understand the referendum may be a heavy lift for some families in a time of such uncertainty, it has the potential to make an enormous difference in the lives of our teachers, staff, students and families. If you see the value that strong and thriving public schools bring to our community, I strongly encourage you to vote “yes” for the millage referendum during the Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, August 23. All voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote for this Millage Referendum. The funding from this referendum increase will allow us to work together to adequately support our schools, teachers and staff while creating a brighter future for our students and our community as a whole.

School Board Race For District 3 Down To 2

When Mitch Thrower and Jessica Vaughn decided to run for the Hillsborough County School Board, things were a little bit different than they are now.

In fact, the job they are both vying for — the District 3 seat that includes all of New Tampa’s public schools — suddenly looks a lot harder than it once did.

In the past six months, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the school system, and the school’s budget situation has gone from bad to worse to downright terrible.

“I completely agree it’s become a tougher job,” says Thrower, the former chairman of the Hillsborough County Planning Commission (he resigned in June). “There are some very tough decisions that are going to need to be made.”

Vaughn, a Tampa Palms resident and substitute teacher who was elected to the Tampa Palms Community Development District (CDD) Board in 2016, doesn’t disagree. In fact, when it comes to discussing the biggest issues facing schools in the upcoming months, they both agree the budget and keeping schools safe — primarily from Covid-19 — are easily the top two issues of the campaign.

Thrower, a Carrollwood resident, was the top finisher among six candidates in the August primary, capturing 25% of the vote, while Vaughn was second with 24.5%. The difference between the two was a mere 296 votes out of 42,950 votes cast.

Now that just these two candidates remain, both feel voters will be able to draw a clearer distinction between them. The early voting period is October 19 through November 1, with Election Day scheduled for Tuesday, November 3.

Jessica Vaughn, and husband Nilesh and son Zachariah.

When it comes to fixing the $32-million shortfall in the District’s budget — much of it due to the continued loss of students due to home schooling and charter schools — a lot of belt-tightening, including potential layoffs and program cuts, is in the future for the county.

Vaughn, who has a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of South Florida, says the School District needs to stem the loss of students, and an evaluation to find out why more students are choosing charter schools — and how public schools can retain those students — is vital.

“Why aren’t they choosing our public schools? That is the question that needs to be answered,” she says. “We need to fix that.”

Vaughn, who has been endorsed by the Tampa Bay Times, also says the county needs to look for alternative sources of revenue, and make sure the money it does have is being spent wisely on items like administrative salaries and contracts with vendors.

Mitch Thrower with Ally (pink bandana) and Ruby.

Thrower, who started his professional career auditing school boards at the State of Florida Auditor General’s office, thinks it is time for tough questions for those controlling the District’s purse strings. 

“I think my business experience is needed at this time,” he says. “I can go in there as an auditor and I know what questions to ask. When it to comes to experience, honestly, there’s no comparison.”

Thrower is a Certified Public Accountant and certified internal auditor, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Tulane University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Florida State University.

When it to comes to school safety, both candidates are in favor of mandating masks in schools to deal with the spread of Covid-19, say teacher safety is a priority and approve of the other safety precautions being taken by the District.

Both candidates said the School Board’s handling of the return to school in August, arguably one of the most important discussions it has had to make in recent memory, could have been smoother. Thrower says he will bring more communication to the position, which he thought was lacking during the controversial re-opening discussions. He also felt the School Board wasn’t “proactive and creative enough.” 

Meanwhile, Vaughn said she was extremely frustrated watching the School Board meetings, particularly the lack of planning. She said she was advocating in March and April for a plan in case the pandemic stretched into the fall, including the creation of e-Learning centers to accommodate parents who needed to return to work and didn’t have childcare.

“Nothing would have been perfect,” she says. “You can’t mitigate a pandemic perfectly. But, I would like the School Board to be more realistic and proactive about our challenges and less reactive. It undermines public confidence in the Board.”

Both candidates, who have children in public schools, say charter schools have a place in education. Thrower says charter schools provide options, “but they should be held accountable just like public schools.”

Vaughn says she is fine with not-for-profit charter schools, except when they hire for-profit management companies.

“At the end of the day, all parents really want the same thing,” Vaughn says. “They want a safe environment that’s close by, that is free, that nurtures and respects their students and offers them a good education. And, I want to see that happen in our public schools.”

Overall, Thrower had raised $58,500 but only had $6,500 cash on hand at our press time, while Vaughn had brought in $45,127, but still had nearly $28,000 cash on hand.

Vaughn has criticized Thrower for taking more than $12,000 from developers while he was chairman of the Hillsborough Planning Commission, which examines and weighs in on development projects for the county commission.

Thrower resigned from that position in June, to avoid any charges of impropriety.

Thrower says he is running a non-partisan campaign built on his experience and not as an activist. Since the primary, Vaughn has outraised Thrower $18,940 to $4,725, thanks to $12,000 in donations from the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee.

For more information about each candidate, visit VoteMitchThrower.com and JessicaVaughn.us, or search their names on Facebook.

Pebble Creek’s Karen Perez Is Running For Hillsborough School Board Dist. 6

The difference that a good learning environment can make to a child is a lesson Karen Perez says she learned when her family moved to Tampa from Brooklyn, NY, so she could attend a safer high school (King High, on N. 56th St. in Tampa).

As one of two candidates in the run-off for the Hillsborough County School Board District 6 county-wide race, the Pebble Creek resident, who has been endorsed by previous HCSB District 6 seat holder April Griffin, says that ensuring today’s students have that same opportunity to get a good education without distractions, such as school violence, is what she wants to achieve as a School Board member.

“I was able to go to high school here in Tampa and I was able to focus on my education and not have to worry about the crime. What is ironic is, what I experienced at 16 in New York, is now something that students nationwide are experiencing.”

What also has changed, according to Perez, is the nature of some problems, like bullying, that have been around for decades, but which have taken on new meaning in the Digital Age, where rumors and gossip can spread far and wide very quickly.

“Before, it was between you and the bully,” Perez says. “But now, because of social media, it’s cyberbullying.”

Perez adds that signs of the need for mental health support in schools include that fact that more and younger children are committing suicide, rather than dealing with the challenges that life presents to them.

“The mental health piece in these children’s lives is at a critical point,” she says. “We need to address this with our children.”

Perez has insight to issues related to mental health. She followed up her graduation from King High by earning her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees from the University of South Florida and building her private Tampa practice, the Embracing Changes Center for Mental Wellness.

She also is a primary social worker at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

Perez says her 17 years of experience as a mental health professional will bring a new and much-needed perspective to the School Board, which is responsible for ensuring the success and safety of more than 200,000 students in 250-plus schools in the eighth-largest school district in the U.S., while dealing with issues ranging from broken air conditioners to finding enough bus drivers.

“When you have an education board that has members on it with the same mindset, everybody’s looking through the same lens and everybody’s coming toward a problem with the same tools, everybody’s going to come up with the same conclusion,” Perez says. “When you have someone that’s thinking outside the box…you get a different viewpoint.”

Another way Perez, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the School Board in 2006, wants to bring diverse perspectives to the school district’s operations and possibly stretch resources, is by working with people and businesses who want to be involved in helping to educate the community’s children.

“There is so much collaboration we could be doing,” says Perez, who has lived in New Tampa for 18 years and has raised two daughters and a son, all of whom are now either working in or pursuing professions of their own.

After nearly two decades living in the local community, Perez has become known to her neighbors, like Ann Green, who says Perez is accessible and committed to supporting others in achieving their goals.

“Karen is a great listener,” Green says. “Her ears and heart are always turning to help people and when she says she’s willing to do something, she’ll do it no matter what.”

Opposing Perez in the General Election on Tuesday is Henry “Shake” Washington, a retired Hillsborough School District educator who touts his 42 years of experience with the school district.

Washington began his career with the district as an instructional assistant and came up through the system to work as a teacher, principal and area superintendent for Hillsborough County schools.

Among the positions Washington’s campaign promotes on its website (ShakeforSchoolBoard.com) are strong oversight and accountability of the School District’s finances and putting more emphasis on learning skills and course content in the classroom, instead of standardized test preparation. The District 6 at-large seat is currently held by April Griffin, who decided not to run for reelection. Griffin has endorsed Perez to succeed her.

Perez ran for State House in 2006, winning her primary with 62 percent of the vote before falling in the General election to Ed Homan.