TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A proposed bill in Tallahassee might soon make the Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent position a partisan elected role.
What we know:
Republican State Rep. Michael Owen, District 70, plans to introduce the bill in the next legislative session.Â
“This is one where I believe that the parents and the voters of Hillsborough County should determine who the CEO of their child’s education is,” Owen said. “Again, this is another referendum where the voters will decide. I want to throw a note in here. This has nothing to do with our superintendent, who is currently in Hillsborough County. He’s a good man that I’ve known for a while. This has to do with the future of this position.”
If it becomes law, voters would still need to approve the change on the ballot.
“I believe having a more independent superintendent will allow them not to necessarily meet the wishes of the majority of the board but the wishes of the parents of Hillsborough County,” Owen said.
The other side:
But there was mixed feedback at the Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation meeting in Tallahassee on Tuesday.Â
Democratic State Rep. Michele Rayner, District 62, opposed the bill.
“So, I am not going to be in favor of having someone, potentially, be in this position that is unqualified,” said Rayner. “That doesn’t have the appropriate education, that doesn’t have the ability, or have the historical knowledge of working in education or, specifically, this school district, the seventh-largest school district in the nation.”
Some are concerned this will put politics into education.
“Every minute that you ask an elected superintendent to campaign is a minute being robbed from our students,” said one public speaker in opposition. “So please, please make superintendents accountable to our students and to our families and not to offer up more politics and more money being infused to sway these elections.”
Dig deeper:
“I want to remind everybody that when we’re using the term elected it should not be about politics, but it should be about the people we elect,” said the man in favor of the change. “And as a recent grad of Morton High school and an education activist, I am super proud of the work superintendent Ayres has done.”
Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell is against the bill and plans to push back on it in Tallahassee. Rayner also says she will not support the move.
Lynn Gray, a school board member, pointed to low voter turnout in Tampa’s last mayoral race. She questions whether the community would want a small group to elect the leader of the district.
The Source: FOX 13’s Danielle Zulkosky gathered the information for this story from the Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation meeting in Tallahassee on Tuesday.