Pasco Parent Seeks Election to School Board

He's just like any other parent who's concerned about the quality of their children's education.

And he wants your vote.

Don Stephenson of Land O' Lakes considers himself a “citizen representative." He decided to embark on his first foray into the political arena because he is concerned about the education his children are receiving, as well as where his tax dollars are going, he said.

The candidate for the Pasco County School Board District 2 seat currently held by board chairwoman Joanne Hurley has something he wants you to know, first and foremost: He is not a career politician.

The lack of urgency to fix the problems within the county’s educational
system motivated him to run, Stephenson said.

“I know there are ways we can cut costs that do not necessarily affect the quality of education,” Stephenson said. “The best place for a board member to start is to cut expenditures.”

Stephenson is not afraid to say no, he said.

“I will vote no on any single spending request that comes before the board that isn’t mandated by the state or crucial for us to provide,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson also proposes a “zero-based” budget plan.

"Most budgets utilize previous year's numbers as a jumping-off point for determining new spending amounts. A zero-based budget takes a different approach by instead starting from scratch and requiring each department to justify in need and amount every line item of spending they request. This is a very in-depth process and requires much more time and effort from those involved, but given our deficit, certainly justifiable."

Stephenson said he would like to seek a cost/benefit analysis of privatizing some of the school system's services, such as transportation, food service, IT (information technology), custodial operations and lawn maintenance. 

"I believe we have the potential for significant savings through outsourcing, as this is one of the most common tactic used by other school districts to successfully cut costs," Stephenson said.

Anyone interested in Stephenson's campaign is encouraged to fill out the ballot petition form available on his website. 

To qualify for the ballot by petition, a candidate must collect at least 2,980 signatures to avoid paying a qualifying fee. Those signatures must then be verified by the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections office.

"We've got something in the neighborhood of 700," Stephenson said. "Many more to go, but we're on track to make the final deadline. Of course if we don't quite get there, we'll be more than willing to pay the fee instead."

The Pasco elections office verified Hurley's signatures in February, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Stephenson also is accepting campaign contributions, but asks teachers unions and all PACs (political action committees) to refrain from contributing.

"I think it's important to point out that I am not just singling out teachers unions, but rather, all special interests—builders, developers, potential vendors—in the interest of avoiding bias. I am absolutely pro-teacher and am trying to find ways to balance our books without doing so on their backs," Stephenson said.

Though other candidates collect portions of their campaign budget from special interest groups, Stephenson said, he doesn’t want people to question the motives behind his decisions.

Editor's note: This article was updated at 11 a.m. April 3 with clarifications from Mr. Stephenson.