Hillsborough school board gets an overhaul
By LINDA CHION KENNEY
In her new role as Hillsborough County School Board chair, Lynn Gray made it clear she understood the message from voters in reformulating the seven-member board that oversees the nation’s seventh-largest school district.
“Always we can do better,” Gray said. “We always must do better. The community has spoken.”
The only incumbent to retain her seat, Gray issued these closing remarks at the school board’s Nov. 17 reorganization meeting, where the new board members issued their first official comments.
It’s a new day for the Hillsborough County Public Schools with a newly seated superintendent set to answer to three new board members with education backgrounds: Nadia Combs, Jessica Vaughn and Henry “Shake” Washington.
Rounding out the board are former teacher Gray (District 7, at-large); insurance agent Snively (District 4, east Hillsborough County); social worker Karen Perez (District 6, at-large); and former college professor, Stacy Hahn, the newly named vice chair. Hahn’s District 2 covers south Tampa and south Hillsborough County.
“One thing this election has taught me is that our community is ready to put aside the divides that we’ve faced and come together for the better of our students and for our schools,” said Vaughn, a substitute teacher. She fills the District 3 seat vacated by two-term school board member Cindy Stuart, who won her primary race in August to succeed Pat Frank as Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Vaughn, 43, a substitute teacher, was elected to the Tampa Palms Community Development District (CDD) in 2016. She won her school board race, with 61 percent of the vote, against Mitch Thrower, after they both emerged from a field of six candidates in the Aug. 18 primary. District 3 encompasses northeast Hillsborough County, including Lutz and the New Tampa area.
Replacing incumbent Tamara Shamburger in her District 5 seat, with 55 percent of the vote, is Henry “Shake” Washington, who is no stranger to the Hillsborough County school system or to school board elections. He ran unsuccessfully in 2018 against Perez.
Washington, 71, opened the new Middleton High School in 2002 as its charter principal, where the auditorium bears his name, and his son, Henry Washington Jr., is assistant principal for administration.
The elder Washington was a Hillsborough teacher, coach and area superintendent. In 1968 he graduated from the original Middleton High, which closed in 1971 under a federal desegregation order. His District 5 area includes central Hillsborough County, including some of the county’s highest-poverty neighborhoods.
“Even though I’m in District 5 and I need help in District 5, I’m still here for students no matter what district you’re in,” Washington said. “We have a new board, and I have confidence that this board will do everything in its power to make this school system better than what it is now. We can improve and we will improve because we’re going to work hard.”
The challenges are formidable, with the district facing high growth in south Hillsborough County with sparse funds and a dearth of lots to build new schools; a budget crisis that forced superintendent Davis to seek short-term funding to meet monthly obligations; and a teacher morale problem exacerbated by the perils and protocols of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Calling it a year that has been “extremely difficult for all of us,” incumbent Steve Cona III bid farewell at the Nov. 17 board meeting, adding that he became “a better leader because of the work.” At the Oct. 6 board meeting, he addressed the ramifications of seeking a Tax Anticipation Note (TAN) to offset budget shortfalls.
“This is not a good position to be in, to have $10 million in the bank in November,” Cona said. “Not a good place to be. It’s the first time this has happened in our school district. I am not happy about this. In my opinion, we have to make some difficult decisions to get our budget in line, so we’re not having to take out a TAN loan every November because we can’t meet payroll. It’s not healthy for our students to have a district in this type of financial crisis.”
Cona, a construction industry executive, replaced Susan Valdes in her District 1 seat in 2018, after Valdes ran her successful bid for the District 62 state House seat. Now, replacing Cona with 64 percent of the vote is 50-year-old Combs, a former Hillsborough County middle school teacher who owns and operates a private tutoring company. District 1 covers northwest Hillsborough County.
Born in a third-world country, Combs said she moved to America at age 8 and was “fortunate enough to have teachers and individuals in my life who always encouraged me that I could do or be anything that I set my mind to.” She said she is the first person in her family to graduate from college.
Recognizing the “very challenging year” teachers, administrators and support staff have faced, Combs said she is ready to lend support. Her vision is to prepare students for life, whether they choose a vocational, technical, military or college path. Despite “where a child comes from,” it is imperative “they are given the same opportunities to succeed in life,” Combs said.
School board members run nonpartisan races. They are elected from five single-member residence districts and two at-large community wide districts. The annual salary is $44,749.
To view the Nov. 17 reorganization meeting, visit: https://schoolboard.hcpswebcasts.com.