Hillsborough Education Foundation

Welcome to the Hillsborough Education Foundation’s

On-line Voter’s Guide to the School Board Elections!

As a service to voters in Hillsborough County, we have produced a print Voter’s Guide in conjunction with The Tampa Tribune. This guide was distributed to Hillsborough County Tribune subscribers August 15, 2008 and is available at various public venues around the county. You can also download a copy of it here. But we wanted to give you more; more candidate information, more candidate opinions, more content … so enjoy our on-line version.

School Board Early Voting: August 11-23, 2008
School Board Election: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

To view the 2008 Voter's Guide in its entirety, click here.

The Hillsborough Education Foundation has asked each School Board candidate to answer the following questions, so voters will know where each candidate stands on several important issues.

1.What experience do you have in public service and with government, corporate, or non-profit boards?

2. What experience do you have in governance over a multi-million dollar budget?

3.What will you do as a school board member to assure school quality and support the goal of high achievement for every student?

4. What programs and areas do you consider most vital and deserving of the highest protection from budget cuts?

5. What strategies do you believe are important to ensure school safety?

6. What are your thoughts on the importance of career academics and career centers with the Hillsborough County Public Schools?

7. What do you believe are the most effective ways to evaluate school and student performance?

8. How do you propose the district recruit and retain highly qualified teachers?

9. What activities or programs would you support to enrich students’ learning; how would you promote use of technology in the classroom and amongst school and district staff?

10. What is your stance on school choice?

11. How will you engage the community and parents, and help schools engage the community and parents, to ensure school quality?

12. What are your thoughts on the importance of post-secondary career education within the school district?

Click here to read the candidates' responses.

To view a map of the School Board Districts, click here.

Want to know how the candidates got to where they are today?
Click on each candidate's name to read their biography/resume.

District 1
Dave Schmidt
Susan Valdes

District 3
Jack Lamb

District 5
Doretha Wynn Edgecomb

District 7
Stephen Gorham
Carol W. Kurdell
Jason D. Mims

Assuring the highest quality in our public schools is work for all of us. We have many opportunities to participate in the process. Every day we can get involved in our local schools, but only once every 2 years can we vote for the School Board members who will lead the school district. We hope that you enjoy what we’ve produced and are inspired to make a thoughtful decision when going to the polls during School Board elections August 26, 2008 (or during early voting).