William James Vonada
I believe that education is the most important factor in determining the long-term future of our community, our nation, and our world. Over the past decade, I have witnessed a distortion of the purpose of public education, leading to misallocations of resources, a decline in the number of passionate people willing to work in it, and an overall lapse in its effectiveness. It is for these reasons that I have decided to run for the District 4 School Board seat in Hernando County.
If elected, the residents of our county will be able to count on me to make decisions not according to what will make me popular or bring me power, but according to what I believe will be fair and in the best long-term interest of our county and our nation. Our students, teachers, and parents will be able to count on me to stay in touch with what is going on in our schools, so that my decisions will not be like those of many law-makers and designers of educational mandates, who make choices in distant offices with little knowledge of their grass-roots impact. Furthermore, I will specifically work in the following areas:
The education of the whole student—In our obsession with standardized testing, as well as school and district grades, we have lost sight of the importance of ethics and behavior, developing the specific passions and gifts of our students, and teaching healthy lifestyles. We need to bring these areas back to places of importance.
The employment and retention of qualified, passionate people—Other than parent involvement, I believe that the workers in the schools have the most influence on the success or failure in a child’s education. They must believe we are there to support them.
Making our county a voice for change—We can no longer afford to sit idly by and allow our schools be ruined by others from afar.
We all know that in most endeavors, the person who has the greatest stake in the outcome is the one likely to work the hardest to ensure its success. As the father of 3 former and current Hernando County students, a graduate of Hernando County Schools, a 38 year resident of our county, and a 27 year teaching veteran, I strongly believe I am the most invested candidate for the District 4 seat of the Hernando County School Board.
Total monetary contributions to date (9/16/16): $3,870.58
In Kind Contributions to date (9/16/16): $506.00
Expenditures and Distributions to date (9/16/16): $3,389.35
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Gus Guadagnino
It has been my honor to serve as both a member and Chairperson of the Hernando County School Board over the last three years. This year, I will be back on the ballot for re-election and am looking forward to continued progress in the effort to become an A+ School District.
My quest for excellence in Hernando County schools started in 1987 when I co-founded the Manufacturer’s Association of Hernando County, which, among other things, provided educational programs in the classroom. Our volunteers demonstrated technology and career paths available in manufacturing fields. Eventually, these programs would become formalized with the opening of Nature Coast Technical High School. Since my election to the School Board in 2012, Suncoast Technical Educational Center opened to provide additional career training.
I serve as Immediate Past-President and a 25-year leader of the Hernando County Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks financial support to provide for the unfunded needs of teachers in our County. This year, the Foundation procured over $500,000 in private contributions and grants. In March 2016, we debuted “Tools for Schools,” a teacher resource for free classroom supplies.
I ran for the School Board in 2012 because, as a Board member for both the Early Learning Coalition and the Pasco-Hernando State College Foundation, I saw a big “disconnect” from early learning to college. Pre-K programs did not prepare children for kindergarten. Middle schools were offering students programs that had little, if any, sequential courses at the high school level. The Pasco-Hernando State College Foundation was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to prepare high school graduates for college-level courses with remediation programs. Since my election, improved curriculum integration better prepares students for the next level of education.
I believe that teachers deserve respect, parent/student accountability is important, and legislators need to stay out of the classroom. We must reduce the focus on testing, and realize that arts education is integral to the development of well-rounded students.
We are making improvements since I took office. The “Parent Academy” opened as a resource for parents. The District grade has improved to a “B” (on our way to an “A”). Graduation rates have improved, and I am in the development stages of a Performing Arts Center. I ask that you vote for Gus Guadagnino so that I can continue working to improve the lives of our children.
Total monetary contributions to date (9/16/16): $9,310.00
In Kind Contributions to date (9/16/16): $1,786.13
Expenditures and Distributions to date (9/16/16): $7,416.16