At the May 5th School Board Workshop, school board members debated what type of election to run for the half cent sales tax referendum. Supervisor of Elections Shirley Anderson stated that she could do a special election in early September 2015 but it is not feasible for her to do a special election any later since she has to prepare new voting machines for the 2016 primary elections and it takes at least 6 months to train poll workers after they acquire the machines. School board members are facing a time crunch to get the special election underway by September as they are coming into summer break. The lack of contact with parents and teachers over this time will make gaining momentum and support for the half cent sales tax more challenging. However, several school board members seem to be confident that they can gain support despite the time constraints.
The school board designated a committee to look at the feasibility of running a special election in September. Jimmy Lodato is part of this committee and was recently elected Hernando County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman. He stated that the question board members should ask themselves is the expediency of it. He believes that the school board will be victorious whether the issue is on a September or November ballot since the support is out there. Communications Director Eric Williams stated that the majority of the Committee held the position that if we were forced into a September election then it could get done.
However Mr. Williams felt that it would be a large obstacle to overcome if they decided to run the election in September due to the lack of contact with their stakeholders over the summer months. He felt that there is a need for a comprehensive public campaign.
Board Member Matt Foreman was the sole board member to prefer running the issue on the November 2016 ballot over either a September or November 2015 ballot. According to Mr. Foreman, a September election would not give them enough time to mobilize their support system and educate the public. A November 2015 election would have to be a mail in ballot and Mr. Foreman felt that outcome analysis would be uncertain.
Mr. Lodato mentioned that if it failed in September or November there is always the possibility of putting it on the ballot again in November 2016 which would not have any associated costs. Mr. Foreman did not prefer this option. He stated, “ I respectfully disagree with Mr. Lodato, yes we can stick it on the ballot every year until we are blue in the face, but coming off the loss on the penny, if we were to run this again and it were to fail and then you put it on the ballot again the following year you are going to catch an unbelievable amount of backlash. My logic continues to be this is a ten year plan.”
School board member Beth Naverud prefers a November 2015 mail in ballot election. It would cost approximately $12,000 over a September polling place election but would give them the time to raise money and reach the public.
Board Member Mark Johnson questioned the School Board Attorney Dennis Alfonso on who has the authority to set the election date. Mr. Alfonso replied that it is up to the Board of County Commissioners to set the date as that is how it has been interpreted by the Attorney General’s Office. He explained that the BOCC will consider what the school board wants and what the Supervisor of Elections wants. If it’s impractical for her office to run the election on the date preferred by the school board, then it would be difficult to prevail in that situation. If it went to litigation, it would be an expensive and risky fight.
Mr. Alfonso went on to emphasize the tight time table for a September election. He explained that they would need to create the language for the resolution and craft the message on what the money will be spent on. Both of these need to be adopted. Then they need to go to the Department of Revenue for approval of the language. It would be June by the time the message goes out. Additionally he stated that this timetable minimizes the ability of the superintendent and district staff to lawfully communicate the needs of the District through parent and teacher organizations.
Chair Guadagnino and board members Duval and Johnson felt that it is necessary to proceed with a September 2015 special election. They believe it is possible to gain the support within the given time frame.
After the September date was settled on (but not formally voted on), a discussion arose about the PAC formation. Mr. Alfonso recommended that a separate committee interface with the PAC to give them information that is instructional in nature. Mr. Williams explained that this committee would consist of ex officio members who are employees of the school district.
John Mitten, the franchise restaurant operator of Chick-fil-A on Cortez, and Mr. Lodato have been appointed co-chairs of the campaign Political Committee named: Save Our Students Hernando!
Mr. Williams and Mr. Alfonso are working together to develop the ballot language and resolution. They will bring that to board members individually. A special meeting to vote on the language and resolution is scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday May12th at 5pm.