School board incumbents have been sweating across the country, the state and the county as angry and engaged parents turn to challengers and seem to want an end to the status quo.

Hernando County’s school board has been the scene of heated rhetoric.

Board members have been told that the goal of parents is to “vote the bums out” and if all three incumbents lose on Aug. 23, no doubt the new 3-2 conservative majority will bring along some major changes in the schools, and especially their administration.

Bringing national issues to bear on local school boards has proven to be an effective way to challenge school board members. Critical Race Theory; equity efforts, including efforts to close the achievement gap and get more students into advanced placement classes; mandating the use of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and physical and mental health services in schools in general; the content of textbooks, curricula and school library books; gender and LGBTQ+ issues; and even the presence of sheriff’s deputies at meetings have raised anger.

Bring up the need for both bodies to work together, and the general County Commission stance has been that after all the current members of the School Board are gone, there will be a better working relationship.

All three incumbents are defending their seats, and have defended their positions and policies, touting accomplishments such as getting the vo-tech school near the airport started, pressing the need for funding to build new schools for the expected influx of new residents, vowing to fix the shortcomings in the system related to staffing and facilities; and being open to the comments and criticisms of all residents who attend their meetings.

District 1

At the recent “Politics in the Park” event, District 1 candidates Kay Hatch (incumbent) and Jennifer Licata were present and spoke, while Mark Johnson sent a proxy to speak in his stead but has been vocal about issues in other speaking engagements.

Hatch, a nurse and then-political newcomer, defeated Johnson, then chairman of the School Board, by more than 3,000 votes in 2018.

“Like many of you, I have significant experience with the public school system,” Hatch said. “My focus serving on the School Board has been student achievement and closing achievement gaps.”

She described the district as a “solid ‘B’ district” working toward becoming “an ‘A’ district.” Five of the district’s high schools graduated students who had both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. Some students committed to the military, and collectively they garnered more than $10 million in scholarships.

In addition to committing to advanced placement, there has been a commitment to career-technical education, Hatch said. Some middle school students can earn beginning industry certifications.

“Our biggest challenge right now is staff shortages, so if you know folks who are interested in working in the school district, we look forward to hearing from them,” she said. “We are also confronted with the reality of needing to find space for our students as the community continues to grow

Linda Rothenberg read Johnson’s statement at “Politics in the Park.”

He has two stepsons and a daughter who teach in public schools, and four grandchildren in the public schools. He has worked as a private investigator and noted that “not everything is what it seems.”

He was a member of the board from 2014 to 2018, his statement said. During that time the district went from a $12 million deficit to a $14 million unrestricted reserve. “He’s a prudent fiscal conservative with a large budget experience. In his years on the school board, the district went from a ‘C’ academic rating to a ‘B+’.”

He helped create workshops for parents to help them claim scholarships from local businesses and nonprofits, as well as clubs to teach skills to elementary school boys.

“He is the only candidate who researched and is speaking out against the school district’s CRT (Critical Race Theory) teacher training programs, which provide teachers with techniques to infuse curricula with CRT, also researching and speaking out against the district’s equity programs,” Rothenberg read. “These equity programs discard merit, replace equal opportunity with equal outcomes, and has been brought into the district by a company financially supported by far-left tech companies and technocrats.”

He supports teaching science, reading and math “without indoctrination, propaganda or opinion of any persuasion.”

Jennifer Licata was the third District 1 speaker.

She has been endorsed by Moms for Liberty and says it’s time to put a “mom on the school board.”

“I’m here to do something about the way that our education system is being run right here in Hernando County,” she said. “I’ve spent my entire life being an advocate for others. I worked in the nonprofit and health care field for many, many years.”

She continued her education, she said, and got a juris master’s from the FSU College of Law to advocate for others better. Licata said she wants to be a voice for students on the school board and an advocate for parental rights.

She’s not a politician or an educator, she said.

“I’m a mom with a kid in the system who wants nothing more than to change our education system for the better,” she said. “Our School Board has been a complete laughingstock for the past couple of years. It’s time for new leadership and fresh ideas.”

All parts of the education system need collaboration, she said, to educate children. School Board members should believe in educational choices, and not “cookie cutter” processes.

They should be focused on the future, Licata said, and the state is growing, like it or not.

“We have to be planning today, so that our kids can have the best educational opportunities tomorrow, and even once they graduate,” she said.

School safety is important and the School Resource Officers are “amazing,” she said, but safety often is forgotten until a tragedy happens.

And don’t forget finances, she said.

“We need to ensure that we’re passing healthy budgets that eliminate wasteful spending and that we’re putting those funds towards programs that are good and resourceful,” she said.

“We don’t need a recycled politician,” Licata concluded. “We need a mom who will get the job done.”