Where I Stand on School Closures (Part Two)

By Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board, District 3 (At-Large)

Declining enrollment has led to difficult conversations about school closures. In Part One, I emphasized that any decision must begin with honesty, clear communication, and respect for the people affected.

In Part Two, I want to focus on practical solutions that could help stabilize schools and strengthen communities without immediately closing neighborhood campuses.

Reimagining Investment in Our Neighborhood Schools

Before we talk about specific ideas, we need to talk about how we fund them. Pinellas County is home to business owners, graduates of our public schools, and families who built their lives here. Many of them have stories about a teacher who believed in them, a coach who changed their path, or a school that gave them their first sense of belonging.

These are the people who may be willing to make meaningful, unrestricted investments in our public schools. Not just donations to keep the lights on, but community-guided funding that allows us to take big swings. When donors are connected to the story of why public schools mattered in their own lives, they often want to help create that same impact for the next generation.

Here is how this works:

• Identify local donors, business leaders, or community foundations who want to make a lasting investment.

• Offer naming opportunities such as “The ______ Career Hall” or “The ______ Applied Learning Center.”

• Use the donated funds to renovate unused hallways, rooms, or wings into child care facilities and/or vocational training spaces.

1. Allow Donors to Provide On-Site Childcare for Educators and School Staff

Many schools have rooms that currently go unused. At the same time, educators and support staff are facing the rising cost and logistical stress of childcare. When a staff member has to miss work to care for a child, it affects continuity in classrooms and increases strain across the school.

We can convert unused rooms into licensed childcare spaces directly on campus. Priority would go to teachers and school employees. If space remains available, siblings of students enrolled at the school could be included.

This helps us:

• Support the people who support our students

• Reduce staff turnover and absenteeism

• Strengthen school culture and stability

This can begin as a pilot program at one or two schools with the highest need. We do not have to solve it at scale before we start.

2. Allow Donors to Fund School-Based Career Training Centers

Instead of closing under-enrolled schools, we can repurpose portions of them to expand meaningful vocational training opportunities for students.

Once the space is funded, we partner with existing workforce organizations to ensure quality and certification:

• Pinellas Technical College can help design programs and align them with industry-recognized credentials

• CareerSource Tampa Bay can support apprenticeship pathways, job placement, and workforce pipeline development

• The Pinellas Education Foundation can help coordinate partnerships and community connections

Potential programs include:

• Barbering and cosmetology

• Culinary arts and food service

• HVAC, electrical, or building maintenance

• Digital media and film production

• Early childhood development pathways

Students would learn skills that translate directly to employment, entrepreneurship, and long-term career growth. And families would see real, tangible value inside public schools.

This approach brings new energy and purpose to under-enrolled campuses while strengthening students’ futures.

Why These Ideas Matter

When a school closes, a neighborhood loses more than a building. It loses identity, continuity, and belonging. The answer is not to abandon what is struggling, but to reimagine it.

Both proposals support the same belief:

Our public schools are not something to use up and discard. They are something to invest in.

My Commitment

If elected, I will:

• Advocate for on-site childcare pilot programs for educators and staff

• Recruit donors who want to make meaningful community investments

• Work with Pinellas Technical College, CareerSource Tampa Bay, and the Pinellas Education Foundation to expand career pathways inside neighborhood schools

• Prioritize student stability and community voice in every decision

We move forward best when we do it together, with clarity, care, and respect for the people who will feel the impact.

*Start at 48:50 to hear my remarks from today’s School Board meeting. Listen and Learn sessions coming soon. Your voice belongs in this conversation.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board, District 3 (At-Large), and do not represent the official position of any organization or governing body.