Where I Stand on "Put a Dad on the School Board"
- Curtis Campogni
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
By Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board (District 3 – At-Large)
My most successful campaign slogan has also been one of my most criticized.
Put a Dad on the School Board.
I’ve heard all kinds of reactions over the past several months. Many people immediately understand what I mean.
Others don’t.
That’s okay.
Running for Pinellas County School Board means people will have different opinions, and I signed up for that.
In fact, my friends and family tell me to ignore the criticism.
They’re probably right.
But I’ve always believed I can’t control what someone says about me. I can only control how I choose to respond.
And like the great philosopher Lupe Fiasco said, "I can't take back the words I never said."
So, here we go.
Recently, someone commented on my social media ad:
“Everyone on the board has been a parent. Just because you got someone pregnant doesn’t make you qualified.”
Now, this person wrote quite a bit more than that, which made me wonder what it was about such a simple slogan that sparked such a strong response.
But their reaction also made me realize something.
Most people don't know the story behind it.
It has always been about what becoming a dad taught me.
There's a world of difference between saying,
"Vote for me because I'm a parent,"
and saying,
"The experience of becoming a dad fundamentally changed how I think about children, families, teachers, and schools."
Those aren't the same argument.
See, what you might not know is that our journey to becoming parents took nearly three years.
There were applications.
Home studies.
Training classes.
Waiting.
Uncertainty.
Disappointment.
Hope.
And then...
More waiting.
There were even moments we questioned whether it would ever happen at all.
I want you to consider that for a second.
Every night, our daughter and son slept just across the hall.
And every night, we knew there was still a chance they could be taken away.
It's difficult to describe what that uncertainty does to a parent.
What it does to a dad.
But by the grace of God, the support of countless advocates, and the courage of my wife, our story has the best ending of all.
We became parents.
In fact, here are the two photographs that changed my life forever.
They aren’t from birthdays.
They aren’t from Christmas morning.
They’re the days our children came home.
Those moments didn’t simply make me a parent.
They transformed the way I see the world.
They taught me why parents worry.
Why teachers deserve our support.
Why every child deserves an adult who believes in them.
And why schools have always been about people far more than buildings or budgets.
Long before I became a dad, I spent more than fifteen years working with young people across Pinellas County. I cared deeply about children then.
Becoming a dad didn’t create that passion.
It deepened it.
It made every conversation about education personal.
It gave me a perspective I simply didn’t have before.
So when I say, Put a Dad on the School Board, here is what you get if you do:
You get someone who understands what it feels like to hand your child to someone else each morning and trust they’ll be safe, learn, and thrive.
You get someone who understands that parents aren't dropping off test scores.
They're dropping off the most important people in their lives.
You get someone who has worked directly with state systems and understands when it’s important to trust the process and when it’s necessary to respectfully push for change.
You get someone who understands how high the stakes are when it comes to our children because he knows what it feels like to face the possibility of losing them.
That changes the way you look at every decision affecting kids.
You get someone who has been through more power struggles than I can count and has learned that most of them are wasted energy.
You get someone who believes every child deserves an advocate, especially when their voice is the quietest in the room.
And you get someone who, when it comes to doing what’s best for kids, is relentless.
Not loud for the sake of being loud.
Not stubborn for the sake of being stubborn.
Just unwilling to stop fighting for what I believe gives children the greatest opportunity to be safe, to learn, and to thrive.
That’s what I mean when I say, Put a Dad on the School Board.
I'm certainly not suggesting fatherhood alone makes someone a great School Board member.
I'm saying it changed me.
It made me a better listener.
It made me more patient.
It made me think differently about the decisions adults make and the ripple effects they have on children.
If elected, I won’t just represent parents.
I’ll represent every student, every teacher, every staff member, every taxpayer, every grandparent, and every family in Pinellas County.
But I'll do so through the lens of someone whose life was forever changed by becoming a dad.
Ironically, that comment reminded me why I chose this slogan in the first place.
Not because it’s catchy.
Not because it’s political.
But because it’s true.
When I ask voters to Put a Dad on the School Board, I’m not asking them to vote for a title.
I’m asking them to consider the perspective that title gave me.
Those two photographs didn’t just change my family.
They changed me.
They changed the way I think about children.
They changed the way I'll approach every decision as a School Board member.
And that's why I say: Put a Dad on the School Board.
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.
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