Where I Stand: The School Closure Process
By Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board (District 3 – At-Large)
If you follow me on social media, you've probably noticed I've been posting regular updates about the district's school closure and consolidation recommendations.
What was originally supposed to be a one-off post turned into an entire series. And honestly, that's because of the feedback I've received from families and community members who have told me how much they appreciate the updates, questions, and conversations.
Last night, we reached a significant point in this process with the School Board's vote on several of those recommendations.
I had a lot of thoughts to share afterward. So many, in fact, that my social media post became much longer than I anticipated. Rather than break it into multiple pieces, I decided to share the full post here as well.
As always, I welcome your feedback, even if it means I'm wrong about something. I'm still learning, too.
Hey all. I've probably rewritten this post 55 times.
I've been wrestling with what I feel, what I know, and what I'm hearing from others. And I'm trying my very best to separate those things.
Please understand that I'm genuinely trying to be objective, not let the fact that I'm running a campaign influence how I view what's happening, and extend empathy to everyone involved. That includes the families, district staff, and School Board members navigating some incredibly difficult decisions.
So, right or wrong, here's where I've landed.
First, I want to revisit something Dawn Peters said at the 10/13 School Board meeting in response to a proposal to postpone the Sunset Hills decision for additional community discussion:
“Pushing these votes back creates a lack of confidence in our school board and our district's work on these recommendations.”
The reason I push back on that statement is because I've gone back through the timeline more times than I can count.
And the more I review it, the more questions I have.
I mean, consider the timeline:
9/10: The district proposed closing Tarpon Springs Middle and Fundamental Elementary to create a fundamental K–8. Sunset Hills wasn't included.
9/11: Peters supported the original recommendations, citing in a Facebook post “a year of careful research, planning, community and staff input.” She assured families that “every child is going to be offered something at least as good, if not better than what is available at their current School.” Superintendent Hendrick and Board Chair Hine also communicated that standard, including Hine during a WUSF interview.
9/25: Peters then posted, “I was invited to Tarpon Springs by Mayor Koulianos and the PTAs from multiple Tarpon Springs schools to discuss the Planning for Progress recommendations. This community did not come with complaints, they came with solutions.”
For additional context, Tarpon families have told me that all 7 Board members were invited, and that Caprice Edmond and Lisa Cane also made the trip. I think that's worth acknowledging, especially considering Edmond doesn't hold an at-large seat but still took the time to engage with families outside her district.
10/6: The district then substantially revised its Tarpon proposal, creating 2 K–8 schools and bringing Sunset Hills into the plan. All Board members appeared to express support for the revised proposal, though Peters emphasized her desire to keep the district's other closure recommendations unchanged.
10/13: Consequently, Sunset Hills families had just 7 days between the revised recommendation and the Board vote. In response, they requested 2 more weeks for discussion. Lisa Cane agreed, making a motion to postpone the decision, but no one seconded her motion. This meant it wouldn't even advance for Board consideration, even though Sexton's closure recommendation had already been postponed for further discussion.
Further, Superintendent Hendrick acknowledged that the original Tarpon plan likely would have led to discussions about closing Sunset Hills through attrition within 1–2 years anyway.
That raises some important questions.
If Sunset Hills' eventual closure was foreseeable, was that possibility evaluated during the original planning process? If so, why wasn't it communicated to families in September?
The geography hadn't changed, and transportation concerns were already apparent. What new information emerged, or what changed in how those concerns were weighed?
And what criteria determine when community concerns warrant postponement or reconsideration? Will those criteria be applied consistently to Sexton, Lynch, and Woodlawn?
I imagine transportation won't carry nearly the same weight here, considering how close these schools are to one another. So if geography and busing concerns helped drive the changes in Tarpon Springs, what will drive the decisions for these families? What other factors will carry enough weight to warrant reconsideration?
I applaud the willingness to change course when families raise concerns. That's what listening should look like. But if the revised plan better serves families, what did the original process miss?
Here's what I'd like to see happen next.
Before moving forward with decisions on Sexton, Woodlawn, and Lynch, I'd like each of our 7 School Board members to publicly identify 1 concrete guardrail they believe best represents the students and families they serve.
The district can then use those Board-established guardrails alongside its existing guiding principles to evaluate the remaining recommendations.
This would give families a clearer understanding of what matters most to their elected representatives and how those priorities shape the final decisions.
Public confidence comes from acknowledging what we've learned and demonstrating how we'll do better, not simply defending the original process.
If we're going to promise families something “at least as good, if not better” than what they have now, shouldn't we start by giving them a decision-making process that's better than the one that brought us here?
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.
Comments