Teachers Unions, Education Bureaucracy and Wealthy Special Interests Funding Hillsborough Pro Property Tax Hike PAC - Vote NO!

The Hillsborough County August 23rd Primary Ballot has the Hillsborough County School District's proposed property tax hike on it. This millage rate increase will raise property tax revenues by about $162 MILLION per year. 

With $16 Billion AFT Transit Tax There's No New Road Capacity Planned for 38 New Schools in Hillsborough County

All for Transportation (AFT) never told voters their new $16 BILLION transit tax will not fund needed increased road capacity for any of the new schools planned in Hillsborough County.

But the central planning bureaucrats at the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) did know and they said nothing in 2018. The MPO transportation planners never informed the voting public of this huge transportation issue. 

Greed Over Need: Tampa Bay Times Pitches a Temper Tantrum

The Tampa Bay Times needs an intervention.

The Times has reported about 43 Hillsborough County schools needing new air conditioners. They recently published this article about the A/C issue, hot classrooms and mold in schools.

When Plant High School opened its doors after summer break, teachers discovered mold in the auditorium, soggy posters falling off walls and copiers that struggled to come back to life after sitting in high humidity for two months. 

Christine Brady Corum saw so many posts about sweaty students on the Fishhawk Area Neighborhood Facebook page that she began purchasing box fans for Randall Elementary School and launched a community-wide fundraiser.

Vinik's Rail Cartel Plays HardBall Against County Taxpayers

Guest post from Dr. James Davison

Mr. Vinik and his cronies have bought their way onto the November ballot spending over a HALF a MILLION DOLLARS to collect petitions to qualify a referendum for increasing the sales tax in Hillsborough county to 8% - the highest in the state. All because he needs light rail to make his downtown [Under] Water Street real estate go. 

Vinik then somehow "leap froged" in line right over the Hillsborough County School District to have a state mandated audit of the programs receiving the $15 billion tax plan. The school board had already informed the state that they were going to put a 1/2 percent sales tax question before the voters in November. The school district wanted their tax hike for much needed A/C replacements, capital improvements and hardening of the schools for security.

Tax Hike Audit Battle - Vinik vs Schools - Who Is On First?

As we previously reported, OPPAGA has begun their performance audit for the Vinik massive transit tax hike. There remains questions about how the Vinik audit jumped in front of the audit requested by Hillsborough County School Board who also wanted to put a referendum on the November ballot.

It is our understanding that OPPAGA audits are conducted first come first serve. 

Rumblings were that someone from Vinik's All For Transportation (AFT) PAC, funded by Vinik and four of his downtown allies connected to him who dumped $750K into his PAC, approached the school board last month in a face to face meeting with no paper trail. If those rumblings are correct, did Vinik's PAC for a massive unnecessary 30 year tax hike arrogantly want to jump in front of the school board's request for their audit?

Are voters and taxpayers in Hillsborough County beginning to ask some questions? The Eye received a copy of an email thread sent by a concerned citizen to the school board.

From: Gretchen Saunders <gretchen.saunders@sdhc.k12.fl.us>
Sent: Wednesday, August 8, 2018 4:36 AM
To: tashner.janet@oppaga.fl.gov; summers.david@oppaga.fl.usCc: Jeff Eakins; Christopher Farkas; jim.porter@akerman.com; jg@macfar.comSubject: Fwd(2): To Jeff Eakins Re: Charlotte Greenbarg - 180807-14991 

Good Morning Ms. Janet.

We received an email request from a community member last night regarding the Voter Referendum/OPPAGA review.

Do you have time for a quick call today? Would like to work with you and the OPPAGA team regarding our response to the question below about Hillsborough County receiving preference over Hillsborough County Public Schools and the "Way of Work" for the upcoming referendum and district audit/review.

Thank you for your help and continued support.

Gretchen Saunders
Chief Business Officer
Hillsborough County Public Schools
Telephone: 813-272-4383
Fax: 813-272-4007

----- Original Message -----

Got this through the clearinghouse tonight. I think this should be forwarded to our contacts at OPPAGA to make them aware that these questions and concerns are coming from the community.

----- Original Message -----

HCPS Web Site Contact Form
-----------------
Type: Contact Superintendent's Office
Staff Member: JeffEakins
Topic: Other
TopicOther: OPPAGA's doing the county audit first
Message:
How did the county get preference over the Board's proposal for .5% sales tax increase? 

The FloridaLegislature
OFFICE OF PROGRAM POLICY ANALYSIS AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
R.Philip Twogood, Coordinator
August 3, 2018 

Michael Merrill, CountyAdministrator
Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners
601 EastKennedy BoulevardTampa, Florida 33602

Dear Mr. Merrill:

Pursuant to the requirements of Ch. 2018-118, Laws of Florida, the Office of Program PolicyAnalysis and Government Accountability has selected McConnell & JonesLLP to conduct a performance audit of the programs associated with the surtax proposed for Hillsborough County.

McConnell & Jones will begin work on August 6, 2018. Representatives from McConnell & Jones will contact your office in the near future to discuss protocols for the performance audit.

If you have any questions, please call Emily Leventhal, OPPAGA’s Government Operations Staff Director and the contract manager for this audit, at (850) 717-0525.

Sincerely,

R. Philip Twogood CoordinatorRPT/kgAttachment
cc: Christine Beck, County Attorney forHillsborough County
Sharon Murphy, Partner, McConnell & Jones, LLP

From: Charlotte Greenbarg

It appears OPPAGA began their audit for Vinik's massive tax hike before the SOE has even certified the petition effort.

Remember the school board stated they were told it could take 6-8 months to complete their audit for a program that appears much less complex than Vinik's $15-18 BILLION tax hike for multiple programs spread across multiple entities.

With school starting earlier this year in hot humid August, this Times article lists the over $343 MILLION in air conditioning needs of schools in Hillsborough County over the next few years. And that's just the air conditioning needs…..

While schools need air-conditioning and other capital improvements, Vinik pursues unnecessary billions for costly trains to a billion dollar baseball stadium. 

We will pursue getting a copy of the school board's response after they speak with OPPAGA today. 

But the battle for massive tax hikes in Hillsborough County may turn into an outright war.

And much of the blame goes directly to Jeff Vinik.

Hillsborough County a bipolar problem with public education

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD

The recent firing of the Hillsborough County Superintendent of schools showcases what I think is a major shortcoming in Florida’s educational system.

The highly political elected school board seems to be failing the students and parents it purports to represent.

The scenario is all too common. A school district like Hillsborough or Pinellas for that matter gets into serious trouble, usually due to the bumbling of an incompetent and overly political School Board.

Enough new Board members get elected that want to effect a change and they go out and hire a new Superintendent that has a reputation as a change agent. The new superintendent shows up, does what change agents do, they start to change things.

Teachers bitch and complain, parents complain, coaches complain, and sooner or later, most often sooner than later, the Superintendent gets crossways with one or more Board members and the pettiness of the political process takes hold.

Such it appears was the case in Hillsborough with the firing of MaryEllen Elia.

MaryEllen Elia was appointed Superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools in 2005. Earlier this month, Elia was honored as a candidate for Florida's Superintendent of the Year.

Board member April Griffin has a long history of clashes with Elia since taking office in 2009. She has lead the charge against Elia.

Sally Harris, one the recently elected School Board members, who cast the swing vote to can the superintendent and who is too new to have a real record with Elia said in an interview with Tampa Bay Times columnist Sue Carlton, Harris: she voted for the firing because she felt the relationship between Elia and the board was irretrievably broken.

Really!

You can take that as political speak for making sure you don’t get on the wrong side of the Board power brokers and a classic example of why the school board system fails to work.

With all of the positive comments from politicians, business and the public about Elia, the School Board as a body has to be feeling a little stupid.

The issue of Elia’s contract and salary came up a number of times and one has to wonder if there wasn’t some petty jealousy regarding Elia’s compensation package. Apparently the Board isn’t too fiscally conservative since they feel justified in spending a Million dollars of the public’s money just to get their petty way.

I suspect that money could have been put too much better use.

The question now is, who will be willing to step up and take on the Superintendent’s role? Will it be another change agent, or will the Board be looking for someone they can walk all over?

More appropriately who in their right mind would want to work for this School Board as a Superintendent.

My guess is given this School Board, its make up and character, public schools in Hillsborough County are going to get a lot worse, before they get any better. 

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