PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Curtis Campogni is headed to the Pinellas County School Board after defeating incumbent Dawn Peters in a closely contested race.
Campogni will become the newest at-large school board member for District 3. He said one of his first priorities will be getting into schools.
“The first thing I’m going to do is visit these schools, visit these communities and gain a real understanding of the people behind the data,” Campogni said.
Campogni defeated Peters by 712 votes, a margin close enough to qualify for a machine recount. However, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office said Wednesday that Peters confirmed in writing she is not requesting a machine or manual recount.
Campogni said he will assume his position Nov. 17.
Tampa Bay 28 reached out to Peters for comment and have yet to hear back.
Parents look for stability amid school consolidation discussions
With the election over, some Pinellas County parents and residents say they want the school board to focus on how it handles future conversations about school closures and consolidation.
The district has been developing consolidation plans as it grapples with declining enrollment and a declining birth rate. District staff have held community meetings to share information with families and created an online information portal as plans have taken shape.
Some parents, however, say they want more transparency and more questions asked before major decisions are made.
“The school board really should be asking these tough questions upfront for us,” Pinellas County parent Stacie Gaffrey said. “They’re here to represent us and if they’re not asking the questions, how do they expect us to know these questions to ask?”
Pinellas County resident Cindy Rekort said she believes the district needs a broader strategy for addressing declining student populations.
“We have got to have a better way of dealing with our declining population of students,” Rekort said. “We can’t just keep closing schools every year.”
Rekort added she was excited for new perspectives to be added to the School Board following the outcome of this race.
For families, the issue also comes down to having consistency and knowing where their children will attend school from year to year.
“Our kids really deserve stability,” Gaffrey said. “We deserve a chance to thrive in a community and not be concerned about, ‘Is this school gonna close if we put our kids here?’”
As Campogni prepares to join the Board, questions surrounding school consolidation, transparency, and stability for families are expected to remain part of the conversation.
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