Pasco County voters still pick their school superintendent. Who’s running?

Pasco County voters this year will choose their first new school superintendent in more than a decade.

After 12 years at the helm of Pasco’s largest employer, Kurt Browning isn’t seeking reelection. Three candidates so far have announced campaigns to succeed him in one of the nation’s few remaining school districts that elect their chief executive.

Browning has said he will not endorse anyone vying for the job.

Each current hopeful made their interest known more than a year ago. Yet only recently have they kicked their campaigns into higher gear, having waited for election year politics to gain more widespread attention.

With the presidential primary in full swing nationally, and six local cities holding municipal balloting in April, that time has arrived.

Chris Dunning, principal at Wendell Krinn Technical High School, marked a milestone toward his goal on March 7, when he learned he had collected enough valid petition signatures — more than 4,000 — to appear on the November ballot as a non-party candidate. He’s the first Pasco schools candidate in several years to submit a petition rather than pay a qualifying fee, which this year is $10,375.

He would face the winner of the August party primaries. Right now, only Republicans are in the race.

John Legg, a former state senator who runs the county’s oldest charter school, has grabbed the support of the mainstream party leadership and holds a significant funding advantage. And he’s looking to expand his backing outside his west Pasco base, holding a Dade City meet and greet on Thursday hosted by state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Sheriff Chris Nocco, among several other notables.

Michelle Mandarin, who works in marketing, is pursuing an outsider campaign aimed at the families she sees as ignored and underserved by the status quo. A mom who got involved in school politics during what she called the pandemic “masking fiasco,” she’s been the quietest of the contenders but is working to ramp up her presence, particularly online.

Each aspires to take the school district to new levels of success. They differ on how they aim to get there.

Legg said his top priority would be finding ways to improve student literacy. He noted that in recent state testing, a majority of elementary schools had fewer than half their students perform at grade level or better in reading.

Most of those serve lower-income communities.

Legg said he would look to the success that his charter school, Dayspring Academy, has found over several years working in similar areas such as Hudson, where he grew up. The key, he suggested, lies in giving schools more flexibility to innovate as they create a culture of learning.

Pasco has made strides in recent years with its addition of new specialty and magnet schools, Legg said. But more is needed.

The district should have set standards and assessments to ensure schools are achieving, he said. But “a one-size-fits-all approach does not work.”

He also stressed the importance of finding ways to improve student behavior and discipline, saying he has heard of problems within some schools. The district must offer greater support to teachers and others who deal with the situation daily, Legg said.

He said he could take the district to the next level by applying what he’s learned in his doctoral studies on education innovation and using the skills and connections he acquired while working in the Legislature.

Mandarin said she would seek a greater shakeup. She said when she speaks to parents and teachers, she hears complaints about the way people are treated.

One of her top priorities would be to ensure that the district changes its dynamic when responding to concerns. She also wants increased transparency with regard to the curriculum that students are taught.

“From what I know and gather, I think that we’re in trouble as a country, and it all stems from our education system,” she said.

She called for the removal of all programs she said are funded by or associated with the Communist Party of China. She included the Cambridge AICE program, which the district has expanded into several schools.

On her website, Mandarin points to a report from Breitbart.com that says Cambridge University took money from Chinese tech firm Tencent Holdings. She also criticizes the AICE program’s “Global Perspectives” component, saying it promotes “group think.”

Other issues that concern Mandarin include any program where the district allows student data to be collected and kept by third parties. She has attended Moms for Liberty events, including the group’s first national conference in Tampa, and said she agrees with portions of its agenda, such as opposition to social-emotional learning.

She also suggested that the district should move to an appointed superintendent, calling the school board’s relationship with the superintendent “unbalanced.”

“I’m running for office because it’s been placed in my heart,” she said. “I believe in God, and God has told me this is the path I should be on. I believe my perspective can be refreshing.”

Dunning said he believes the district needs a culture change to stem any tide of employees who are leaving. But it does not need an outsider at the top, he added.

“We cannot go five or six years while someone learns how the system works,” said Dunning, who has been a teacher, principal and district administrator over nearly 30 years in the district. “We need someone who can come in and impact the culture immediately.”

He said he knows small but meaningful ways within the current model to make it easier for everyone to do the job they were hired to do. He called for a reduction in paperwork, an increased focus in supporting staff on the ground and even some simple tweaks in the way things get done.

Something as basic as reorganizing online class rosters so teachers can more easily find all students with special education plans and update their records would “save a ton of time,” Dunning said.

He called for giving teachers more freedom to make their lessons more engaging, including showing them how to do so. He also proposed district support for an early literacy program that could begin before children ever enter school.

And he said the district needs to become more advanced in its classroom technology.

He said he was surprised the district doesn’t ensure that every student has a laptop or pad. “Not that I want kids on devices all day,” he said. “But they have to have access.”