Pasco County voters on Tuesday were on track to renew the school board’s request to renew a local-option property tax that boosts teacher and staff annual salaries by about 12%.
They also set a new look for the school board, which will have two new members when it reorganizes in two weeks. Attorney Kimberly Coward led the race for the District 1 seat representing east Pasco, while private school administrator Matt Geiger claimed the District 3 seat representing south-central Pasco.
With all precincts reporting, Geiger held a 17-point lead over real estate agent Mollyana Ward, and Coward bested safety consultant Gino Collura by about 4 percentage points.
Coward will replace health care executive Al Hernandez, who did not seek reelection after one term. Geiger will take the post held by real estate agent Cynthia Armstrong for the past 16 years.
Incumbent Megan Harding won a third term during the August primary.
“I’m happy Pasco County residents have put their faith and confidence in me,” Geiger said. “I’m not going to fail them.”
Coward, who once worked as a guidance counselor in the district, said she was thrilled to have the position she long wanted and prepared for. Nodding to her military service, she said her campaign was about integrity first and service before self.
Most important, she added, “It’s always about the kids first.”
The newly elected board members join the panel as the district grapples with declining enrollment in the western portion of the county and rapid growth to the east.
The declining student numbers have translated into tighter budgets. Voters’ agreement to extend the district’s property tax of $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, with the purpose of boosting employee pay, will help ease concerns of losing teachers to other districts.
“People care about education in Pasco County,” said school board chairperson Colleen Beaudoin. “This is just a testament to that. It’s going to keep us moving forward. I am just thrilled.”
Some observers have criticized the use of a referendum to subsidize salaries, a move several districts across Florida including Polk, Broward and Miami-Dade counties had on Tuesday’s ballot. They have argued that districts should not have to use short-term solutions to long-term budget expenses.
The state requires districts to renew such taxes every four years.
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