School board candidates say Good Friday holiday ‘hot’ topic in campaign

Editor’s Note: The Jewish Press surveyed all the Hillsborough County School Board candidates on the Good Friday holiday issue. Candidates responded by email, in telephone interviews or in one case the candidate’s position was taken from her campaign website.

The Hillsborough School Board’s decision to make Good Friday a school holiday in 2011 has become a hot issue in the upcoming non-partisan election for three school board seats and is likely to come up again before the board next year according to the candidates.

The current School Board’s 5-2 vote on May 18 to make Good Friday a school holiday disappointed Jewish leaders who said that if Good Friday was made a holiday, Jewish and other major religious holidays should also be scheduled.

“We want to see Jewish holidays treated the same as other religions. It’s disappointing that it’s not taking place,” Tampa Jewish Federation President Jonathan Ellis said after the vote.

Jewish community leaders have indicated they have no plans to let the issue drop and are already preparing for the debate next year.

The five board members who voted in favor of the holiday said they did so because this year’s high absentee rate on Good Friday — 42 percent of students and 19 percent of school bus drivers —made it impractical and costly to hold classes on that day; not for religious reasons, which would be illegal.

In 2011. the Good Friday holiday falls on April 22, and will be followed by spring break from April 25-29 for Hillsborough County public schools.

School Board members April Griffin and Carol Kurdell voted against making Good Friday a holiday. Griffin is seeking re-election for the District 6 countywide seat while Kurdell is not up for re-election this year.

“I have continually voted for a secular calendar. I have tried to see that all of our students are treated fairly,” Griffin said.

Griffin offered a motion at the May meeting to add Jewish and Muslim holidays to the school schedule, but it failed to get a second.

“I know it (Good Friday) is going to be an issue in my race,” said Griffin. She said one of her opponents, Terry Kemple, had raised the issue already.

Kemple is president of the Community Issues Council, whose stated purpose is to promote Judeo- Christian values. He said he supported the board’s decision because it was a waste of time and money to hold classes on a day with such absentee rates.

He said if Jewish and Muslim holidays caused similar disruptions, “I would be the first in line to support (holidays for) them.”

The two other candidates for the District 6 seat and their positions on the issue are:

Sally Harris (from her website) — “The School Board needs to listen to the students and parents and come to a reasonable resolution of the calendar issues. Hillsborough County has done several things that don’t really make sense. Consider Good Friday, during the 2009-10 school year it was not a holiday and more than 50 percent of the students did not attend classes.”

Benjamin Fink — Fink said he was opposed to making Good Friday a holiday for religious reasons, but did support the decision because of practical and safety issues. “I am for making sure our kids are safe and not waiting for a school bus,” he said. Fink also said he did not think students who came to class this past April 2 did much work.

Asked if the Good Friday decision had been raised by voters as an issue in his campaign, he replied, “Definitely.”

District 2

Incumbent Candy Olson, who voted with the majority, is opposed by Frank Hernandez. The singlemember district encompasses South Tampa as well as southern Hillborough County.

Olson — “I think it will come before the board again. I hope that next year we can (a) start the process much earlier in the year and (b) have at least one board workshop to discuss the calendar as a whole. The calendar is a whole series of days and issues, including religious holidays, instructional time, teacher planning, family travel and others. Many needs can be in tension and our decisions impact students, teachers, families and the community. I, like many people, had problems with this calendar. There are legal issues as well. We need to take more time, have more input and try again.”

Hernandez — “I don’t agree with the calendar they (the board) came up with. If you look at just Good Friday, it becomes an economic and budgetary issue. I would strongly recommend other holidays for other (religious) communities.”

He said the school calendar should be more flexible.

District 4

Incumbent Jennifer Faliero, who represents eastern Hillsborough County, was also part of the majority who approved the Good Friday holiday. She has three challengers in the upcoming primary, Richard Bartels, Stacy White and Kirk Faryniasz.

Faliero — “I support any religious day off that meets a secular purpose as outlined in U.S. Supreme Court Lemon vs Kurtzman. The School Board may not give a day off school for religious purposes only. If a secular purpose is met that happens to coincide with a religious holiday, I would consider giving the students a day off.”

Bartels —”I support the concept of an academic calendar with spring break scheduled at the end of quarter three. The school district is faced with a projected deficit of $20 million for the next academic year. If we were not mired in a severe recession, I would support keeping the schools open on Good Friday. However, given the impending deficit and with significant increases in health insurance a certainty, I cannot support spending $80,000 for substitute teachers and bus drivers.”

White — “It’s a hot button issue. The documented absentee rate of both students and staff did not seem to support an outstanding educational environment and, therefore, keeping school in session on Good Friday looking forward would not be a wise use of taxpayer money in my opinion.

“Unfortunately, if the district were to close school to recognize every holiday of every documented religion there would a loss of too many instructional days. I will always, however, support the district’s current policy that allows a student to miss school for a religious holiday without penalty.

“I don’t condone discrimination,” White added.

Faryniasz — He said he supported the board’s decision because of the high absentee rates, especially among high school students. “Something had to be done,” he said. As for Jewish and Muslim holidays, he said, “That’s something we’ll have to address in the future.”

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The School Board races will be on the Aug. 24 primary ballot and since they are non-partisan can be voted on by all eligible voters regardless of party affiliation. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes in each race, the top two contenders will be on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.