Candidate: Lance A. Shortt

School Board Member District 5 I am a life long resident of Florida. Born in April 1962 at MacDill AFB in Tampa and a St. Petersburg resident until 1975 when my parents moved to Hudson. I am a 1980 graduate of Hudson High with honors and a 1983 graduate of Pasco-Hernando Community College with an A.S. All three of my children currently attend or have graduated from Pasco County public schools. I have had the opportunity and privilege to volunteer the last 5 years at Hudson Middle School. This has given me the insight to see some of the best and sadly some of the worst of our district. Currently, we have a good school system. However, by providing proactive leadership and forward-looking vision we have the opportunity to create a school system that is second to none. While there are many issues and challenges that the District faces there are three areas that as a school board member I would focus on in terms of policy decision and a forth that are concerns. 1. To be a good steward of the financial and other resources we currently have available. We need to be sure we are delivering what I like to call the “biggest bang for the buck” before we ask the taxpayers for more revenue. In other words lets make sure we are getting the best value for the educational dollar. 2. Treat education as a business. Because that is what it is. The district is in the business of providing an education. We have a client or customer if you will… the student and their parents. We have a CEO, the superintendent, and a board of directors, the school board. As a school board member, I have the responsibility to be sure that our client receives the best possible education and that we deliver the best possible return to our investor, the taxpayer. We must be responsive to these needs. 3. We need to provide a well-rounded education and one that provides the necessary life skills to be ready to hit the ground running whether that is a post secondary education or entering the workforce directly. Florida has a service sector based economy and we need to not loose sight of that in what we provide educationally. 4. Other areas of concern are being sure that our fine arts programs remain adequately funded, properly staffed and provided with current curriculum. Our fine arts programs are one of the best and most visible bridges we have into the community after sports. Keep what agriculture driven classes we have in place and increase our vocational and industrial arts classes. Work towards full utilization of our vocational centers. That we have a properly implemented growth management plan that keeps pace with growth and not behind as we are currently. A better method to gauge and assess school and teacher performance other than FCAT alone. Pasco County and our School System have gone through tremendous changes in the last ten years. Lets be sure future change is for the better. Please vote for me and together we can have a school system that is second to none. E-mail: votelance@ij.net Tel: 727-232-1575 10909 Hudson Ave. Hudson, FL 34669