This article represents the opinion of the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board.
The Hillsborough County School Board is the governing body of America’s seventh-largest school system. The seven-member board faces a host of pressing issues in the coming years, from improving academics at struggling schools to retaining teachers and building new campuses in the fast-growing suburbs. Board members are elected to four-year terms and paid $50,492 annually. Board elections are nonpartisan and open to all registered voters. If no candidate in a race gets a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters go to a runoff in November.
District 1 (northwest Hillsborough): Nadia Combs
Nadia Combs is one of the best Hillsborough school board members to have served in decades. She is student-focused, open and accountable, moderate and forward-looking — everything voters should be looking for in these divisive times.
Combs, 54, is a former Hillsborough middle school teacher who began her career teaching English at the Japanese Ministry of Education. A former Hillsborough middle school teacher of the year, she later founded her own tutoring company, giving her not only a strong educational background but the business experience to manage the school budget.
As then-board chairperson, Combs helped the school system navigate through the pandemic, and her calm, even leadership helped reassure students, families and staff as school systems sought to adapt. Combs has been a strong advocate of early childhood programs and workforce training. She supports increasing teacher salaries and other incentives to retain quality instructors. Combs also voted with the board majority to close several under-used schools last year. She was the most vocal on the board about closing campuses, arguing the district could redirect those savings toward the classroom.
Julie Magill, 61, a real estate broker and general contractor, said she is running to make the school district’s operations more transparent. She said the district is not purchasing appropriate academic materials and seems too concerned with diversity and social programs. Magill talks in generalities and doesn’t offer specific examples of waste or propose her own solutions. Layla Collins, 48, a U.S. Army veteran, offered a series of vague responses to a Times questionnaire. Collins’ campaign is well-funded by special interest groups that have a stake in currying favor with her husband, Republican state Sen. Jay Collins of Tampa.
Combs is far and away the best candidate in this race. She has a demonstrated commitment to education, a passion for public service and an admirable record of accomplishment. She is a regular presence on school campuses in her district, which includes Town ‘N Country, Westchase and Citrus Park, and her positive attitude and sense of accountability are increasingly rare in today’s political environment. The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommends Nadia Combs for Hillsborough County School Board, District 1.
District 3 (north Hillsborough): Jessica Vaughn
Voters in this race have a clear choice between a serious, thoughtful incumbent and a challenger who seems committed to furthering the culture wars. Jessica Vaughn focuses on real issues, works effectively to find solutions and often speaks for the marginalized. She deserves another term.
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Explore all your optionsVaughn, 47, is a former teacher who was first elected to the board in 2020. She is a strong proponent of strengthening early childhood readiness, especially in reading, and of increasing teacher pay to bring more quality and stability to the classroom. Vaughn opposed the district’s school closures last year, arguing the district should have pushed harder to improve academics at several campuses to attract more students. She has strongly supported more resources to serve disabled and special-needs students, and consistently underscores the need for equity and fairness across the sprawling school system. Vaughn also is a longtime resident of the district, which includes the northern suburbs of Lutz and the New Tampa area.
Myosha Powell, who did not respond to a Times’ questionnaire, is described in campaign materials as a parents’ ally. She charged on social media that current board members are “more focused on pushing adult content on students, rather than equipping them for the future.” In a video post last year, Powell, 40, declared: “We are in a cultural revolution and we need to fight back.” What she thinks about teacher pay, school curriculum, budgeting or a myriad other relevant issues is anybody’s guess.
Voters deserve straight answers from candidates, not political click bait. The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommends Jessica Vaughn for Hillsborough County School Board, District 3.
District 5 (central Tampa): Henry Washington
This heavily minority district serves some of Tampa’s poorest neighborhoods, with a number of schools struggling with low academics, teacher turnover and disciplinary problems. That’s why it’s especially essential to have its school board member widely known and respected in the community. The incumbent, Henry Washington, is a vital bridge between the school system and the families it serves.
Washington, 75, retired in 2017 after 42 years in the Hillsborough school system. He rose through the instructional ranks, serving as principal of several major high schools and later as a regional administrator. The Army veteran was known for surrounding himself with talented staff and for inspiring teachers and students alike. That knack is a central ingredient for turning around troubled campuses.
Washington has championed an agenda that directly promotes his district’s interests, from ensuring equity in school spending to the fair treatment of students in disciplinary cases. He supports increasing local property taxes to boost teacher pay and taking proactive steps to address the achievement gap that’s impacted by poverty and other social conditions. Washington opposed the school closures last year, arguing the move was disruptive and premature. He wants the district to focus greater on the individual needs of schools and students and for parents to become more involved.
Kenneth Gay, 65, is a retired Hillsborough school teacher and administrator and first-time candidate. He, too, wants to address the specific academic needs in these struggling schools and do more to create a stronger educational climate, from attracting better teachers to better managing disciplinary problems. Gay opposes higher taxes for teacher salaries, saying it would boomerang on teachers by making the county less affordable. He also opposed the school closures, saying the district lost an opportunity to work with smaller classroom sizes.
Gay is a thoughtful candidate who’d bring experience and fresh perspective. His work with More Health, a nonprofit that brings health education programs on nutrition, personal hygiene, firearm safety and other topics to Tampa Bay area schools, shows his broader expertise and civic commitment. Elvis Piggott, 36, a youth pastor who has run for elected office before, offers little more than platitudes.
Washington has helped countless families navigate the school system over the years, earning a level of trust that cannot be overlooked in a district that local government has historically overlooked. He’s also able to bring in help from business groups, church leaders and nonprofits to help the schools in the district. The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommends Henry Washington for Hillsborough County School Board, District 5.
District 7 (countywide): Lynn Gray
The incumbent, Lynn Gray, is the clear choice in this race, both for her thoughtful agenda and professional experience and her demonstrated ability to get things done.
Gray, 72, is a former public and private school teacher who was first elected to the board in 2016. Her decades of teaching experience and civic involvement give Gray a sold grasp of what’s happening in the classroom and of Hillsborough’s diverse student needs.
Gray supports the proposal to raise property taxes to increase teacher pay, calling teachers “the central key of student success.” She supported the school closures in 2023 as a necessary financial step and has pushed to spend more on counseling, mental health and other wrap-around services to better strengthen the academic environment for students. Gray works collaboratively on the board and is a regular presence across the school system. She recognizes the role the public schools play in developing the region’s workforce, and she has long ensured that special needs students remain on the district’s radar.
Johnny Bush, 61, is a retired educator who served as principal of both H.B. Plant High and Robinson High schools in Hillsborough. He shares much of Gray’s agenda, such as supporting a new tax to increase teacher pay and closing under-used campuses. Bush also wants more attention paid to maintaining discipline in the classroom. His inspiring life story, having overcome generational poverty to eventually run for elected office, shows “the transformative power of public education,” he told the Times. Bush is a natural leader who has the experience and personality to make a difference.
Karen Bendorf, a 48-year-old middle school teacher, and Jen Flebotte, a 50-year-old architectural designer, both oppose a property tax increase for teacher pay and vow to empower parents more in school-related decisions. Flebotte also rightly noted that the district needs to be more transparent about its budget. But neither brings the big picture or the skill sets that Gray offers.
Gray is an inclusive thinker who realizes the challenges of a big school system and the need to be accountable to taxpayers. She makes tough decisions and uses her common sense, and her focus on giving students an equal opportunity is vital in a board member with a countywide constituency. The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommends Lynn Gray for Hillsborough County School Board, District 7.
The recommendation process
Before making a recommendation, the Times Editorial Board asks candidates to fill out questionnaires and sit for an interview. The process can also include running criminal and civil background checks, interviewing candidates’ colleagues and employers, reviewing voting records and financial disclosures and examining their past and current positions on relevant issues.
