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Malcolm Endorses Magrini For School Board

By HERNANDO TODAY STAFF

Hernando Today

Published: October 22, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Longtime school board member Jim Malcolm broke his silence Tuesday about which school board candidate he prefers, endorsing Gene Magrini.
In a letter submitted to local newspapers, Malcolm said both Magrini and James Yant are "good men and capable leaders" and that "(b)oth have the best interests of Hernando County's children at heart."
But, Malcolm wrote, "(I)t is Gene Magrini's background and vision for the future that makes him my choice for the District 4 school board seat."
Malcolm, who has served on the school board for the last 16 years, praised Magrini's involvement in school advisory councils, but said his "business and human resources acumen" was the biggest factor in his decision.
Magrini is a 43-year-old self-employed human resource consultant in Tampa who has lived in Hernando County for 15 years. He has never held public office.
"We need Gene Magrini's budget expertise now more than ever," Malcolm wrote. "His ability to work with people and seek compromise is a strength, which this school board sorely needs."
Yant, 62, is a former educator who worked at Hernando High School as a business teacher, then a counselor in the 1970s. He then spent 13 years working as an academic adviser at PHCC and served on the foundation board until late last year.