News
Guadagnino, Neuhausen to face off in school board race
Jeff Schmucker
Published: October 26, 2012
BROOKSVILLE - One touts his experience, the other his parental involvement.Published: October 26, 2012
The Hernando County School Board race for the District 4 seat includes Gus Guadagnino, a local business owner for more than 40 years and a volunteer in countless education and community boards and foundations.
The other, Robert Neuhausen, is a Sparton Electronics manager with three children in the district at the elementary, middle and high school level.
Guadagnino asserts that his background makes him the best candidate for the elected position with his connections to other businesses, education committees and foundations, along with his business sense and experience.
First and foremost, he said, he believes board members should select the best leader to replace Superintendent Bryan Blavatt once he ends his tenure with the district this summer. He doesn't care where the candidate hails from, as long as he or she is the most qualified.
From there, he said, board members should acquire a better vision for the district.
He said there is currently nothing wrong with magnet schools. If anything, he said, the goal should be to bring all the other schools up to speed with them.
When it comes to the school district budget, he said, "Money needs to go inside the classroom. Everything else is secondary."
Guadagnino is no beginner in politics. In 2008, he ran unsuccessfully for supervisor of elections. Last year, he then applied for an open school board seat after Pat Fagan resigned.
Gov. Rick Scott instead chose Matt Foreman, an attorney with the Hogan Law Firm, to fill the seat.
Neuhausen also is no newcomer to politics, having run unsuccessfully in 2008 for the school board seat. He also applied for the open seat after Fagan resigned.
But Neuhausen believes when choosing the next district superintendent that the school board should pick a local candidate, such as current assistant superintendents Ken Pritz or Sonya Jackson.
"When you bring in someone from out of state, their whole first year is a learning curve," Neuhausen previously stated. "They waste that whole first year learning, where you don't run into that with a local person."
Having three children in the magnet schools, he said right now they are slowly being picked apart, and added that must stop.
He added that if elected, he would draw upon the ideas of many teachers, parents and administrators in the district through his volunteer work, adding he would strive to get more parents involved along with high school students.
"As a parent, I have a vested interest in our school district's success," Neuhausen said. "And from being involved in PTSA and other groups, I've seen the impacts of our school board's and administrators' decisions. And I know that it also takes parent involvement to make things work."
jschmucker@hernandotoday.com (352) 544-5271