By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
The Plant City Observer has profiled candidates for the several local and state elections. Here, we spotlight Terry Kemple and Carol Kurdell, candidates for Hillsborough County School Board District 7.
Terry Kemple
As one of five brothers growing up in a military family, Terry Kemple has lived all over the United States.
But, he considers Florida his home.
“I would rather sweat than wear a sweater,” Kemple said, laughing.
Kemple moved to Florida in 1981, settling in Brandon.
“A lot of things that have been really good have happened to me in Florida,” Kemple said.
In 1986, Kemple became a Christian during a revival in Jacksonville. The father of five daughters also has seen his family grow up and move around the country. Kemple has children and grandchildren in Valrico. Like many average American families, they play board games, go on picnics together and love the beach.
Kemple has been married to his wife, Shirley, for 24 years, and together, they have been involved in their church and community activism. Shirley Kemple sings in the choir at Bell Shoals Baptist Church. Kemple has been part of several Christian based groups, including the Christian Coalition of Florida and Florida Right to Life.
For 17 years, Kemple has kept an eye on his community and taken opportunities to fight for traditional and conservative values.
Kemple started the Communities Issues Council in 2005, after a strip club attempted to open in a heavily residential area on State Road 60, in Valrico. He rallied supporters to speak out about their concerns.
The council focuses on six areas — religious liberty, sanctity of life, protecting the traditional family, indoctrination in public schools, the sex industry and the gambling industry.
But Kemple’s favorite projects include the Florida Marriage Amendment and fighting to keep Good Friday as a school holiday.
Kemple helped coordinate the Florida Marriage Amendment, which appeared on the Nov. 4, 2008, ballot in Florida. It defined marriage as a legal union of only one man and one woman. It passed with about 62%.
Kemple also stood up for his traditional values when the Hillsborough County School Board voted to change Good Friday from a school holiday to a school day in 2008. Many students, bus drivers and teachers refused to go to school on that day. Kemple rallied as one of many supporters to change Good Friday back to a holiday.
This isn’t Kemple’s first attempt at a school board seat. He ran for a position on the board in 2010.
“I thought it was time to put a more conservative stamp on the school board,” Kemple said.
He was unsuccessful in his first campaign run. Kemple didn’t think he would run again this year, because he would be running against a longstanding incumbent during a presidential election year. But after the school board elected not to change the county’s school policy on public speakers after a member of the Council on American Islamic Relations spoke to high school students last year, Kemple was disappointed in the district’s leadership. Kemple and others contend that the group is linked to terrorism.
“It lit a fire in my belly from a political and activism perspective,” Kemple said. “I have to run.”
Kemple has attended many school board meetings in the past and has seen too complaints ignored by the school board.
“The totally arrogant and unresponsive attitude the school board has taken has made me respond,” Kemple said.
Kemple is running on a platform that will defend parents’ rights and stresses accountability, transparency and collaboration.
Carol Kurdell
Incumbent Carol Kurdell counts her extensive experience as a benefit in the race for the Hillsborough County School Board District 7 seat.
Kurdell was elected to the school board in 1992 and, since then, has been a three-time chairwoman and the school board liaison for the Gates-funded Empowering Effective Teachers program.
But before she was an influential player on the school board, Kurdell was a student herself in Hillsborough County.
The Tampa native, who loves reading, has been involved professionally in education for more than 10 years. She has a passion for students, earning a bachelor’s degree in human growth and development from Eckerd College. Kurdell has been president of the Hillsborough County Council of Parent-Teaching Association, a founding member of project graduation and president of Friends of Public Education.
Kurdell then set her sights on the school board, which she saw as a way to make a positive and even bigger impact on the education of children.
“My life’s work is a story of commitment to public service and the pursuit of excellence in education,” Kurdell said.
“My mission has been, and continues to be, to provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to realize their full potential in life,” she said.
Since 1992, she’s been elected to the school board in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.
During her time on the school board, she has been involved in the Robinson Cluster Project that created the Center for Teacher Technology Training, established the International Baccalaureate program and installed a district-wide bus and vehicle GPS system.
Kurdell said she likes to take action and push herself, much like Albert Einstein, someone she wishes she could meet.
“He was told that he would never do well in math, and look what happened,” Kurdell said. “He did not listen to those who doubted his ability but instead listened to himself and developed his gifts.”
She is choosing to run again this year because she believes there is still more to do and more challenges in the ever-changing educational landscape.
Kurdell wants to continue her work on the EET program, an initiative of new strategies that focus on recruitment, placement evaluation, retention and support of highly effective teachers. EET is a new program, and some consider Hillsborough County to be a pioneer in leading the way on new education strategies.
Kurdell said teachers have made an impact on her life, and she wants to continue to grow and evaluate the most effective teachers.
Another project Kurdell is proud of is the success of the Contingency Fund, which now totals nearly $100 million and has saved the district thousands of dollars because of its AAA rating. cs 1.6
