Joanne Lentino

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Joanne Lentino

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Pinellas County Schools school board District 1 At-large

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Personal

Profession

Educator

Contact

Personal website

Joanne Lentino was a member of the Pinellas County Schools school board in Florida, representing District 1. Lentino left office on November 17, 2020.

Biography

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Lentino was a teacher whose career centered in Pinellas County Schools. Before teaching, she worked for the City of Las Vegas Cultural Affairs Division. She also volunteered with the Tampa Bay Estuary Community Advisory Committee, the Sierra Club, and Tampa Bay Watch. Lentino earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Elections

2016

See also: Pinellas County Schools elections (2016)

The Pinellas County school board is under critical examination after an investigation of the board and district—titled "Failure Factories"—was published last year. The report described the daily strife of black students in the county, particularly in five elementary schools whose ratings changed from average to failing in just a few years. The investigation tied these students' struggles to a 2007 decision the board made to effectively segregate the district's schools, and the report triggered a still-in-progress civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. "Failure Factories," which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting, also showed that the board's vote appeared to be a symptom of other deep-seated problems in the district. Three of the board members who voted for the de-integration plan still sat on the board in 2016: Peggy O'Shea, Linda Lerner, and Carol Cook. These incumbents were re-elected to the board multiple times, exemplifying the 100 percent incumbency success rate the district saw from 1998 to 2014. Cook filed for re-election in District 5 and successfully defended her spot on the board against Michael Petruccelli and Eliseo Santana in the race for the seat. O'Shea's and Lerner's seats aren't up for election until 2018.

One of the seven seats on the Pinellas County school board was up for by-district general election and one was up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Four newcomers filed in the race for the at-large District 1 seat: Robert Beal, Bill Dudley, Joanne Lentino, and Matt Stewart. A primary election was held on August 30, 2016, in which Lentino and Stewart were the top two vote-getters. Since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote, they both advanced to the general election. In District 5, Cook and Santana both advanced from the primary to the general, leaving Petruccelli behind. The seat of incumbent Ken Peluso was also on the primary ballot. He filed for re-election to the District 4 seat and was joined on the ballot by newcomer Eileen Long. She defeated the incumbent and won outright by receiving a majority of the vote.

Results

Pinellas County Schools, At-Large District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joanne Lentino	55.98%	222,119
Matt Stewart	44.02%	174,676
Total Votes (100)		396,795
Source: Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016

Pinellas County Schools, At-Large District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joanne Lentino	32.29%	48,944
Matt Stewart	30.26%	45,871
Bill Dudley	29.25%	44,340
Robert Beal	8.19%	12,412
Total Votes		151,567
Source: Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016

Funding

Lentino reported $31,837.00 in contributions and $18,305.75 in expenditures to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, which left her campaign with $13,531.25 cash on hand, as of October 10, 2016.

Endorsements

Lentino was endorsed by the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, the St. Petersburg Association of Firefighters Local 747, former At-Large District 1 candidate Bill Dudley, and the Florida service employees union.

Campaign themes

Policy listed on campaign website

The policies listed below were listed on Lentino's campaign website:

“	Invest in Early Childhood Education The development of a child’s brain is 85% complete by the age of 3. Early childhood education boosts children’s ability to learn and prepares them for success in a classroom environment. Close the Achievement Gap All students deserve access to a high quality public education. We need to ensure that our schools have the necessary resources to help struggling students by providing a rigorous curriculum that is relevant to all children. Address Discipline Issues Let’s consider “restorative justice” and other alternative solutions along with increased social services and behavior specialists to create better learning environments for all children. Community Schools Let’s stand tall with our stakeholders and explore the Community School model. Connecting wrap around services such as health, social supports and expanding learning opportunities with our community partners could create a strong foundation for all children to succeed. High Stakes Testing Our students are taking too many standardized tests. We need to end high stakes testing and put the focus back on learning in the classroom. Everyone must be involved, our children, parents, teachers, support professionals and our community. We should invest in education because our children have that right and our future depends on it. Together we can MAKE OUR SCHOOLS BETTER.	”
—Joanne Lentino (2016)

See also

• Pinellas County Schools, Florida
• Pinellas County Schools elections (2016)

External links

• Search Google News for this topic