Opinion

Waiting OK

TBO.com
Published: September 19, 2012

Barring the sort of electoral miracle that is seldom if ever seen — the defeat of a well-known party nominee by a relatively obscure write-in candidate — Kurt Browning will become the Pasco school superintendent Nov. 20. The moment he lowers his hand from taking the oath of office he will inherit a financial problem that has plagued the woman he will replace, Superintendent Heather Fiorentino, for the last five or six years: declining school district revenue. Current projections suggest he will have to cut millions in spending to achieve a balanced school district budget for fiscal 2014.

So it is reasonable for him to not want to have his hands tied on spending commitments. Since the majority of the money the school district expends goes to salaries, Browning has asked Fiorentino to forgo hiring anyone for the district's administrative staff for the rest of her time in office. The no-hiring request does not extend to teachers and other in-school personnel.

As of this writing, we hadn't heard a direct response from Fiorentino. Browning, however, said he spoke to her last week — and she expressed a desire to fill a position that would be funded by a grant that might be lost if the hiring is delayed, and for someone to help with teacher training.

Neither job, however, sounds all that critical, especially the one to be paid for with what likely would be temporary grant funding. So we see no reason not to wait until the new superintendent is in office.