Antonio Pizza

Age: 19

Where they live: Oviedo

Where they work: Soccer coach for I-9 Sports, volunteers as an assistant Scouts BSA master 

Prior work experience: He worked on campaigns for Marco Rubio and did photography for school board elections. 

Prior political experience: Interned for Marco Rubio in freshman year of high school, worked on Rachel Plankton’s campaign, was a paid door-knocker for Brady Duke

Platform: He said his platform prioritizes getting students back in school in front of a physical teacher and renewing teacher contracts; creating distraction-free learning environments by limiting phone use to only emergencies; phasing out Seminole County Virtual School to reduce property taxes from going toward online curriculum and digital servers and recognize students who take classes in person rather than online.  

Why they are running: In an interview with Oviedo Community News, Pizza said he’s running because he “had a love for the community, but also I looked at the people currently running the schools and on the school board and not many of them have been to a Seminole County Public School themselves in a long time. They haven’t seen what’s happening on the campuses, haven’t been on the ground and gone through. A lot of them went to school over 50 years ago. We are in a new learning environment and a new era of teaching, and I feel like, as someone who has been through the school, lived through the school recently, I feel like I have the best experience to handle this generation of learning.”

Campaign finance report: $5,729 in contributions  

Endorsements: None 

Link to their website: Not available

Fun fact about the candidate: His favorite food is pizza, and Pizza is his real last name   

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Candidate Q&A: The questions below are based on voter questions and expressed priorities. Each of the candidates within a race were asked the same questions and given the same amount of time to respond. The candidates’ answers were fact checked, checked for spelling and grammar but otherwise unedited.

If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them?

1. Debt: The current board put us $17 million in debt. Every year the board approves a budget, they know how much money they are going to get from the state. Why would they approve a budget that puts them into a bigger deficit? We need to get a financial autopsy done and go through the waste, line by line. I looked at the budget and there are things we can cut, not to mention optimizing the revenue that comes in. We have generous local businesses that pay the school system for sponsorships; you can see banners for these amazing businesses at sporting events. We should be encouraging more businesses to join in this effort, while also making sure the revenue we take in from them is used wisely. For example, I saw a movie theater ad for SCPS and was informed it was paid for with this revenue. However, the ad played in an empty theater, which is not a good use of funds. Currently, the board’s only major solution seems to be firing teachers and staff. This, in turn, affects everyone from the personnel to the students. By my senior year, none of my core teachers from my freshman year were still there. As a result, they weren’t able to provide letters of recommendation, which should come from teachers who have seen you grow. On top of that, elective teachers are taking on subjects that they may not be fully up to date on, pushing them out of their comfort zone. In the long run, this will heavily affect the students. We cannot continue year after year firing more teachers and staff while accumulating more debt. Eventually, we will have to pay off this debt, and at the rate the current board is going, it will be through an increase in property taxes. Let’s stop the wasteful spending now before it affects the entire county. Once the debt is fixed, we can start addressing other problems.
2. Pushing students through the system and career readiness: In Seminole County, if you are failing a class, you can drop that class and enroll in an online class where there are no barriers to catch you cheating your way through. That may not be all students, but it is a lot of them. Not to mention, students who fail a semester and need credit recovery can attend summer school — not in a real school building, but in front of a laptop. The online system quizzes students on the entire class curriculum, and whatever you get wrong, that is what it teaches you. The system we have is designed not to teach and educate the students who are truly struggling, but to pass them through the system like they are numbers on a spreadsheet. That is why our graduation rate is above the state’s average from recent years. This looks great on paper, but what it actually shows is the willingness to push students through. We need to have these students who are struggling learn in front of a real teacher with a textbook, not a laptop. We also need to recognize that not every student wants to go to college; more and more students want to go directly into a career. That is why we need to bring back vocational learning in full swing. We should be partnering with our local businesses to offer students opportunities to get real-life work experience. This would fill those elective credits for those students and leverage them better in the job market. Currently, the school system offers few vocational learning opportunities in the school itself, mostly known as the CTE programs, such as culinary and TV production. In high school, I participated in TV production and helped lead the live stream program. This program was highly beneficial to students who wanted to go into that career, as it taught them the proper care of gear and how to transport them, along with how to use live stream software you would not use in the classroom, along with the camera movements and hustle of what went into the streams. These streams of sporting events were broadcast on YouTube for families to watch for free. This past year, the school signed a livestream contract with an AI company that removed all human interaction. The ball was now tracked by an AI camera and livestreamed on their own site, which created a paywall forcing families to pay to watch the game. Most of all, they signed a non-competition contract, which shut down the livestream program. The school system took a student-led vocational program and made it into an easy money grab. We need to increase programs like the livestream program that was at Hagerty High School to every school, and create lasting partners with local businesses to equip our youth with career readiness. Editor’s note: Seminole County Public Schools spokesperson Katherine Crnkovich said that yes many schools now have a contract with the National Federation of High Schools for a paid subscription service to watch games, but “Student groups can still broadcast events as part of their curriculum. This contract in no way prohibits students from having that opportunity.”
3. More transparency: Currently, the school lacks transparency and clear communication with parents, students, teachers and staff. This was evident when an email was sent to all principals in Seminole County, informing them that all out-of-state and overnight field trips would not be approved. This led to a flood of worried parents, teachers, staff and students attending the school board meeting to express their concerns. The board members then issued the same message, calling the email a “rumor.” They tried to gaslight the public into believing the email was never sent and that they did not intend to cancel field trips. We need leadership that tries not to hide plans from parents and takes accountability when a mistake is made. I believe that every meeting’s agenda and slideshow should be emailed to every single parent, staff member, teacher and student prior to the meeting, and the recording should be emailed afterward. It is also interesting that the school board holds its workshop meetings to discuss important topics around noon on weekdays. Holding meetings at this time prevents parents, students, staff and teachers from participating, as parents are at work, students are in school and teachers are teaching. If we want clear communication, we need to have these meetings at a time when everyone in the community can participate. I believe it is also important that parents and students alike know the policies and procedures of the schools. A student handbook should be emailed to every parent and student covering policies such as the dress code, absentee policy, makeup work, cheating, etc., along with the consequences of breaking each policy. This will allow parents and students to know all the rules and be aware of what happens if a student breaks them. These handbooks should also include important contact information for everyone at the district level, such as the superintendent and school board members. All school board members should be open to hearing the concerns of parents and students. There should also be a requirement for a class’s syllabus to cover every single topic taught in class, including the textbooks used, along with any books they may read. This syllabus must be signed by a parent. This will ensure that parents know exactly what is being taught in every class their child is involved in. Overall, our community is a team. From teachers and students to parents and school board members, we need to have open communication with each other. We should not work against each other or hide things, but rather work together to deliver a better education.

How should the district handle teacher shortages? 

The best way we can handle teacher shortages is to start promoting the career opportunity. The current board is doing the same old job fair it has been doing for years, but we can level up our school district in so many more ways. For students interested in becoming a teacher one day, we can have them shadow elementary and middle school teachers as part of a vocational program, which would allow them to get hands-on experience in the career. 

We can also partner with colleges to hold after-school programs that would explain what goes into being a teacher, what degree you need and how much it can cost. We can also sponsor more scholarships with the revenue we bring in from local business support for those seeking to join the career path of teaching. The shortage of teachers is across the country, but what we can do is leverage the teacher experience that students can gain in our school system. We have the mentors — it’s the teachers. Let’s give the students an opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes work of these teachers, and set up the students who are interested in that career path with experience and knowledge of what to expect.

Florida ranked last in the nation for academic growth in reading. How would you improve that?

While this is a complex situation, there are many things we can do that we are not already doing. Starting with supporting our local libraries, we can arrange field trips for every first grader to go to the local Seminole libraries to get a library card and learn how to properly look for a book, while also exploring what our local libraries offer. 

If we can get students interested in reading on their own, they are more likely to read outside of the classroom and improve. Practice makes perfect. I believe that, as a school district, we should host reading competitions and award students at our school board meetings. This will encourage students to continue reading. Most of all, we need to retain the best teachers we have. As the school board fires more and more teachers each year, we need to make sure we prioritize the teachers and educators who make our school system what it is within our budget. Not to mention, if we do go over our budget, we will launch the largest fundraising efforts to ensure that we do not lose teachers; they should be the last on the chopping block, not the first.

What changes, if any, would you make to school safety policies?

This year, we saw multiple times how our school safety policies have failed us. In two of our high schools, students brought guns on campus. Although they had no harmful intentions, this is still a serious concern. Furthermore, there was a lack of clear communication to parents after these incidents occurred. 

On the flip side, there was an incident where special AI detectors misidentified a musical instrument as a firearm. Luckily, this was just a pilot program, and hopefully, it is not something we will move forward with after these errors. What needs to happen is that every parent and student must know the school rules, specifically what is and is not allowed on campus. We have been too afraid to speak about guns in schools, even though nearly half the population owns a firearm or has lived in a house with a gun, according to a YouGov poll. We should teach our students that guns have no place in school, instead of avoiding the topic entirely. A clear policy needs to be written to inform parents and students of this. There has also been confusion about whether guns can be kept in student cars while parked in the student lots. 

To fix these failures and protect our students, I will push to implement the following policies: Establish a clear student safety handbook. The simple solution is to send these rules to parents and students in a mandatory student handbook. This handbook will explicitly state that firearms are strictly prohibited everywhere on campus, including inside student vehicles parked in school lots. When students and parents know the exact rules and the consequences of breaking them, it will discourage students from attempting to break them. 

Mandatory Crisis Communication Protocol: We cannot leave parents in the dark. I will implement a strict policy requiring immediate, transparent, and accurate updates to families during and after any security event to eliminate confusion and maintain community trust. 

Halt and re-evaluate flawed AI security tech: I will oppose rolling out expensive AI weapon detection systems across the district. We must halt these programs until the technology is proven reliable enough to tell the difference between a musical instrument and a weapon.

Proactive campus education: We must stop avoiding the topic. I support integrating realistic, age-appropriate educational initiatives that explicitly teach students why weapons have absolutely no place in an environment of learning. 

One unify safety program: Each school has different software, security cameras, and equipment. We need to unify them so that the Sheriff’s Department can easily access all of them at once in case of, God forbid, a multiple-school attack. What we also need to do is make a safer environment for schools. While attending Hagerty High School every year, we answered a survey on where we felt less safe, and time and time again it was the bathroom, simply because students vape and do drugs in there. 

When speaking with the Sheriff’s Department, specifically the deputy in charge of school safety, one of their recommendations was to install vape detectors in every bathroom. Students should feel safe in every part of the school, and we should be stopping the drug use and vaping, not letting it slide by.

How should book challenges and library removals be handled? 

I strongly believe that the school board, with community involvement, should organize books into categories similar to movies. For example, a TV-MA movie cannot be played at school; likewise, a book containing similar topics should not be allowed. Additionally, including every classroom curriculum book in a signed syllabus ensures that parents know exactly what is being taught in class.

What outside organizations or endorsements are supporting your campaign? 

Endorsed by Seminole GOP and supported by Saint Thomas More Priory

If elected, what policy would you try to pass in your first year? 

My top priority would be to get the debt handled. That debt hangs over us and affects us all. When teachers and staff lose their jobs, it hurts not just the school community, but the students as well. Students are left wondering if the teachers who help them get through a class and stay after school to help them understand will still be there the following year — especially after the school board decides to cut another hundred jobs. Not to mention, this debt needs to be paid off. If we do not start paying it off now, we will be forced to raise property taxes to cover it. We need to go through the budget and eliminate wasteful spending. We also need to start fundraising more, whether through more local sponsors or simple spirit nights around our communities. Additionally, we can rent out our school facilities during the weekend, similar to what i9 Sports does. There are things we can do to raise money and cut items from the budget so we can get the debt under control without cutting teachers. As said before, teachers should be the last on the chopping block.

Public school enrollment has been declining in Seminole County for the last several years. How will you handle the declining funding for public education in Seminole County while retaining quality education for students? 

We need to promote our schools at local community events. This includes events such as the Oviedo Saint Patrick’s Day or Star Spangled Sanford events. Both events I attended were also attended by thousands of families — families that could enroll in our schools. I believe we also need to leverage more vocational learning opportunities. We need our schools to be the best in career opportunities, which means teaming up with local businesses and making exclusive internships for SCPS students. 

We can increase our school enrollment, but it’s going to take effort. Currently, the only way I have seen our schools being promoted in our community is at the Regal Theater in Oviedo, playing a commercial to an audience of two people. We need to be out in the community talking to parents about the benefits of our schools, showing them that their children cannot get this education from anywhere else. We also need to have open communication with parents. If a parent comes to you and says their child needs a nurse to be with them 24/7 due to a medical illness, and it will be paid for by insurance, you do everything in your power to make sure that child is safe and can get a great education. 

Time and time again, I hear parents stating they left the school system because their child’s IEPs and 504s were not followed. We need to be willing to listen to families and make sure everyone has a seat at the table in deciding what happens in our schools. Another important note is that we need to make sure we keep the best teachers in Seminole County. A few months ago we fired a teacher of the year; this is ridiculous. How can we award a teacher in the same year we fire her? Unacceptable!

Most school funding is controlled by state lawmakers, but local school boards can tack on additional property taxes with voter approval. Do you support additional optional property taxes for schools? Explain your answer. 

I firmly believe raising taxes is the last thing our school board should do to help the schools, not to mention it is the laziest approach. There are multiple ways we can raise funds, whether through local sponsors or spirit nights throughout the county. Raising taxes would hurt families who are already struggling, especially because this issue is due to a school board that simply could not manage a budget. I am someone who believes you are more likely to get the community to help not by forcing them to pay more, but by encouraging them to voluntarily give more, whether that is through fundraisers or sponsorships. As someone who studies political science, I know taxes usually never lower. If this tax goes into place and, hopefully, our enrollment goes up, are we going to lower the taxes? That usually never happens; if we raise these taxes, they will not go back down. There are ways to raise funds without taxes; it is time our school board stops complaining about Tallahassee and starts raising funds and eliminating waste in the budget.

What role should AI play for students in the classroom? What role should it play for educators? 

I believe there are very few situations in the classroom where students should use AI. I can understand using it to help you learn how to solve a math problem when doing homework, but not really in the classroom, especially for those core classes. For teachers, it is a different story. I think this tool could be very beneficial for them; for example, a teacher being able to translate messy handwriting or to catch plagiarism in essay writing is essential. Some students are constantly trying to find new ways to gain an unfair advantage — not all, but some — and educators need to keep up with these new methods of cheating. I believe that right now we are in an environment that creates temptation for students to give up and just look up an answer. I strongly believe all phones need to be placed in a phone chart and that attendance needs to be taken using that phone chart. We need a distraction-free environment, not one that tempts students to cheat.

There have been multiple calls for Seminole County Public Schools Superintendent Serita Beamon to resign. Do you support Beamon as superintendent? 

This is a complicated question. I believe we need to reevaluate the whole school system’s leadership and go through what has happened, from the good, the bad and the ugly. Right now, from an outside standpoint, a clear position cannot be fairly made. We need to also make sure we listen to the parents’ and teachers’ complaints on this topic and make a decision when in office. These situations cannot be rushed into and must be looked into thoroughly before making a decision. We also need to evaluate if Mrs. Beamon’s goals align with the new incoming board. These are all things that must happen once in office.

More than $100 million in public money has gone to private scholarships in Seminole County alone. Philosophically, do you think public money should go to private schools for education? Explain your answer. 

I believe that parents’ funds should go to where they feel is best for their child. What we can do as a school board is not really change the minds of Tallahassee, but make our schools better. We have to elevate our school above those private schools and voucher schools. If parents believe our school offers something more than the competition, they will stay in the Seminole school system. The way to do this is by inviting parents to sit at the table and have open communication with them — by not firing the best teachers we have, expanding vocational learning, and making sure every student feels safe. It’s not an easy job, but it can be done. We just need the right leadership, and the current board has failed us in this.

How do you think conflicts between parents and educators should be settled?

I believe that conflicts like these need to be settled by an outside individual — someone who has nothing to do with either party. More importantly, we need to prevent these conflicts from happening. We need clear communication among all parties, from the school board to the parents to the teachers. Everyone needs to have a clear line of communication with one another. Besides creating more transparent and clear communication for everyone, we can require that all curriculum items, such as books and lessons, be included in a syllabus that is signed by the parent. If parents know what is being taught in the school, they are less likely to question it. I believe that clear communication and transparency are the best preventive measures to stop conflict, and it is easier to achieve this before a conflict arises.