BRADENTON — On Monday, the Manatee County school board will consider appointing two former elected officials to two grant-funded district jobs.
But Superintendent Tim McGonegal’s recommendation to hire former school board member Frank Brunner and former county Commissioner Jane von Hahmann has raised questions of cronyism, according to e-mails, phone calls and letters the Bradenton Herald has received.
School board members say they have also received questions about the appointments, where both candidates were selected over 159 qualified applicants.
The jobs were posted for 26 days starting Dec. 18 and had more than 250 applicants. Brunner and von Hahmann beat out 12 finalists that included doctorate-degree holders, teachers and former private-sector managers.
Brunner is selected to replace a career adviser at Manatee High. One of the applicants for the job was a woman who already works at the school’s college and career resource center. Her job ends this year as another grant that pays her expires.
Von Hahmann received nods to be the district’s business and industry service specialist, a liaison between the small learning communities in high schools, Manatee Technical Institute and the business communities.
The career adviser is a 10-month position that pays $40,594, and the industry service specialist is a 11-month position that pays $56,582. Both jobs expire in 18 months.
Since the announcement of the appointments, school board member Bob Gause said he has received numerous complaints.
“I had gotten complaints from every person who has come up to me. . . . Between 50 and 100 people have made their opinions known to me,” Gause said. “Seven elected officials made a point of contacting me to express their concerns over this decision.”
School board member Harry Kinnan said he received inquiries about the process the district used in vetting the candidates. So did McGonegal.
“Mostly, I think people are concerned about the process we used,” he said. “We had a lot of applicants, good applicants. . . . I explained the process we used and assured them that they were the best people who applied for the job.”
Miller and Kinnan said they support McGonegal’s recommendations.
“They’re former politicians . . . To me, that doesn’t eliminate them from being hired by the school board,” said Walter Miller, school board chairman.
Von Hahmann said she received calls about her pending appointment as well.
She owned Surfing World for 34 years before closing it, and was on the county commission for eight years before losing her last election.
She had to apply for the district job like other candidates and went through an intense interview, she said.
Being a former public official shouldn’t “somehow discount or disqualify me from working in a job in the public arena,” she said.
One of her sons graduated from Manatee High and got his first and current job through a certification program at the school, while her two other children graduated Manatee High and attended MTI, she said.
“I know this system, I love this system and I can be an advocate for this system,” she said. “I need to make a living . . . I want to work.”
Brunner did not return phone calls from the Herald seeking comment Friday.
Brunner, a West Point graduate and Gulf War veteran, has been executive director of Crime Stoppers of Manatee County since 2004.
He was on the school board for 10 years. He resigned mid-term three years ago and ran unsuccessfully for a county commission seat. Since then, he has worked for Manatee County Rural Health Services and Waste Management for about a year respectively.
McGonegal said Brunner was perfect for the career adviser job because he has good interview, interpersonal skills, and Von Hahmann is good at building relationships and shares the district’s strategic vision.
“I think for both, their past elected service made them better candidates,” he said. “We are a democratic society and we should value that service.”
Sylvia Lim, Herald education reporter, can be reached at 745-7041.
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