Q&A: Meet Kenneth Gay, Hillsborough County School Board District 6 Candidate

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Voters in the Nov. 3 general election will decide between incumbent Karen Perez and challenger Kenneth “Ken” Gay in the Hillsborough County School Board District 6 seat.

District 6 is an at-large seat, which means all Hillsborough County voters will have a say in the race.

Patch sent a questionnaire to both candidates. Below are Gay’s unedited responses.

• Name: Kenneth “Ken” Gay, Ed.D.
• Office Sought: Hillsborough County School Board, District 6 — Countywide
• Political Party Affiliation: The Hillsborough County School Board is a nonpartisan office. I am a registered Republican.
• Age: 67
• City or Town of Residence: Brandon, Florida
• Education: Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, University of South Florida; Master of Science in Educational Leadership, Nova University; Educational Specialist in Elementary Education and Doctor of Education in Child and Youth Studies, Nova Southeastern University.
• Occupation: Retired Hillsborough County Public Schools educator and administrator. I currently mentor HCPS teachers pursuing alternative certification, serve as a health education instructor for More Health, and attempt to serve one day a week as a historical docent for Cracker Country. I also remain active in my church, First Presbyterian Church of Brandon, serving as the Clerk of Session.
• Family Background: I am a fifth-generation Floridian with deep roots in Hillsborough County. I am the father of two children who attended Hillsborough County Public Schools. My experiences as both an educator and a parent—including navigating the IEP process with my daughter—have helped shape how I view the responsibility schools have to every child and family.
• Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No immediate member of my family currently works in politics or holds elected government office.
• Previous public office, appointive or elective: I have not previously held elected public office. I ran for the Hillsborough County School Board in 2024. My public and community service has included numerous leadership responsibilities throughout Hillsborough County.
• Campaign website and social media:
  Website
  Facebook

• Why are you seeking this office? I spent 39 years serving Hillsborough County Public Schools, and I reached a point where I was tired of sitting on the sidelines. I believe my experience can help strengthen a district that has been an important part of my life as an educator, administrator, and parent.

I want every school to be academically strong, every educator to feel supported, every family to be treated as a partner, and every student to leave us prepared for what comes next.

• What sets you apart from the other candidates seeking this post?

I bring a perspective developed from seeing public education from multiple sides of the table—as a classroom educator, administrator, mentor, and parent. I understand the difference between governing a school district and managing its daily operations.

A board member's responsibility is to establish sound policy, provide strong budget and contract oversight, hold leadership accountable, and keep decisions focused on students.

• What issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

My priorities are strong student outcomes, support for educators, safe and orderly schools, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

We must strengthen literacy, mathematics and workforce readiness; recruit and retain excellent teachers; maintain classrooms where teachers can teach and students can learn; and ensure district resources reach the areas that most directly affect student achievement. I also want stronger transparency and communication with parents and the community.

• What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
  

My strongest evidence is a 39-year career with Hillsborough County Public Schools. I began in the classroom and later moved into school administration, working directly with students, teachers, parents, principals, and district leadership.

I earned advanced degrees in educational leadership, elementary education, and child and youth studies and continue working with educators today as a mentor to teachers pursuing alternative certification. That career taught me how policy, budgets, curriculum, discipline, and leadership ultimately affect what happens in a classroom.

• What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Expect adversity—and learn to persevere through it. Romans 5:3 has long been a guide for me: adversity can produce perseverance, character, and ultimately hope. I try to look for that hope in every challenge.

That philosophy also shaped me as an educator. I learned three fundamentals that work: teach to the expectations, maintain high expectations for every child regardless of where that child begins, and establish clear, concrete expectations for behavior from the first days of school—and model those expectations yourself.

Whether in life, the classroom, or leadership, adversity will come. What matters is how you respond to it.

• Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
  

I believe in the fundamentals: academically strong schools, supported and respected teachers, safe learning environments, meaningful diplomas, transparent communication with families, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Every decision should ultimately be measured by its impact on students.

I also believe opportunity must extend to every child. Hillsborough offers tremendous academic, career and technical, and extracurricular opportunities. Our responsibility is to remove unnecessary barriers so those opportunities are accessible to all students...not just a few.

After 39 years in public education, I still believe deeply in our public schools and the people working in them. I'm not seeking this position to manage the school district. I'm seeking it to help govern it responsibly, ask the right questions, provide effective oversight, and keep the focus where it belongs...on our students.