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Kathleen Curatolo

Joe Paterno

Julie Sprague

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NAPLES — Voters made their feelings about the Collier County School Board’s behavior in the past year clear Tuesday evening.

Voters rewarded District 2 incumbent Kathleen Curatolo with a second term.

Curatolo received 20,184 votes, or 56.03 percent, compared to her rival Rick MacClugage, who received 15,837 votes, or 43.97 percent.

But School Board Chairwoman Linda Abbott did not fare so well. In the past year, the current Collier County School Board chairwoman voted to fire a superintendent, faced the possibility that the district would not be accredited, and supported privatizing custodial services. Her positions on those issues were often opposite those of Curatolo’s.

After electing Abbott to two terms in office, the voters decided it was time to make a change. Abbott received 4,999 votes, or 13.92 percent of the vote.

Abbott could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

In the District 4 race, none of the six candidates were able to capture 50 percent plus one of the vote. As a result, the two highest vote-getters will move on to the general election Nov. 4. Gulf Coast High School teacher Julie Sprague, who received 14,080 votes, or 39.2 percent, will participate in a runoff with Joe Paterno, Executive Director of the SW Florida Workforce Development Board, who received 10,835 votes, or 30.16 percent.

“It’s awesome,” Sprague said Tuesday night. “I would rather it be 50 percent of the vote, but it has just been an incredible day from beginning to end. I have met so many great people. Now it’s time to kick it into high gear and work all the way to November.”

Paterno was equally thrilled.

“I am glad to be in the top two,” he said. “I look forward to another two months of campaigning and trying to convince the people who voted for the other candidates to vote for me.”

Paterno said he believes his background and qualifications sold the voters.

“I want people to hold me accountable,” he said. “I believe those are features people supported.”

Sprague said she believes her experience in the classroom gave her an advantage her opponents did not have.

“I am genuine, I am honest and I know in my heart that this is what I am supposed to do,” she said. “I am in this 100 percent.”

The other candidates in the District 4 race finished as follows: Mark Swanson with 2,464 votes, or 6.86 percent; Gary Smith with 2,382 votes, or 6.63 percent; and Adrienne Markopolos with 1,161 votes, or 3.23 percent.

The race turned contentious, especially toward the end, when Abbott said Sunday that she was filing elections law violations against various special interest groups, who supported Sprague. Abbott said she believes that organizations such as the Collier County Education Association’s Together in Government Education Reform (TIGER) and the Teamsters Local 79 made donations to other organizations in order to get donations to candidates locally.

In the end, Abbott’s controversial vote to fire former Superintendent Ray Baker may have been too much to overcome.

Abbott cast the deciding vote to fire Baker on July 31 and voted in the majority to hire Superintendent Dennis Thompson. She stood by her decision and said that Thompson has made many good changes to the district.

Swanson said he believes voter fatigue was to blame for a lack of turnout that led to fewer supporters.

“I tell you, the biggest disappointment is the voter turnout,” he said. “All through the campaign, I was talking about people getting passionate about the school system. What scares me about the whole thing is they’re just giving the school district the mandate to do whatever they want.”

Smith said people didn’t catch on to his common sense approach.

“I feel fine, I’m not upset. I wish Julie and Joe the best,” Smith said. “What I am upset about is the number of people who came out ... that means people really don’t care. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about.”

Markopolos could not be reached for comment.

In the District 2 race, Curatolo said she believes it was a strategic plan and superintendent accountability in her message that stuck with voters.

Curatolo felt “fantastic” Tuesday night.

“We are glad to have the campaign behind us and look forward to going back to work,” she said.

She said her next order of business is accreditation, getting a strategic plan in place for the district and setting goals for Superintendent Dennis Thompson.

MacClugage said he was disappointed.

“I thought it would be closer,” MacClugage said. “... People spoke, people want what they want.”

MacClugage said he hopes voters walk away from his campaign knowing that as a parent and a concerned citizen he wanted to make a difference.

After congratulating Curatolo, MacClugage said he asked her to work hard for accreditation.

“I’m standing behind Kathy Curatolo 100 percent,” MacClugage said.