School board member Patty Rendon urges parents to volunteer, describes advocacy for Hillsborough students

Patty Rendon, a member of the Hillsborough County school board, urged parents to volunteer in local schools and described her efforts to show state and local legislators how policies affect Hillsborough students.

Rendon told host Deborah Villanti on the Hillsborough County Public Schools podcast that board members must go beyond governance meetings to educate lawmakers about district impacts. "We have to make sure we take the time and effort to educate them on what their decisions mean and how they directly impact our schools," Rendon said, adding that she arranges elementary, middle and high school tours so legislators can see classrooms and talk with staff and students.

Why it matters: Rendon said those firsthand visits change legislators’ perspectives and can influence state and federal policy that affects curriculum, staffing and student services. She emphasized that the district is large and has a substantial economic footprint: "we transport...80,000 students," and "we employ over 24,000 employees throughout this entire county," she said (numbers are taken from the interview and marked as quotes/transcript assertions).

Rendon framed parental engagement as a practical lever to improve schools. Citing the district’s approximate enrollment, she suggested that if every family donated 10 hours a year, the cumulative effect would be substantial. "If every family gave 10 hours a year...that's over...1,700,000 of every single student's parent gave 10 hours a year," she said; the interview transcript records the enrollment figure as "170 some thousand students," and Rendon’s hour totals and intermediate arithmetic are presented in the episode as estimations.

Rendon also described her background in developmental-disability services and long-standing legislative advocacy, saying her prior work — from direct care to case management and advising legislators — informed her approach on the school board. She described professional development through the Florida School Board Association, saying she became a certified and then advanced board member and later was recognized as a distinguished board member for sustained community leadership.

On priorities, Rendon said students come first (including exceptional-student-education programs), followed by supporting and valuing teachers and then strengthening parental partnerships. She urged parents to attend open houses and conference nights, volunteer in classrooms or at events and keep lines of communication open with principals and counselors: "Get in your schools...get to know your staff...get to know your kids' teachers," she said.

The episode concluded with host Deborah Villanti thanking Rendon for sharing her perspective and reaffirming the episode’s theme: advocacy matters for sustaining strong schools. The podcast did not announce any board votes or new policy actions during the interview.